Sursum Corda Village

Sursum Corda Village was created as part of an effort to provide decent, affordable housing for low-income families being displaced by urban renewal projects, such as the construction of a new football field for Gonzaga High School.  Several Gonzaga and Georgetown alums were active in the planning and financing of the 199 unit development.  Many of the people displaced by the football field were also engaged in the planning and eventually became some of the first residents.  The Religious of the Sacred Heart moved into a six-bedroom townhouse at 1124 McKenna Walk in the fall of 1969.  For the next twenty five years, over thirty RSCJ would live and work in the neighborhood, serving as teachers in nearby schools, doing community organizing, offering legal aid, nursing care, housing counselling and recreation programs. Sursum Corda was torn down during the winter of 2018-19 and will be replaced by a much denser, mixed income development which will include commercial space. Those residents who were displaced were given housing vouches and are invited to return to the new development when Phase One is completed.