New Hill in the News
BEACON Kitchen construction is underway in Belmont
The BEACON kitchen project will be a full-equipped shared-use kitchen for entrepreneurs.
Right now, it’s under construction in Charlottesville’s Belmont neighborhood.
New Hill Development has a BEACON pilot kitchen on Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall.
“It’s pretty miraculous seeing going from blueprints to being at the construction site, seeing the infrastructure being laid down,” BEACON Director David Givens said
Check us out in Vinegar Hill Magazine…
New Hill Development Corporation got its start from a series of conversations about the history and future of Black wealth in Charlottesville. In early 2017, Wes Bellamy and Kathy Galvin, then City Council members, gathered a group of Black entrepreneurs and community leaders to talk about Black representation in city development. But the scope of the discussion quickly grew.
They wanted to develop sustainable economic power for Black communities, so they set out to understand the history of that power.
BEACON BLOG IS LIVE!
New Hill Development Corporation got its start from a series of conversations about the history and future of Black wealth in Charlottesville. In early 2017, Wes Bellamy and Kathy Galvin, then City Council members, gathered a group of Black entrepreneurs and community leaders to talk about Black representation in city development. But the scope of the discussion quickly grew.
They wanted to develop sustainable economic power for Black communities, so they set out to understand the history of that power.
A new hill to build on Envisioning a future for Black business in Charlottesville
New Hill Development Corporation got its start from a series of conversations about the history and future of Black wealth in Charlottesville. In early 2017, Wes Bellamy and Kathy Galvin, then City Council members, gathered a group of Black entrepreneurs and community leaders to talk about Black representation in city development. But the scope of the discussion quickly grew.
They wanted to develop sustainable economic power for Black communities, so they set out to understand the history of that power.
Yolunda Harrell Appears on Neighborhood Law Center's Latest Episode
Yolunda Harrell joined Melvin Burruss on the latest episode of Neighborhood Law Center to discuss New Hill Development Corporation.
Vinegar Hill Magazine: Determined to Stay
Yolunda Harrell is currently the CEO of the New Hill Development Corp., but on September 11, 2001, she was working for a major airline. After the terror attacks, she immediately found herself among tens of thousands of people in the industry without a job. She’d never before been unemployed.
“I didn’t know how to deal with that at all,” she said. “I was not financially prepared.”
She didn’t have any savings. She hadn’t invested in her company’s 401(k) retirement plan. “I just didn't take all of those things into consideration because no one had ever explained it to me,” she said. “As a result, I learned a lot of hard painful lessons.”
COVID-19 Update
We hope you and your families are healthy and safe. As you know, our community is facing unprecedented circumstances-- certainly not the March Madness some of us we were anticipating! Nonetheless, New Hill will work to provide the best possible service to our community during this time. Check out our March Newsletter to get all of the details on how New Hill Development Corporation is keeping its services up and running even as when the community is staying at home.
Find the newsletter here.
Cville Tomorrow: New Hill drafts plan to give Black Charlottesville reasons to stay
In the spring of 2019, New Hill Development Corporation and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) engaged Richmond-based firm Floricane to facilitate the development of a community engagement process and the creation of a Small Area Plan (SAP) for the Starr Hill community in Charlottesville
Later at a City Council Meeting, New Hill's Starr Hill Neighborhood Small Area Plan was referred to the city's Planning Commission for consideration of amending the Charlottesville Comprehensive Plan.
Learn more about the journey that made this incredible feat happen and the impact it aims to bring to the city of Charlottesville. Check out the Cville Tomorrow article.
New Hill receives Wells Fargo grant to continue financial empowerment efforts
Last week, Wells Fargo awarded the New Hill Development Corporation a grant to continue building financial empowerment in the Charlottesville community.
We are excited to announce their support, which comes at an important moment as we move forward with Operation Hope to develop avenues for wealth building and increase access to financial education in the city.
Yolunda Harrell guest appearance on the "I ❤️ CVille" radio show
On July 18th, Yolunda Harrell, C.E.O. of New Hill, joined host Jerry Miller on “I ❤️ CVille” to discuss her childhood, entrepreneurial spirit, and the vision for this community organization!
In the latter half of the interview, Harrell discussed the importance of financial coaching, and how New Hill and Operation Hope are here to help citizens of C’ville manage their finances. When a lot of wealthier individuals “have financial analysts or financial investment bankers that…help them grow it, help them retain it, and help them avoid pitfalls,” the goal of New Hill is ”to bring that opportunity to everyone.”
As Jerry Miller says, New Hill is “serving as an educational sounding board and resource network to aspiring entrepreneurs, current business owners, and folks that want to get into homeownership,” as well as “building generational impact on the community.” We’re excited to continue these efforts.
Check out the I ❤️ CVille article and watch the full interview.
V.A. Governor Northam signs executive order to advance minority business equity
On July 3rd, 2019, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam signed an executive order to expand resources and opportunities for V.A.’s small-, women-, minority-, and Veteran-owned businesses.
Speaking about the decision, Northam said “More than 97% of all businesses in Virginia are small businesses and they are truly the economic engine of this commonwealth,” and this executive order will help “level the playing field.”
Read the executive order and more about the decision here.
John Hope Bryant to Discuss Economic Inclusion in Charlottesville, Virginia
ATLANTA – June 10, 2019 – Operation HOPE Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer John Hope Bryant, will discuss economic inclusion at an event tomorrow in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the Vinegar Hill Theatre. Entitled “From Civil Rights to Silver Rights: Economic Prosperity through Inclusion,” the event will be hosted by New Hill Development Corporation. Bryant’s conversation will be facilitated by John Kluge, founder and managing director of Refugee Investment Network, and board member of New Hill Development Corporation.