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Council approves RDNI cooperative‑endeavor agreement and reallocates bond funds to support Rivanna affordable housing
Summary
The City Council approved a cooperative‑endeavor agreement and reallocated capital funds to provide gap financing for the Rivanna Apartments, the River District’s first phase of affordable‑housing production, and passed related motions to enable contract signings for several bond‑funded housing projects.
The City Council on Nov. 6 approved a cooperative endeavor agreement to deliver roadway and right-of-way infrastructure in the River District and to reallocate an equivalent amount of capital funding to provide gap financing for the Rivanna Apartments affordable-housing project.
Councilmember Helena Moreno and others described the item as an administration‑requested agreement and noted the council had previously budgeted approximately $6.2 million in capital gap funding for the project. According to council staff, the Rivanna project is the first phase in the River District affordable‑housing pipeline; the developer and RDNI reported that the phase will yield roughly 220 housing units, about 165 of which will be designated as affordable or workforce units. Supporters said the project is central to the River District plan and leverages public infrastructure investments to unlock housing production.
Public comment included skepticism about per-unit costs and about city responsibilities for certain right-of-way work. Michael Burnside questioned the wisdom of committing bond funds to streets that may be in state right-of-way and urged caution about the per-unit cost estimate. Administration and RDNI representatives said the funding is capital bond money allocated previously and emphasized the public benefit of connecting infrastructure and affordable housing production in the River District.
Council members also approved several related procedural motions to add the council president as signatory to agreements for other bond‑funded housing projects (motions to add signatory authority for NSAEB 603 LLC, BW Cooper Senior LLC, Esplanade Delia Apartments LLC, among others), and suspended rules where needed to expedite contract signings. Councilmembers described these steps as technical but necessary to execute previously‑approved capital allocations and to advance multiple affordable housing phases.
The River District motion and the subsequent signatory additions passed on council votes during the meeting. Council asked administration to provide any outstanding project-level details and to continue coordinating with RDNI on implementation and timelines.
