Cool Lane Commons

Virginia Supportive Housing’s next 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, the $23 million development will renovate a vacant assisted living facility into 86 units of affordable housing with on-site supportive services. Cool Lane Commons will be a mixed-income community serving both formerly homeless and low-income individuals earning 50% or less of the area median income. 

Of the 86 units, 80 will be one-bedroom apartments and 6 will be studio apartments. Each unit will be at least 500 square feet and will include a private full bathroom and kitchen with full-size appliances. 13 units will be fully accessible for individuals with disabilities and 2 units will have features for individuals with sensory impairment.  

The building, which is approximately 90,000 square feet, will also contain 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 will also have an extensive security system and a staff apartment for an on-call night monitor. Additional commercial space will be included for Virginia Supportive Housing administrative offices as well as neighborhood resource space for community partners.

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 will include offices and meeting rooms for FCBC and its partners to deliver programs and services to the immediate surrounding neighborhood.

Cool Lane Commons will be designed and constructed to achieve an EarthCraft Gold Certification for resource and energy efficiency and will contain a photovoltaic solar array to reduce the building’s energy load.

Virginia Supportive Housing was awarded a reservation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits  in the 2021 Accessible Supportive Housing pool.  Additional financing includes Solar Energy Credits, DHCD HOME funds, Virginia Housing Trust Fund funds, National Housing Trust Fund funds, HIEE funds, Virginia Housing PDC funds, Henrico County CDBG, Richmond CDBG-CV, Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta AHP funds, a Virginia Housing REACH loan, and private foundation funds. Cool Lane Apartments has a commitment for Project Based Vouchers from the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

Cool Lane Commons is slated to open in 2023.

Read more about the project, and our partnership with FCBC, in our 2021 Impact Report.