Council reviews Virginia Village affordable-housing funding options as staff outlines $15–$20M gap
Loading...
Summary
Staff presented funding scenarios for Virginia Village redevelopment, outlining acquisition funds, pending grants and expected cash-in-lieu receipts while estimating a city contribution gap of $15–$20 million; council asked questions about senior priorities, use of CDBG/HOME funds and timing for RFPs and procurement.
City housing staff on April 13 presented funding options for the planned Virginia Village affordable-housing redevelopment and identified a substantial funding gap that the city would need to bridge.
Housing Director Dana Jones summarized the affordable-housing fund and programs, explaining that the city’s acquisition fund presently holds about $2.0 million and that staff has four pending HUD-related grant applications that, if awarded, could add about $1.1 million in FY27. Jones said city rental income and federal CDBG/HOME dollars could be applied to maintenance and reduce the amount of rental income currently used for repairs. She told council that preliminary estimates indicate the city’s contribution need could run on the order of $80,000–$100,000 per unit, producing an overall funding gap in the mid‑teens to $20 million range for a full redevelopment.
Jones listed additional sources that could be sequenced over a multi-year plan: existing acquisition funds ($2,000,725 reported in FY26), projected cash-in-lieu receipts from future developments (including amounts tied to the Quinn building and a West Falls senior building), CDBG/HOME allocations, and rental-income carryovers. She also noted the city’s priority placement policy that gives seniors and disabled residents highest priority when allocating units.
Councilmembers asked whether funding that originates from senior-building cash-in-lieu contributions should be earmarked for senior uses in the new development; staff clarified that seniors are priority one under existing allocation policy but recommended the council include explicit RFP language if it wanted a different distribution. Staff also said the city is proceeding with procurement for commercial real-estate advisory services to support Virginia Village planning and will return with scope and cost details; the staff recommendation will be funded from an EDA-controlled rent reserve and brought back to council for authorization.
Council did not take any final funding votes at the April 13 meeting; staff will return with grant outcomes, procurement recommendations and refined cost estimates in coming sessions.
