Address Roanoke Housing Shortage The new Workforce Housing Development Fund, approved by Roanoke City Council recently, will provide low-interest loans to developers who create new affordable housing units through rehabilitation or new construction.
The City will jumpstart the fund with an initial $2 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds; meanwhile, Business Seed Capital, Inc., a local community development financial institution, will partner with the City to manage the fund.
The authorization of a Workforce Housing Development Fund is just the latest action by the City to support both an increase in the overall supply of housing and the availability of affordable housing.
“This fund is part of a larger strategy to address an acute housing shortage in the Roanoke Valley and beyond,” says Chris Chittum, Executive Director of Community Development and Placemaking for the City of Roanoke. “Our City planners are striving to advance strategies that include development incentives as well as the removal of development barriers imposed by zoning codes.”
Chittum says that an initial set of zoning reforms adopted by City Council in 2021 removed barriers to housing, and a second zoning reform package is in the works for early 2024. “Other parts of the strategy include focusing HUD funds on production, creating an inventory of development sites, and reorganizing City staff assignments to place more emphasis on housing development,” Chittum says.
Additional recent actions and initiatives by the City to both increase the overall supply of housing and the availability of affordable housing include the following: Zoning reform allowing multifamily residential uses in commercial zoning districts which has enabled redevelopment of underperforming hotels into new multifamily housing and allowing placement of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in all residential districts.•Affordable housing funds for Southeast Roanoke through COVID relief programs with Habitat for Humanity and TAP (Total Action for Progress).•HOME-ARP (HOME Investment Partnerships American Rescue Plan Program), ESG (Emergency Solutions Grant), and ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding to prevent homelessness as well as to provide housing for those formerly homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.•Support for applications for state and federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) projects.•The Healthy Homes Roanoke initiative to provide funding to rid existing homes of hazards such as mold and lead paint.
