Charlottesville housing authority details redevelopment progress and asks city for predictable funding

The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority and city staff updated the City Council on Aug. 6 about ongoing redevelopment work, gaps in the city-funded supplemental rental assistance program (SISRAP) and a formal request for predictable annual city support to maintain public housing.

At a joint special meeting, James Friess, Deputy City Manager for Operations, said “affordable housing is 1 of our top priorities here in the city,” and described CRHA as “arguably our most important partner” for delivering subsidized units. Friess told council and CRHA commissioners the city is investing more than $38,000,000 in CRHA redevelopment projects and that staff had prepared a joint report recommending clearer milestone calendars, better information-sharing and a revised program agreement for the SISRAP rental assistance program.

The report the city and CRHA developed divides next steps into three tracks: advancing redevelopment projects, revising the SISRAP program agreement and improving routine coordination and communications. Friess said the council had previously “approved an extension of the current agreement, carrying the current funding through [December],” and staff plan to use that extension period to rework the SISRAP agreement’s administrative funding and program rules.

John Sales, executive director of the…