Residents, advocates press Richmond council over proposed Gilpin Court transfer to RDC; council refers matter to Land Use committee

Omari Al Gaddafi, a senior organizer and public-housing subject-matter expert at the Legal Aid Justice Center, told the Richmond City Council on June 9 that residents and advocates were alarmed by a plan to transfer Gilpin Courtthe 781-unit public-housing communityfrom the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) to a nonprofit subsidiary called the Richmond Development Corporation (RDC).

"The simple fact of the matter is that this one CEO is in control at the RDC, and there is virtually no public accountability," Al Gaddafi said, citing commissionersand alleging the RDCwhich he said has built up about $16,000,000 in cash and assets (including a $6,300,000 injection in 2022)is not subject to the same public oversight as RRHA.

Residents and resident advocates told council they were not adequately informed during the Choice Neighborhood planning process and said the transfer could reduce resident protections and public accountability. "We feel that we are now being excluded from RRHA's latest plans for our community after sacrificing so much effort," Dream Boyd said, identifying herself as part of the Gilpin Informed Residents group. Boyd and other residents asked that the RDC support resident-led job and ownership pathways, including Section 3 contracting and resident-management training.

Cheryl Hampton, senior vice president for real estate development at RRHA, described the RDC as a nonprofit subsidiary wholly owned by RRHA and said the disposition is a phased redevelopment following national standards. "This is not privatization," Hampton said. She added that any action taken by the RDC board must also be approved by the RRHA board and that RRHA plans to expand resident engagement and lock in tenant-protection vouchers for households that relocate and wish to return.

Council members pressed for more information and for a public process. Councilmember Lynch described the issues as "life and death issues" and asked that the matter be scheduled for a deeper review. Council President Newbill and other members agreed to refer the topic to the Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee for a full discussion and requested that RRHA staff, RDC representatives and community voices attend.

The council did not vote on transferring property authority at the meeting. Instead it directed that the issue be discussed at the Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee and publicized the committee meeting date and time. The clerk said the next Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee meeting will be June 17 at 3 p.m. in council chambers.

Clarifying details discussed at the meeting included the following: residents said Gilpin Court was built in 1942 and has grown to 781 units; residents and advocates said they had participated in an 18-month Choice Neighborhood grant planning process that they said did not surface the RDC transfer; a resident and public commenter alleged the RDC had accumulated roughly $16 million in assets and had received $6.3 million in 2022; RRHA staff said the plan would be phased and that tenant-protection vouchers would be sought to preserve relocation-and-return rights.

The council and advocates requested additional briefings to address resident protections, phasing and oversight of the RDC, and asked RRHA to provide its RDC bylaws, a timeline for phasing and specifics on resident relocation and return protections. The Land Use, Housing and Transportation Committee is expected to take up the matter and report back to full council.