Charlottesville seeking applicants for housing funds

Charlottesville City Council adopted an affordable housing plan in March 2021 that calls for $10 million a year in investment in programs and initiatives to expand the amount of units that are guaranteed to be rented or sold to people with incomes below sixty percent of the area median income. 

On Tuesday, the city announced it is seeking proposals from groups for city funding to help subsidize the cost of major projects. 

“This application process is open to those multi-family affordable housing development projects, proposed to be located within City limits, that may be requesting significant investment consideration for which developers may be desiring to ask the City to assist with gap funding,” reads the press release for the announcement.

The ideal use of the funding is to help with applications for Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which are distributed by the entity formerly known as the Virginia Housing Development Authority. No set amount is specified and the applications will be used to help make decisions in the Capital Improvement Program budget. 

The current capital improvement includes $3 million for the Charlottesville Housing and Redevelopment Authority in the adopted fiscal year and another $9 million over the following three years. Piedmont Housing Alliance has $2.5 million in the current fiscal year for Friendship Court plus another $7.75 million over the following four years.

To be eligible for funding, groups must be either a nonprofit organization or the CRHA. Applicants must not be in violation of any federal, state, or local regulations and affordability must be for households lower than 60 percent of the area median income for a period of at least 30 years. The preferred term is 99 years. 

The five-year capital budget also includes placeholders of $3 million for a Piedmont Housing Alliance project at the site of the Monticello Area Community Action Agency and $1.95 million for Piedmont Housing Alliance at Park Street Christian Church. Council approved rezonings for both earlier this year. 

Applications for funding are due on November 30 at 4 p.m.

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