January 25, 2024
Russell Blanton, Ann Casavant, Deshawn Woolridge, Lucy Durrett, Marquis Feggins
Located in Henrico County, Virginia, The Apartments at Kingsridge features 167 apartments for families just east of Richmond. CHP completed the construction of Kingsridge in three phases between 2018 and 2022 using innovative construction techniques and a commitment to green building standards. CHP’s Ann Casavant and Lucy Durrett serve as the Property Manager and Assistant Property Manager, respectively. CHP’s Deshawn Woolridge serves as Janitorial/Grounds, and Russell Blanton and Marquis Feggins serve as Maintenance Technicians.
Introduce yourself and share a bit about your background in property management.
I’m Ann Casavant, and I have 17 years of experience in property management. The first property I ever worked at was 100% tax credit, and my current property is 100%. Everything in between was blended.
How long have you been managing this property?
I joined the CHP team in February 2020 and have been at Kingsridge since it was just phase 1.
What makes this property unique or distinctive within the community?
I think because we’re so new and we do have excellent curb appeal, it makes Kingsridge a go-to place. We did the lease-ups for phase two and phase three with word-of-mouth advertising only!
What’s the most unique feature of this property that residents love?
I think the apartments have a wow factor. When you walk in, you just go, “Whoa.” You can’t believe this is low-income housing.
Can you share any success stories or positive feedback from residents?
We have a group of residents that we absolutely adore. They came from a community where you couldn’t go outside because it was not safe. They walk up here every day to our office to say hello. One of them needs physical therapy, so she rides the stationary bicycles every day and then stops by to say, “We’re on the way out.” I really think that their quality of living has been improved by being able to live here.
What is something you like or appreciate about the community?
The willingness of the people in the area to network with us to bring in programs that are needed. We network a lot, and this is a great area. Organizations like the Henrico Police Department, Henrico Parks and Recreation, and the Henrico County Public Library are more than willing to help support local communities. We are currently working to engage the youth at our property because they can be so hard to get to know. So we are trying to engage them as many ways as we can so we can get to know their names and their homes and set up some of the programs we’ve been wanting and are now able to put into place. Recently, we were able to get the Feed More Freddie bus here. It is a bright green bus, and our youngsters aged 6-18 can go on the bus and shop for healthy foods.
What qualities make this property a great place to call home?
I think just the fact that we care makes it a little bit better. We’re not the typical office – the first thing we ask is, “How can we help you?” If the resident or potential resident is in a bad mood, that automatically changes the way they feel. They may be angry, but before Lucy is finished talking to them, they’re calm and collected, and she’s asking about their kids and how their Christmas was. That makes people want to be here.