HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A new community in the East End of Henrico County is helping residents achieve the dream of homeownership through an affordable housing initiative approved by county leaders last year.
The first homes in the Sandston Parkside Townes subdivision are now complete, with 20% of the homes being sold through the county's affordable housing trust initiative.
The program provides grants to both nonprofit and for-profit entities to help offset costs associated with residential developments, ultimately lowering sale prices for buyers.
"Having the mix of price points and consumers here just makes for a much better project," said Jonathan Ridout with HHHunt Homes, who collaborated with Henrico County and organizations like the Partnership for Housing Affordability on the development.
Ridout and his team worked to make the homes as affordable as possible while maintaining quality.
"We were very intentional with this community of trying to make the prices as affordable as we could. So we did a lot of creative ways to trim out some of the square footage, to get very efficient with our designs, and then offer the most that we could for the price," Ridout said.
The affordable housing initiative specifically targets people with incomes between 60% and 120% of the area's median income. Through negotiations with developers and lenders, the trust is reducing home prices in this subdivision by nearly $100,000.
"We get to impact someone's life with a single, probably most expensive purchase that they'll make. And we have the ability to have a positive impact on that," said Eric Leabough, Henrico County Director of Community Revitalization.
Henrico County has allocated $7 million from a $60 million fund aimed at building affordable housing, with plans for 75 homes across the county. This fund comes from undesignated tax revenues generated by the county's data center industry.
"It's huge. We're bringing more product on the market, which will help from a supply standpoint, which hopefully would lower sales prices. But we're also making sure that there's an affordable component," Leabough said.
The county and developers remain committed to connecting more individuals with the project, believing everyone should have the opportunity to own a home.
"To be able to contribute to someone's life in such a meaningful way. That's what warms our heart. That's why we do it," Leabough said.
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