RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond non-profit and city leaders gathered off Dove Street in Northside to break ground on a new neighborhood they said will be a model for increasing the affordable housing stock in the city, where market forces have pushed home prices to unattainable levels for many residents.
Known as Highland Grove, the mixed-income community will include more than 120 single family units, including detached homes, duplexes, and triplexes. Official said around half of the stock in the neighborhood — which sits between Barton Heights and Highland Park — will be reserved for first time home buyers.
The project reached this point after more than a decade of twist and turn. The Dove Court Public Housing complex was razed in 2008, and officials said the global recession, market conditions, and the pandemic stopped the project from moving forward in the intervening years.
Now, project leaders said about 95 of the lots will be ready for purchase next year.
“Over the course of the last decade, we've experienced the pandemic, we've experienced economic downturn," said Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. "But what hasn't changed is the commitment and devotion to ensuring this project gets off the ground."
"In a community of inclusion, housing choices have to be made available to everybody," said Richmond City Council member Ellen Robertson, who said she has worked on the project for twenty years.
The Better Housing Coalition is leading the development of the project, include site and lot preparations. Local housing organizations will then partner with Highland Grove buyers with lower household income to assist in the financing for their purchase. Those organizations include The Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, project: HOMES, and Richmond Metro Habitat for Humanity.
"The homes will be selling at the same price points, and either through subsidies or down payment and closing cost assistance grants, we'll be able to hit those different household income levels," said Greta Harris, president of the Better Housing Coalition. "The price points will go from the low 200s up to about 400 or even north of 400, so it truly will be a mixed income community.”
The median price for a single family home in Richmond this year is currently $422,800, according to the Richmond Association of Realtors, which is more than double from just a decade ago. While high-rent apartments and pricey flip-jobs pop up all over downtown, city leaders see Highland Grove as a way of getting more Richmonders on the path to homeownership.
"We have people already calling about when are the houses going to be ready for sale, so there’s a pent up demand for just trying to have the American dream of home ownership," Harris said. "The folks who live with us enhance the quality of life for our region. They’re the ones taking care of your kids in daycare; they’re helping take care of your elderly parents; they’re serving you food in our great restaurants.”
The initial lots are slated to be ready for sale late next year. Model homes and a website for the community will be launched for interested home buyers in early 2025, Harris said.
Anyone who wants help with the home buying process can visit the Better Housing Coalition's website for resources, including information on the Home Buyers Club.
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