RICHMOND, Va. — The Winchester Greens living community in Chesterfield is about 20 years old and it's expanding with affordable housing top of mind for developers.
Winchester Greens is one example of a housing model that Greta Harris, president of the Better Housing Coalition, believes will make living in Richmond more feasible, no matter who you are or how much you make.
"Housing it been an ongoing issue, not only here in Richmond, but across the country and I think as the lack of housing supply has grown, Housing affordability is not just an issue for lower income households, but across the socioeconomic spectrum," Harris said.
In addition to the Winchester Green community, CBS 6 toured five other housing developments in the greater Richmond area with Harris and stakeholders from the National Housing Project Network.
These housing developments specifically target first-time home buyers and low-income earners to give them an economic leg up at a time when buying a home is more expensive than ever.
"In the last five years we've seen the income that's needed to purchase a home in our region double from about $60,000 a year of household income to $120,000," Harris said.
The tour coincides with a National Housing Project Network seminar focused on exchanging ideas for scalable housing development solutions.
Richmond Mayor Danny Avula says housing is the biggest crisis facing the Richmond community and needs to be top of mind.
"It's really important for the leading figures around affordable housing to get together to share best practices and that's a lot of what we hope will come out of this time. We're really glad to have these experts here in Richmond and have new ideas about policy investment and new opportunity to actually build more affordable housing because this has to be the focus for the next few years for the rest of the city," Avula said.
Harris emphasized the fundamental importance of housing for personal advancement.
"Housing is so very fundamental for anyone to be able to realize their dreams. It's a launching point for anyone whether it's furthering their education or finding a living wage career ladder job or just making sure their family is healthy and safe," Harris said.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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