As of April 22, three homes have been purchased through Henrico County’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The program, launched in July 2024, aims to reduce the cost of a home for qualifying first-time home buyers.
During the program’s inaugural year, Henrico invested $60 million using annual tax revenue generated from the county’s growing data center industry. The county is also offering developers incentives like fee waivers and expedited planning reviews to reach its goal of reducing the price of 150 new homes each year.
So far, there are around 72 homes under construction according to the Partnership for Housing Affordability, a local housing nonprofit that administers the program and promotes participation among other housing nonprofits, private builders and developers.
Last summer, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D–Va.) met with county officials and suggested that the program could serve as a model for other communities. Jovan Burton, PHA’s executive director, said he’s proud of the progress the program has made so far.
“I think the foundations that we've laid will have a very successful program,” Burton told VPM News. “We're trying to fill a gap that is out there of buyers through a public-private partnership to create a product in the market that is not out there.”
Each potential development is reviewed by a committee made up of representatives from Henrico and PHA, which then outlines terms for each participating developer — including the number and sales price of the homes and the income range of the targeted buyers.
The program is designed for buyers who make between 60% and 120% of the area median income — or a household income from $61,300 to $122,650 for a family of three.
Once the criteria for prices and the number of units are set, the developer and lender work directly with a buyer to finalize a purchase.
“We don't actually ever see the buyer,” Burton said. “That’s to ensure that this is as close to the traditional home buying process as if you were going out and purchasing a market home. Obviously, we have a role of promoting this program and ensuring that people understand transparency but we really are behind the scenes.”
Burton said the nonprofit’s primary role in the Henrico program is connecting with potential home builders and lenders, and identifying buyers through an online application process.
Eric Leabough, Henrico’s director of community revitalization, told VPM News that if this program can increase the amount of housing the county has to offer, home prices will eventually fall.
“Housing is foundational,” Leabough said. “It’s the single biggest wealth building opportunity that people have, but when people are paying excessive amounts for housing, then that means they're not able to pay for other things in their life that's equally as important. This program is meant to break that cycle.”
The county’s inaugural participating developers — HHHunt and Mungo Homes — are set to build 30 units of affordable housing units in two communities: Parkside Townes and Discovery Ridge.
Other approved projects include 20 townhomes in a development planned by Center Creek Homes, and a 165-unit development by StyleCraft Homes that would include 25 affordable townhomes has received conditional approval.
The first set of home purchases were all at Discovery Ridge. Henrico’s trust is providing a total of $560,000 to facilitate the purchase of five homes which are market priced at $460,000.
The Affordable Housing Trust Fund would effectively allow a buyer to pay $338,000 for a home. Additional discounts from the builder can reduce the buyer’s cost to as little as $318,000.
Shelby Carney, PHA’s special projects director, said the organization hopes to share the program’s success stories, so more people can see home ownership is within reach.
“Although we don’t get to see the buyers, we do get to hear the success stories,” Carney told VPM News. “Every buyer we've seen thus far has said without this program, the goal of moving into a brand-new home would not be possible.”
