Councilmembers and administrators flank Mayor Levar Stoney during Tuesday’s press conference. (Photo by Jonathan Spiers)
The same day that the city received a federal funding boost to improve housing availability for lower-income residents, city leaders declared a housing crisis in Richmond in an effort to drum up more action from stakeholders.
In a press conference Tuesday, Mayor Levar Stoney and a majority of City Council members announced they had introduced, at the council’s meeting Monday night, a resolution acknowledging that a housing crisis exists and calling for support from state government and private and nonprofit developers.
“It’s a call to action of the various levels of government, and private and philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, to join us in finding innovative solutions to this crisis. We need all hands on deck,” Stoney said.
The previous day, Stoney and councilmembers were on hand to accept a check from U.S. Sen. Mark Warner awarding $14 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist the city’s housing efforts.
Also on hand was Steven Nesmith, CEO of the Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority, who said the funds would be used in conjunction with the authority’s newly launched Richmond Development Corp., an investment affiliate for securing private-sector funding for transitional housing development and related efforts in the region.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, second from right, presents the check to councilmembers and RRHA CEO Steven Nesmith, third from left. (Photo courtesy Mark Warner’s office)
Earlier this year, Stoney announced a goal of creating 2,000 new homeownership opportunities for low-income Richmonders by 2030, with the city committing an initial $2 million investment to the cause. That’s in addition to a previously stated goal of adding 1,000 new lower-income housing units per year.
Stoney listed efforts aimed at achieving those goals, including the release of $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds into the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which Stoney said resulted in over 1,000 new rental units for lower-income households.
Other efforts include designating $10 million each year in the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan for income-based housing projects; $1.4 million in ARPA funds for a first-time homebuyer’s assistance program for city employees wanting to reside in Richmond; and $500,000 to support revolving loan programs for alternative homeownership opportunities, including manufactured homes.
Stoney also noted the city’s in-process rewrite of its zoning ordinance to encourage more housing types in Richmond and greater density along its transit corridors; efforts to streamline permitting and inspections; and support for redevelopment of the city’s subsidized housing communities. Stoney said the city is also considering a potential housing commission that would pull from public and private sectors.
“Today we stand together to show some urgency on this issue. Yes, it will take funding; yes, it will take us removing the choke points. But more than anything, we must send a message to our partners at the state level and the federal level and in the private sector that we need their help today,” Stoney said. “We’re going to do our part when it comes to investing and removing the choke points, but we can’t do this alone.”
Monday’s resolution lists statistics supporting the housing crisis designation, which Stoney reiterated. According to the resolution, 86 percent of extremely low-income renters in Virginia and metro Richmond are paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and more than 60 percent of Virginia renters saw rent increases this year, with black and Latino renters harder-hit.
Stoney said the current homeownership rate for black residents in Richmond is 32 percent, compared to about 60 percent for white residents, according to recent census data. He said 188 people were counted in January as living in unsheltered conditions in the metro area, a 15-year high.
Other stats include a shortage of more than 23,000 housing units in metro Richmond; one in five homes in the city are sold to out-of-state investors who are renting them at higher-than-traditional rates or flipping homes far above original sale prices; and 87 percent of evictions are being filed by out-of-state LLCs, with 15 landlords responsible for more than half of the city’s evictions, according to a recent RVA Eviction Lab report.
“These are complex challenges,” Stoney said. “They need all stakeholders at the table to find innovative solutions within these challenging economic times.”
The resolution calls for advocacy at the Virginia General Assembly for legislative reforms including inclusionary zoning, support for a long-term owner occupancy program, additional local authority relating to the state’s affordable housing density bonus, and eviction prevention services and policy reform.
It also acknowledges the city’s allocation of $5.84 million in ARPA funds toward a regional effort with Chesterfield and Henrico counties to create additional supportive housing to reduce homelessness in the region, among other city initiatives.
Councilmembers and administrators flank Mayor Levar Stoney during Tuesday’s press conference. (Photo by Jonathan Spiers)
The same day that the city received a federal funding boost to improve housing availability for lower-income residents, city leaders declared a housing crisis in Richmond in an effort to drum up more action from stakeholders.
In a press conference Tuesday, Mayor Levar Stoney and a majority of City Council members announced they had introduced, at the council’s meeting Monday night, a resolution acknowledging that a housing crisis exists and calling for support from state government and private and nonprofit developers.
“It’s a call to action of the various levels of government, and private and philanthropic and nonprofit sectors, to join us in finding innovative solutions to this crisis. We need all hands on deck,” Stoney said.
The previous day, Stoney and councilmembers were on hand to accept a check from U.S. Sen. Mark Warner awarding $14 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist the city’s housing efforts.
