Maggie Walker Community Land Trust outlines pipeline of affordable homeownership, seeks city coordination

The Land Use, Housing and Transportation committee heard a presentation from Dylan Wheeler, director of real estate and operations for the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, about the organization's affordable homeownership model and development pipeline.

Wheeler described the CLT structure in which the homeowner owns the house while the land remains under a 99-year ground lease; homeowners pay a nominal annual ground lease ($100 in the CLT's model) and the CLT retains resale controls intended to preserve long-term affordability. "We subsidize those homes and sell them at a lower rate," Wheeler said, adding the organization typically sells three-bedroom homes in the Richmond area at prices far below market.

Wheeler told the committee the CLT has built roughly 120 homes across Richmond, Henrico and Chesterfield and has a pipeline that the organization estimates could yield about 200 affordable homes over the next two years. He also said the CLT has received land allocations from the Richmond Land Bank and applies for city funding sources including the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and, sporadically, CDBG or HOME funds.

Committee members asked for more detail on project timelines, funding sources and tax-treatment questions. Wheeler said the CLT will follow resale and stewardship protocols to support homeowners and that the organization is open to deeper strategic conversations with council on pipeline timing and tax implications.

The committee thanked the CLT for the briefing and asked staff to coordinate follow-up on land inventories, funding breakdowns and schedules for when parcels in the CLT pipeline will be developed.