by Madison Hirneisen
The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development is distributing more than $93 million in housing loans to support housing projects across the commonwealth that are estimated to create nearly 4,000 units for low-income and extremely low-income households, according to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office.
The $93 million in Affordable and Special Needs Housing loans administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development will support 57 projects in various parts of the state. In total, the projects are estimated to create 3,936 units for low-income and extremely low-income households, including 298 permanent supportive housing units, 3,825 rental units and 111 units for homeownership opportunities, according to the governor’s office.
“Stable and affordable housing is vital to building a thriving economy, and we are aligning housing development resources to holistically fill this need across Virginia,” Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick said in a statement Friday. “Increasing the supply of affordable housing is integral to our economic development efforts as we continue to build an economy that works for all Virginians.”
The housing loans come as Virginia grapples with a shortage of affordable rental units. According to a 2021 report from the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, Virginia has a statewide shortage of more than 200,000 affordable rental units for low-income and extremely low-income households.
While every region across the state is experiencing a shortage of affordable housing units, Northern Virginia and its bordering regions have the greatest need for affordable housing units, the report found. JLARC estimates the region is in need of roughly 80,000 affordable rental units.
Several housing organizations in Arlington, Fairfax and Prince William counties are slated to receive millions in Affordable and Special Needs Housing loans to support affordable housing projects. Organizations in Charlottesville, Culpeper, Portsmouth, Lynchburg and Richmond are also among the dozens of housing groups set to receive loans.
The loans, which are overseen by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, combine state and federal funding resources. According to the governor’s office, 61 applications were received for this round of funding, requesting more than $108 million.
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Madison Hirneisen is a staff reporter covering Virginia and Maryland for The Center Square. Madison previously covered California for The Center Square out of Los Angeles, but recently relocated to the DC area.
Photo “Davis and Kara Buy a House” by Nan Palmero. CC BY 2.0.