Also on hand was Steven Nesmith, CEO of the Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority, who said the funds would be used in conjunction with the authority’s newly launched Richmond Development Corp., an investment affiliate for securing private-sector funding for transitional housing development and related efforts in the region.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, second from right, presents the check to councilmembers and RRHA CEO Steven Nesmith, third from left. (Photo courtesy Mark Warner’s office)
Earlier this year, Stoney announced a goal of creating 2,000 new homeownership opportunities for low-income Richmonders by 2030, with the city committing an initial $2 million investment to the cause. That’s in addition to a previously stated goal of adding 1,000 new lower-income housing units per year.
Stoney listed efforts aimed at achieving those goals, including the release of $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds into the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which Stoney said resulted in over 1,000 new rental units for lower-income households.
Other efforts include designating $10 million each year in the city’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan for income-based housing projects; $1.4 million in ARPA funds for a first-time homebuyer’s assistance program for city employees wanting to reside in Richmond; and $500,000 to support revolving loan programs for alternative homeownership opportunities, including manufactured homes.
Stoney also noted the city’s in-process rewrite of its zoning ordinance to encourage more housing types in Richmond and greater density along its transit corridors; efforts to streamline permitting and inspections; and support for redevelopment of the city’s subsidized housing communities. Stoney said the city is also considering a potential housing commission that would pull from public and private sectors.
“Today we stand together to show some urgency on this issue. Yes, it will take funding; yes, it will take us removing the choke points. But more than anything, we must send a message to our partners at the state level and the federal level and in the private sector that we need their help today,” Stoney said. “We’re going to do our part when it comes to investing and removing the choke points, but we can’t do this alone.”
Monday’s resolution lists statistics supporting the housing crisis designation, which Stoney reiterated. According to the resolution, 86 percent of extremely low-income renters in Virginia and metro Richmond are paying more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and more than 60 percent of Virginia renters saw rent increases this year, with black and Latino renters harder-hit.
Stoney said the current homeownership rate for black residents in Richmond is 32 percent, compared to about 60 percent for white residents, according to recent census data. He said 188 people were counted in January as living in unsheltered conditions in the metro area, a 15-year high.
Other stats include a shortage of more than 23,000 housing units in metro Richmond; one in five homes in the city are sold to out-of-state investors who are renting them at higher-than-traditional rates or flipping homes far above original sale prices; and 87 percent of evictions are being filed by out-of-state LLCs, with 15 landlords responsible for more than half of the city’s evictions, according to a recent RVA Eviction Lab report.
“These are complex challenges,” Stoney said. “They need all stakeholders at the table to find innovative solutions within these challenging economic times.”
The resolution calls for advocacy at the Virginia General Assembly for legislative reforms including inclusionary zoning, support for a long-term owner occupancy program, additional local authority relating to the state’s affordable housing density bonus, and eviction prevention services and policy reform.
It also acknowledges the city’s allocation of $5.84 million in ARPA funds toward a regional effort with Chesterfield and Henrico counties to create additional supportive housing to reduce homelessness in the region, among other city initiatives.
Beware: The zoning policy changes we are seeing are more about benefiting developers than the public. Richmond300 has set the stage for totally ignoring citizens.
Aren’t you the guy who is opposed to virtually all building? How are YOU solving a “housing crisis”?
Did I oppose development in Scott’s Addition? Manchester? I guess you are unfamiliar with the affordable housing work done by the Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council. I am sure there’s many corporate sycophants who will dishonestly smear Richmond citizens who resist their agenda.
The biggest tool in their box is the real estate tax assessment. If they are serious about providing affordable housing disbursed around the city (instead of solely within public housing projects) then they need to provide that tool to the private sector. The Multifamily Council of HBAR will sit in a heartbeat with the city staff and Council to forge an agreement. It’s been on the table for years. Stop pretending that you need fed funds Mayor. You have the funds!
I agree with you 100% about the real estate tax, Bruce. As a longtime home owner, my assessment and real estate tax goes up tremendously every year. Contractors are also charging a lot more for repairs and maintenance due to inflation and supply chain issues. These costs get passed on to renters by their landlords. Relief actions by the city focus on the poorest of the poor. They seem to ignore people like me who have full time jobs who are now struggling just to get by.
Like the predatorial landlords charging $3,000 a month for a house that’s assessed at $180,000 thus paying far less than their fair share? Landlords should start paying taxes based on what they are charging tenants, owner occupiers are picking up the bill while the landlords take their profits out of the city.
So if you owned a $180,000 house, and someone said they would rent it for $3,000, you would tell them no that is too much rent – it wouldn’t be fair for me to accept your $3,000 per month? I can’t speak for large apartment complexes, but small 1-2 unit landlords pay income taxes on the $3,000 per month rental income. Why not purchase a $180,000 house because the mortgage will be FAR less than $3,000 per month. Will that house be in a super desirable area? Probably not, but you should start building equity instead of throwing away your… Read more »
The article should have been titled Outgoing (lame-duck) Mayor announces another tool (and bullet line for flier) for his future run for statewide office. Funny 6 years into his administration and suddenly it is an urgent crisis. But with 18 months left in his term now is the perfect time to announce “BIG” plans that with make “DRAMATIC” changes that he won’t be in office so the actual results will not matter. Hell, I doubt before he leaves office the permits for the Diamond will be issued let alone a significant improvement in the lack of affordable housing.
