Habitat Breaks Ground on Austin Landing Development in Newport News
Community leaders, volunteers, Habitat supporters and future homebuyers gathered March 10 in Newport News to celebrate the groundbreaking of Austin Landing, a four-home development by Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg that will expand affordable homeownership opportunities in the community.
The ceremony marked the official start of construction on the homes, which will be built in partnership with local families who have qualified through Habitat’s homeownership program.
“Days like today remind us just how powerful it is when a community comes together around a shared purpose,” said Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg board President-Elect Brandon Knight, who welcomed attendees and emphasized the importance of partnerships that make projects like this possible.
Local officials, nonprofit partners, faith leaders and sponsors joined the event, while others participated through a livestream of the ceremony.
“Together, we are building more than homes,” said Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg CEO Shauntrice Williams. “We are building stronger communities.”
The Austin Landing site carries a deep and meaningful history for the Newport News community—one rooted in faith, service and collective action. As shared during the ceremony by Carver Memorial Presbyterian Church Pastor Dr. Brian J. Wells, the land was once home to The Road Ahead Center (TRAC), a ministry established in 1978 through a coalition of local churches committed to meeting community needs beyond their sanctuary walls.
Originally an industrial site that housed a carpet factory, the property was transformed into a hub for outreach and support. For more than four decades, TRAC served as a vital resource for families in Newport News’ east end, providing food, clothing and guidance through the collective efforts of Carver Memorial and more than 20 partner congregations, along with countless volunteers and community supporters.
“For years, this place has served as a hub for passion, service and partnership,” Wells noted during his remarks, reflecting on the site’s legacy of meeting people where they are and helping them find a path forward.
That legacy continues in a new form through Austin Landing.
Habitat homes are sold to qualified families with low to moderate incomes through affordable mortgages rather than being given away. Homebuyers must meet financial qualifications, maintain good credit and complete at least 300 hours of “sweat equity.” That work includes volunteering in Habitat ReStores, attending homebuyer education classes and helping build Habitat homes—including their own. The program is designed to help families achieve stable homeownership while strengthening the communities where the homes are built.
This Habitat development is named Austin Landing in honor of Lorraine and Ed Austin, whose leadership and support helped establish Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg.
Lorraine Austin founded the Habitat affiliate with a small group of community members who believed affordable housing was essential to a healthy community. As the organization’s first executive director, she helped lay the foundation for a program that has since helped hundreds of families achieve homeownership.
Ed Austin supported the effort behind the scenes, both as the family’s primary wage earner and as a volunteer on Habitat construction sites.
The new development honors the couple’s shared belief that communities can create opportunity when they work together.
Austin Landing is being developed in partnership with Newport News Housing and Redevelopment Authority and Sentara Health. The project is also supported by local sponsors, including CVP Windows & Doors and Ferguson, which are providing donated materials such as windows, doors, plumbing supplies and fixtures for the homes.
These in-kind contributions help reduce construction costs and allow Habitat to continue selling homes at no profit through long-term affordable mortgages. Mortgage payments are then reinvested to help build additional homes in the region.
Construction on the four homes will begin immediately, marking the next step toward providing new housing opportunities for families in Newport News.
As highlighted during the ceremony, the transformation of this site—from a place that once offered guidance and basic needs to a place that will provide permanent housing—reflects a powerful continuity of purpose.
For the families who will live at Austin Landing and for the volunteers and partners helping to build it, the project marks not just the start of construction, but the continuation of a legacy rooted in service, dignity and hope.
