Over four years have passed since Charlottesville City Council adopted a policy that set a moral commitment to spend $10 million on initiatives to address housing affordability.
“A commitment of $10 million annually would double the City’s supply of permanently affordable housing, while stabilizing an additional 2,000 owner and renter households directly,” reads page 9 of the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Plan adopted by Council on March 1, 2021.
That funding has been distributed through several accounts including the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund and the Housing Operations and Program Support (HOPS) grant program.
Another pool is the Capital Improvement Plan and this week the city issued a request for information for groups who are interested in obtaining large amounts of funding to finance housing restricted to households below certain limits.
“The City of Charlottesville invites developers or organizations with a vision for a multi-family affordable housing project that may require substantial City funding—potentially exceeding existing grant programs or spanning multiple fiscal years— to share their capital investment needs for possible City financial support during Fiscal Years 2027 through 2032,” reads an information release sent out on August 11.
This is the fourth time the city has asked for this information.
In the round from November 2022, the city received $33.4 million in requests.
In the round for 2023, the city received $39.163 million in requests including $3 million from Preservation of Affordable Housing for an affordable housing project at 1000 Wertland Street. Council declined to fund that request. That project also failed to qualify for low-income housing tax credits in the 2025 round overseen by Virginia Housing.
The capital budget for the current fiscal year includes $12.7 million for housing and the entire five-year CIP for housing is planned at nearly $53 million. Here’s what that includes:
- There is $5 million in FY26 for Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s redevelopment of Westhaven. There is an additional $10 million for this project spread across FY27 and FY28.
- There is a blanket $3 million for “public housing redevelopment” in FY26
- Piedmont Housing Alliance received $1 million in FY26 for their project to build housing at 501 Cherry Avenue. This project qualified for nearly $1.7 million in low-income housing tax credits in the 2025 cycle overseen by the state agency formerly known as the Virginia Housing Development Authority. This project has a total city investment of $3.15 million.
- The CRHA will receive another $900,000 toward their supplemental rental assistance program in FY26.
- Habitat for Humanity and Piedmont Housing Alliance will get $1.33 million for the purchase of the Carlton Mobile Home Park. This is the first payment on an $8.7 million commitment from the city.
Before you go: This particular story was posted on August 13, 2025 in an edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement And then posted here! What is here? You tell me? Leave a comment.
