Supporters gathered to cut through the two new Urban Hope nonprofit homes on 21st and W Streets in the East End. (Jonathan Spiers photos)
A small not-for-profit housing association focused on the East End of Richmond has reached more milestones recently, breaking the ground for its first new home and cutting the ribbon on two others in two weeks.
Urban Hope, a nonprofit that enables low-income households in the East End to own home, recently moved into two newly built homes that it bought from another nonprofit, Maggie Walker Community Land Trust (MWCLT). The houses were built by Eagle Construction of VA.
A week earlier, Urban Hope began work on its first new build: a four-bedroom, three-bathroom home it is building in North Church Hill with Center Creek Homes, a DC-based construction company focused on low-income housing that is always more has been growing its profile locally in recent years.
On both projects, Urban Hope is renting the homes to residents at prices affordable for households that are 50 percent or less of the average income in the area – about $ 45,000 for a family of four, according to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development . The house on North Church Hill to be built on 29th Street rents for $ 1,075 a month.
After the ribbon was ceremoniously cut, the residents visited their new home.
Tenants then have the opportunity to qualify for the purchase of the house after meeting certain criteria.
Urban Hope is able to do this through cost savings through public-private partnerships, donations in kind from cooperating companies, and a discounted price from MWCLT, which sold the two affiliated Eagle Construction homes for $ 70,000 each. It bought the previously foreclosed property from Fannie Mae.
The city valued the homes at $ 90,000, real estate records show, and comparable homes in the area sell for three or four times as much.
The homes are rented to residents participating in programs at the Peter Paul Development Center and ReWork Richmond, both of which are located near the two homes.
Urban Hope believes that the collaborative model can be replicated with other ongoing housing developments in the area, such as: B. in connection with the redevelopment of Creighton Court and other public housing.
Urban Hope Executive Director Sarah Hale at a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Eagle Construction homes on North 21st and W Streets were funded by a grant from Marietta McNeil Morgan & Samuel Tate Morgan Jr. Trust of Bank of America. Eagle Construction provided $ 30,000 in kind.
In cutting these houses through, Sarah Hale, the managing director of Urban Hope, found that the property would provide home ownership to low-income residents for many years to come.
“If homes are affordable from the start, it’s a one-time investment for sustainable use,” Hale told the gathering of attendees and supporters. “It seems like a lot of money to start, but this will continue and benefit not only these two families but the families who will live there after them. Public-private partnerships are essential to achieve this. “
Councilor Cynthia Newbille, whose borough includes both residences, attended the event and provided comments.
Laughing, she said to the crowd, “I said to Sarah on 29th Street, ‘Can we do this every two weeks?’ High quality, affordable housing is coming into our community all the time, I was so excited.
“What it would have cost to build this without your commitment is unprecedented,” said Newbille. “I just want to say thank you to all of you. I look forward to our future because of this kind of collaborative and collective effort. “