The FWD #G19 • 322 Words
by Jovan Burton, Partnership for Housing Affordability
Celebrate the Richmond Regional Housing Framework’s second birthday with PHA on January 20th.
Two years ago this month, the Partnership for Housing Affordability (PHA) launched the Regional Housing Framework to work with local governments and housing stakeholders to advance housing policy in the Richmond region.
This groundbreaking plan was the first time Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, and Hanover had collaborated to collectively address their housing challenges—and to find common ground to work together. Following a year of data collection, research, and public engagement, the Framework set six major goals:
- Increase the supply of rental housing in the region.
- Support racially inclusive wealth creation by increasing homeownership opportunities for low and moderate income households.
- Ensure that the growing senior population is safely and affordably housed.
- Improve housing quality and ensure better health and safety for residents.
- Expand housing stability and stop displacement.
- Expand housing choices for low and moderate income households.
To accomplish these tall orders, the Framework outlined more than 50 policy solutions for local governments, housing providers, and other partners to pursue. The plan also included accountability metrics to track completed and in-progress solutions.
Since then, the region has made much progress to create greater housing opportunity, even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Six solutions are fully completed and eighteen are underway, including:
- Zoning modifications to expand the region’s housing stock,
- Significant investments of federal funding into affordable housing,
- Creation of the Housing Resource Line, the region’s only coordinated access point for housing needs outside of homelessness,
- And much more.
These achievements and other exciting updates will be shared at PHA’s inaugural State of Housing in the Richmond Region event on January 20th at 4pm at The Westin Richmond. This event will include an update on the real estate market, chronicle successes from 2021, offer an outlook for the year ahead, and share exciting news about the future of housing in the region.
If you’re in the region, you can RSVP for the event here.
Jovan Burton is the Director of Implementation for the Partnership for Housing Affordability. He can be reached at jburton@pharva.com.
