$320M to Spur Affordable Housing in the Commonwealth

RICHMOND, VA-The development of affordable housing in the state of Virginia has gotten a multi-million dollar boost. Recent reports from the capital reveal the news that the Virginia Housing Development Authority will be allocating a total of $320 million to be issued in the form of tax-free bonds for the funding of housing initiatives to serve low- to moderate-income families. Companies proposing developments of multi-family housing for rent, as well as single family homes, will be able to take advantage of the bond allocations until 2005.

The funds originate from three different government sources. Gov. Mark R. Warner has agreed to funnel $97 million of his discretionary portion from the Virginia Private Activity Bond Program Volume Cap Allocation to VHDA. That sum is $7 million more than Warner had originally consented to contributing to the VHDA pot. “I am fulfilling the commitment I made at the Governor’s Housing Conference in September 2002 to provide VHDA with at least $90 million in allocation to be used for the preservation of existing affordable housing resources, housing revitalization, and projects that link housing to employment centers and social services,” Warner says.