Queen Latifah is giving back to her hometown of Newark, New Jersey, by spearheading an affordable housing development in the area.
The rapper and actress, real name Dana Owens, visited the city where she was born on Tuesday for the groundbreaking on the new development.
“I’m a little bit emotional that we got walls up, we got windows,” she said, according to NorthJersey.com.
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The 76-unit development named RISE Living, is located just outside of downtown Newark. The mixed-use project will also include 20 townhouses at market rate prices. Rents will start around $1800 a month.
The development is being spearheaded by The BlueSugar Corporation, which Latifah co-founded. Life Assets Development and GonSosa Development are building partners.
“I grew up around here playing in West Side Park, a block away,” Latifah said. “My grandfather’s hardware store was blocks from here. I drove past this block. I saw what was needed on this block… so I thought ‘why not here?’”
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, and other local leaders joined the rapper and actress for the emotional groundbreaking ceremony.
The project’s name, RISE, is both a nod to “rise up” and an acronym for “Rita is Still Everywhere,” a tribute to Latifah’s late mother Rita Owens, a former Newark school teacher.
“It took a while, but we stayed with it,” Latifah said. “We want to really continue to bring us into the future and give the youth an opportunity to stay right here and create and grow.”
Watch the video from the ceremony below.
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