Homes under construction in Richmond, Va. (Sarah Vogelsong / Virginia Mercury)
Virginia launched a workforce housing pilot program this summer aimed at both attracting economic development to the southern and southwestern portions of the state and bolstering local affordable housing supply.
With $2 million in allocated funding, the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission launched the program in late July. For-profit and nonprofit developers can now apply for the funding on a rolling basis to help with site development, infrastructure, or direct housing construction costs. The units built with the funding can be for purchase or for rent, but the goal is to help people live where they work.
“We have all heard the stories about folks being priced out of homes or unable to buy,” said Stephen Versen, deputy director of the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. “While that is of course a serious issue, the economic development impact of having a lack of workforce housing can also be huge.”
As more companies are developing worksites in rural areas of Virginia — contributing factors for job and population growth — the lack of affordable housing is becoming too hard to ignore, noted Del. Danny Marshall, R- Danville, a member of the commission.
He also pointed to an upcoming housing summit taking place in the area next month where contractors, bankers, home renovators, architects and community housing advocates are encouraged to attend.
Versen said that as of mid-September, four applications have been received through the online portal and several localities have reached out to learn more about the pilot.
“This is a new pilot so we’re excited to see what we can learn and I hope a decision can be made on awards by May (2025) at the latest,” he said.
The Tobacco Region Commission will have had a few meetings by then and applications will have more formally progressed.
Meanwhile, Marshall pointed to the Berry Hill megasite in Pittsylvania County as a prime example of where the program could be implemented. The publicly-owned space spans over 3,500 acres near Danville and has emerged as a development-ready site that could attract various companies in the area.
“It’s gonna take a while to build,” he said of some ongoing developments at Berry Hill. “So at the same time, we wanted to go ahead and help with workforce housing.”
While Berry Hill continues to catch the eye of businesses — some of which may want to tap into the workforce housing program — fellow commission member Sen. Lashresce Aird, D-Petersburg, noted how the program can help boost other areas of Virginia’s former Tobacco Region.
Her district, anchored in Petersburg, spans southward to include Sussex, Surry, Dinwiddie and Prince George counties along with the city of Hopewell.
As parts of her district and others in the commission’s purview seek to attract new industries, “housing continues to be a big strain on how we’re going to get workers to come here.”
Aird said that not only can the program help with affordable housing options but it can “further attract a new industry or company to look in a place where they might not have looked before.”
Interested applicants can submit here and additional details are on the commission’s website.
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