Operating Budget 2025-2026

Affordable Housing Development Fund

Background: On June 28, 2022, Town Council passed a resolution to establish the Affordable Housing Development Fund to support and preserve affordable housing development for low and moderate-income residents. The New River Home Trust (NRHT) was established 2023 as a Community Land Trust, in partnership with the Town of Blacksburg and Montgomery County to support the families of Montgomery County, Virginia, through the development and stewardship of permanently affordable housing for low and moderate-income households. It operates as a program under Community Housing Partners whose mission is to create communities and homes that are healthy, sustainable, and affordable. The Town’s Affordable Housing Development fund will support the New River Home Trust and the Town’s affordable housing efforts. Several land use and zoning changes are also currently being considered to provide more affordability in the Blacksburg housing market. The community will start to see the benefits of these efforts in the coming years. Purpose: An affordable housing fund is an ongoing dedicated source of public funding designed to support the preservation and production of affordable housing. Since creating affordable housing is not very profitable for companies and organizations, affordable housing projects often require financial investment from multiple public sources. Federal and State programs also require a matching local investment in order to receive funding for an affordable housing project. The Town of Blacksburg’s Affordable Housing Development Fund is a Special Revenue Fund that provides a flexible source of local funding to leverage other public, private, and philanthropic investments in affordable housing or support investments by filling gaps in funding that would not otherwise be filled through existing public programs. The intent of the fund is as follows: • Increase affordable housing for low to moderate-income households, located near workplaces, public services, schools, and public transit locations. • Focus on housing for permanent residents, thus promoting the diversity and vitality of Blacksburg neighborhoods. • Preserve existing affordable housing through renovations, repairs, and retrofitting. Process: The Affordable Housing Development fund will provide assistance to low and moderate-income households in the Town of Blacksburg by providing no-interest loans and grants to for-profit and nonprofit housing developers and organizations for the acquisition, capital and other related costs necessary for the creation of long-term affordable rental and owner-occupied housing in the town. Beneficiaries must have a gross household income of 120% of the Area Medium Income (AMI) or less, with priority given to households at 80% or below the AMI, according to income limits annually updated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Funds will be allocated based on the Town’s Program Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria document approved by Town Council. Town Housing and Community Connections staff, in conjunction with the Housing and Community Development Advisory Board, evaluated various options to help further affordable housing in Blacksburg. Through this effort, the creation of the Affordable Housing Development Fund was recommended as the best viable option and mechanism to partner with for-profit and non-profit developers to help create much needed additional affordable housing in the community. The program description of the Affordable Housing Development Fund outlines the various parameters to ensure expenditures are expended in a fair and equitable manner. The Board worked with Housing staff to create the parameters based on the best practices from around the country. The parameters include eligible applicants and beneficiaries, long-term affordability considerations, and green building and energy efficiency guidelines.

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