Almost $17 million in state funding will help pay for workforce housing projects across the state, with about $8.6 million going to Southwest and Southside.
Blacksburg, Bristol, Danville, South Boston, Washington County and Wytheville are six of the 10 Virginia localities that are slated to receive funding, each for a specific housing project.
The awards are expected to create 740 workforce housing units in Virginia and leverage more than $254 million in private investment, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
Workforce housing provides a place to live for middle-income workers — those making between 80% and 120% of an area’s median income, or up to 150% in rural areas. These residents often earn too much to qualify for Housing and Urban Development programs but can’t afford most market-rate apartments.
This funding is going through the Workforce Housing Investment Program, which works to increase the supply of this housing type. The program was created in 2024 and is administered by Virginia Housing.
Up to $3 million in funding from this program is available to localities within a 30-minute drive of new or expanding businesses where a qualified job announcement was made within the previous fiscal year, the release says. That goes up to $5 million if a transformational project creating 500 or more new jobs was announced.
“Through this new innovative program, we are catalyzing workforce housing construction by partnering with the private sector and local governments,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in the release. “The efforts through our Workforce Housing Investment Program are supporting housing affordability, availability and accessibility for a growing Virginia.”
In Danville, about $1.8 million will go toward the Morotock Lofts adaptive reuse project, which will transform a former textile mill in the River District into a 41-unit apartment building.
The Danville Planning Commission recommended approval for this project earlier this month. City Manager Ken Larking said he’s grateful that a project in Danville was selected for these funds.
Following last year’s Microporous announcement, which is expected to bring more than 2,000 jobs to the region, Danville is working to make the community a place that employees choose to live, Larking said.
“To be successful in this effort requires us to be intentional about our housing strategy,” he said. “The Morotock is a great project that will help to redevelop a long-vacant property in a key part of our River District.”
Blacksburg will receive about $923,000 for the Prices Fork Elementary project, which redeveloped an elementary school into rental units. The project is in its fourth and final phase of development.
Bristol is slated to get $480,000 to create 48 townhomes to support recent job growth in the region. Local employers plan to offer homebuyer education and resources to market the units, the release says.
The Industrial Development Authority of Halifax in South Boston will receive $2 million toward a larger project that uses donated county land to increase affordable housing options for the surrounding workforce.
Washington County will get $3 million for the King Mill Pike project, which will create new housing units for ownership and provide homebuyer education and resources for employees.
Wythe County’s Joint Industrial Development Authority will receive $400,000 for a Wytheville project that will redevelop a derelict building into a mixed-use complex, including eight rental units.
Other localities receiving funding include Alexandria, Harrisonburg, Suffolk and Winchester.
