The City of Norfolk has posted its proposed 2014 fiscal year budget to the City of Norfolk website. Disappointingly the City Manager has only proposed allocating $750,000 to the Wards Corner Neighborhood Plan. That is the least amount of funding allocated to the Wards Corner Plan since 2007.
Year Allocation for Implementation of the W. C. Plan
2014 750,000 (proposed)
2013 2,000,000
2012 1,000,000
2011 1,767,500
2010 1,010,000
2009 2,121,000
2008 1,010,000
2007 505,000
Wards Corner Now, the Wards Corner Task Force, and the various civic leagues in the Wards Corner area have been resolute in their request that neighborhood plan funding be used to purchase and demolish the blighted and crime inducing properties in the Texas streets section of Denby Park. In recent years the City has been successful in purchasing 37 units in 2013 and 68 units in 2011/2012.
Additionally, the proposed 2014 budget includes $500,000 to provide for the design and construction of improvements to the Granby Street and Louisiana Drive intersection. This is a part of the intersection improvements required by Harris Teeter for the new shopping center in the business district.
Wards Corner Now - Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia 
What can we do to help encourage the City Manager to change this?
Contact City Council members: http://www.norfolk.gov/index.aspx?NID=533
Specifically, Councilman Protogyrou, Councilman Winn, Councilwoman Williams, Mayor Fraim, and Councilwoman Whibley all represent the area.
Are the putting all the money into downtown again? We are always left out,so tired of it! Isn’t this a new city manager?
Interesting, after looking for a house the last month I had narrowed it down to a home in Denby Park (on Draper Drive) and one near Roland Park (Sunshine Ave.)
My 14 year old son loves the house on Draper and I do too, nice little re-hab, I can see that the area has seen better days but I can also see that there has been a real effort to return it to it’s former glory.
After seeing in this blog post that the city is reducing it’s financial commitment to the area I think it’s wise to go with Roland Park.
It’s a shame because it could be a really charming part of Norfolk.
Check out the neighborhood across the street Jeff,Monticello Village,nice and has a park.