Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced a new round of funding for the Virginia Workforce Housing Investment Program. The program focuses on increasing middle-income housing in areas of economic investment across the Commonwealth. The program, administered through Virginia Housing, will gain an additional $15 million in funding to expand local housing options.
The Virginia Workforce Housing Investment Program was launched nearly a year ago to align the state’s housing development with the economic and population growth. It was created in conjunction with Executive Order 42, which formally ties economic development to workforce housing supply by synergizing economic development announcements and housing availability in the State.
In total, the Virginia Workforce Housing Investment Program has $75 million to distribute over five years with the potential to catalyze $750 million, according to state officials. The funding will go towards constructing 5,000 units of workforce housing in conjunction with economic development projects and in partnership with the private sector and localities.
The program seeks to increase the workforce housing supply in areas that have new or expanding businesses. It provides loans, loan subsidies, and grants to support communities developing housing for homeowners and renters making 80% – 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI) or up to 150% of AMI in rural areas. The program also issues awards up to $3 million available to localities within a set radius of a new or expanding business, where a qualified job announcement was made within the previous fiscal year, and other awards up to $5 million available for transformational projects of 500 new jobs or more.
The program includes efforts to increase its effectiveness and broaden its impact through implemented enhancements, such as extending rural communities eligible for the program,
allowing more flexibility for matching funds and refining program guidelines to better leverage available resources.
The first round of funding for the program was announced in May. $16.9 million was distributed to 10 localities, creating 740 workforce housing units. The projects also leveraged over $254 million in private investment. Building on its previous success, this program funding round will similarly drive additional private investment in housing developments.
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