Virginia Beach staff recommend council consider 30-year tax-increment grants for two affordable rental projects

Ruth Hill, the city's director of housing and neighborhood programs, told the City Council on Oct. 14 that staff recommends council consider resolutions on Oct. 21 to approve Attainable Workforce Housing Performance Grants for two proposed multifamily rental developments: Grand Lakes Senior Apartments and The Silos.

The grant program, created by a council ordinance in April 2024 and a resolution of the Virginia Beach Development Authority (VBDA) in May 2024, rebates annual incremental real estate tax revenue generated by an approved project for a set grant term. Hill said the program is designed to support private development of safe, quality, affordable rental housing by addressing a financing gap in projects that are new construction and developed by for-profit entities.

Grand Lakes Senior Apartments is a proposed 172-unit senior development for households age 62 and older. Hill said the project is 100% affordable and will rely in part on low-income housing tax credits. The city's estimated completed assessed value for Grand Lakes is about $21.28 million; staff calculated the first-year incremental tax revenue and recommended allowing an annual…