“$14 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to assist the city’s housing efforts.” The City wants MORE of this federal $$, so they will continue the “housing crisis”. When it is federal money, the other 49 state’s taxpayers are assisting Mayor Stoney in Richmond Virginia. The “crisis” is that requirements for subsidized housing have been lowered and many applicants receive $100, $200, $300 per month subsidy. – AND you can live anywhere where the landlord will accept payment directly from HUD. So with this ease of subsidy, yeah, there will be a crisis of availability. I… Read more »
Your complaint is milder than the reality — what tends to happen when local govts get money from the feds is WASTE — and then they tell their voters that “no [local] tax money was used” I first saw this in Albany, NY when they built a palatial bus stop kiosk for 600k in 1992 dollars — it was newsworthy enough that it made the local news and I was on TV because a “man on the street” reporter stopped me to ask about it because I regularly caught a college bus there. The local politicians said it was useitorloseit… Read more »
In reference to your comment about out of state LLCs, I believe what the author/article is intending to convey is that we have an enormous issue with investors coming into RVA and buying up stock. The same isn’t true for less than desirable cities but since RVA is exploding in popularity investors (both private and companies) see us as an opportunity to turn a huge profit. They can only turn a profit if their renters pay rent. 1 in 5 homeowners is an out of state entity (20%) but 87% of evictions are filed by out of state entities. The… Read more »
You are describing Blackstone. But if you are a shareholder in Blackstone, do you care what state the shareholder profits come from? Lastly, if the city wants to reduce evictions, which is an admirable goal, then that is an entirely separate issue.
We do have a problem with out of state LLCS, and they are just paying lip service to that. Unfortunately, the new zoning ordinances they are attempting to put through will do nothing but create more of the same while lining the pockets of a few.
Would be great if the city would sell most of their property portfolio to free up some space to build needed housing or at least generate money to do so where needed.
This should read “Incompetent Mayor demands that others do his job” — “Stakeholders” is always a communist Red Flag of thieves in business suits. This guy can’t even get his own jobs done, but spends a lot of time at the bully pulpit demanding that others do theirs. How about making it easier to build more units? Leftists always squeal that “this helps developers, not people!!!” but developers are not only people, but also the people who create homes — the people, like those in the energy industry, that solve scarcity problems. To those who say that “these homes will… Read more »
Here’s the crisis in housing: While serving as mayor, Dwight Jones somehow managed to buy blocks upon blocks of lots up and down Hull Street and become the largest private real estate owner in the city on top of acquiring properties in Florida. This while working on his mayor salary of $125K/year and as pastor of a church whose members come from the poorest area of the city. Stoney and the new generation of brazenly corrupt pigs have already been in for five years and are behind the pace on the game of “how shamelessly and openly can we loot… Read more »
Notice how all of the politicians in this picture are smiling holding that check. Housing in the City of Richmond will now be more affordable…for them…after it’s all split up!
Giving these people a check for that amount of money to fix affordable housing is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.
Solution to housing shortage. First go down to City Planning department and burn the following things. Limiting the city’s 1880’s height limit to 35 feet raise to 50 feet or remove it. Remove Single Family housing all togetter or raise it to allow two to four units on a piece of land that way you can have four units stacked on another another to make more space. Which is will getting rid of the thing above has to happen first. Third legalize large muti story buildings as in 10 t0 20 story tall buildings in all parts of the city… Read more »
“In ‘call to action,’ city residents declare leadership crisis in Richmond”
People from Richmond are slowly getting pushed out of Richmond by design. The majority of homes will be out priced and the minorities will get the lesser end of the homes on the out skirts or in other counties that they can afford.
Why will only the minorities be pushed to the outskirts or other counties?
There’s no affordable housing crisis. There’s a ton of affordable housing in Petersburg and the Tri-Cities, and other areas outside of Richmond. True, Richmond is booming and housing prices are going up here — very much so — but that’s because of high demand. This always happens when a place becomes popular. Manhattan became expensive, so people moved to Brooklyn, then Dumbo, then Harlem, etc. And this isn’t an American phenomenon. Look at Tokyo, or London, or Paris, or Mexico City. There’s no need to artificially force lower rents and prices. Doing so prevents other areas from expanding and becoming… Read more »
The city’s own policies are part of what is driving the affordability crisis. My assessment is up 90% in 5 years with zero renovations. Add to that expiring tax abatements and the increased tax burden is triple. The tax rate hasn’t been adjusted in 15 years, yet assessments are up 200-300%. Where is the leadership? Where is the outcry?
Hear, hear! I’ve got my pitchfork, just tell me when!
Henrico County should have plenty of places to live with all the building going on -if. You can afford it.
I find that most first time home buyers have a much different definition of a starter home than I do. The housing shortage in only in certain areas – not in all of Henrico. For example there are 22 starter homes under $200K in Henrico. Granted, they are not in the most desirable areas, but that is why they call them starter homes.