Posted on April 4, 2024
More affordable housing in Richmond is coming to Rady Street!
Rady Street Apartments in the City of Richmond will be 82 affordable units — 73 studio apartments and nine one-bedroom apartments — with access to on-site supportive services. As a mixed income community, a portion of the units will be reserved for individuals experiencing homelessness in the Greater Richmond area and all residents will earn 60% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI). Seventy units will have rental subsidies and the remaining 12 units will be available for clients of Richmond Behavioral Health Authority. Rady Street Apartments is permanent rental housing; residents sign leases and pay a monthly rent. The permanent supportive housing model works — over 95% of VSH residents do not return to homelessness.
Each unit will feature a kitchenette with full-size appliances and a full bathroom. At least 13 units will be completely accessible for persons with disabilities. The building will have an extensive security system and off-street parking. In addition to apartments, the building will contain a community room, a computer room, laundry facilities, a front desk, and staff offices for on-site property management and supportive services staff. The front desk will be staffed sixteen hours per day with a night monitor on duty at night. The development will be EarthCraft certified for resource and energy efficiency and will feature solar photovoltaic panels.
Project costs are estimated to be approximately $28 million. VSH will apply for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits in the 2024 Accessible Supportive Housing pool. Additional financing will include a Virginia Housing REACH loan; Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) HOME, National Housing Trust Fund, Virginia Housing Trust Fund, and Housing Innovations in Energy Efficiency (HIEE); locality funds; and private foundations.
Construction is estimated to begin in spring 2026 with completion in 2027. Colin Arnold with Arnold Design Studio is the project architect and Timmons is the engineer. A general contractor will be chosen at a later date.
The project site was donated to VSH by RBHA. Susan Hoover, RBHA Acting Chief Executive Officer, shared, “RBHA and VSH have a long history of partnership, and we are very excited to be able to provide land to help support [VSH’s] mission in creating much needed permanent supportive housing units.”
Posted on February 3, 2022
Virginia Supportive Housing’s latest project in the Richmond region, Cool Lane Commons, is our most innovative permanent supportive housing community to date.
Located on the border of Henrico County and Richmond’s East End, Cool Lane Commons is the adaptive re-use of a vacant assisted living facility into permanent supportive housing and office space.
The $24m project redeveloped the former Seven Hills Health Care Center on Cool Lane into a mixed-income apartment building with 80 one-bedroom and 6 studio units. Units are available for both formerly homeless and low-income individuals earning 50% or less of the Area Median Income.
Each unit is at least 500 square feet and includes a private full bathroom and kitchen with full-size appliances. The building, which is approximately 90,000 square feet, contains a large community room with a kitchen, a resident computer lab, a phone room for resident use, a fitness room, laundry facilities, a front desk, staff offices for on-site support services and property management staff, and off-street parking. The building has an extensive security system and the front desk is staffed sixteen hours a day with a night monitor on call during the evening hours.
All units have a Project-Based Voucher administered by the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority. 13 units are fully accessible for individuals with disabilities and 2 units have features for individuals with sensory impairment. All units meet the Virginia Housing’s Universal Design Standards, which promote the creation of units that serve the needs of all residents, regardless of their ability, mobility, or age.
The building achieved an EarthCraft Gold Certification for resource and energy efficiency and contains a photovoltaic solar array to reduce the building’s energy load.
Community collaboration
From the project’s inception, VSH prioritized integration into the neighborhood. This led to partnership with Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC), located across the street from Cool Lane Commons. FCBC’s Pastor and Founding Visionary, Dr. Patricia Gould-Champ, became a key partner and advocate. In addition to the units of permanent supportive housing, Cool Lane Commons includes offices and meeting rooms for FCBC and its partners to deliver programs and services to the immediate surrounding neighborhood.
The commercial space in Cool Lane Commons is also home to VSH’s administrative headquarters, known as the Bren Center, named after one of VSH’s original founders, Karl Bren. The office space was funded independently from the apartments.
Cool Lane Apartments was awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits in the 2019 and 2021 Accessible Supportive Housing pools. Additional financing included Solar Equity; Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) HOME, Virginia Housing Trust Fund, National Housing Trust Fund, and Housing Innovations in Energy Efficiency (HIEE) funds; City of Richmond CDBG-CV funds and Henrico County CDBG and general funds; Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta AHP and Multifamily Housing Bridge funds; a Virginia Housing REACH loan and grant; Partnership for Housing Affordability Housing Development Program funds; and private foundation and grant funds. Cool Lane Office financing included a loan from Locus and private foundation and grant funds.
Atlantic Union Bank, in partnership with Locus, served as the construction lender. Construction began in May 2022 and was completed in January 2024. KBS was the general contractor and Arnold Design Studio was the architect.
Read more about the project, and our partnership with FCBC, in our 2021 Impact Report.
Posted on May 27, 2014
While the majority of VSH’s services are for single adults, we also recognize the need for quality, affordable permanent housing with supportive services for families transitioning from homeless shelters and transitional housing programs.
In the late-1990s, VSH purchased and renovated apartment buildings in Richmond’s South Barton Heights, Highland Park and Cary Street neighborhoods to provide affordable housing and services for 16 families with children.
VSH received the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s Housing Achievement Award in 2000 for this program.
To connect with an intake coordinator regarding this property, please call 804-232-5481.
Posted on May 7, 2014
James River Apartments is a model supportive housing residence for individuals with disabilities. The 14 units, located on two sites in Richmond, help tenants achieve maximum levels of independence through affordable, fully accessible apartments.
Development funding sources include HUD’s Section 811 Program, loans from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and grants from private foundations.
All too often, individuals with disabilities are unable to afford an accessible apartment, even when they have the necessary independent living skills to be on their own. Residents pay 30% of their individual monthly income in rent. The remaining rent is subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Section 811 Program. Supportive services are available to help residents stabilize and improve their health, incomes and housing.
To connect with an intake coordinator regarding this property, please call 804-232-5481.
Posted on May 7, 2014
VSH, through a partnership with HIGH Hopes, developed Independence House, a six unit supportive housing facility for persons with Traumatic Brain or Spinal Cord injury. Supportive services are available to empower tenants to become more independent and healthy by accessing community resources for basic human needs, re-learning certain skills, participating in education activities or gaining employment. Applicants are referred from agencies, family members and survivors themselves.
Residents pay 30% of their individual monthly income in rent. The remaining rent is subsidized by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Section 811 Program. Supportive services at Independence House are supported in part by a grant administered by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.
To connect with Stephanie Arnold, the case manager assigned to assessments for Independence House, please call 804-921-3466 or email [email protected].
