Virginia Beach company will open second facility

Chesterfield County:

“The Memory Center, a Virginia Beach-based company that specializes in services for people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, said it plans a second assisted-living community - this one in Chesterfield County near Richmond.

The company, whose principals are Kevin DiBona and Paul Hirschbiel Jr., said The Memory Center of Richmond will be located on a 4-acre site adjacent to Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center. It's scheduled to open in 2015 and will feature 48 residential units designed around a 'town center' that will include a movie theater, general store, bank, tavern, library, ice cream stand and salon.

The Memory Center's first community opened in 2008 on Old Donation Parkway in Virginia Beach.”

~Writes Dave Mayfield of The Virginian-Pilot

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2014 home sales lag behind 2013 in January, February

Hampton Roads:

“Real estate agents say that Hampton Roads will have a stronger housing market in 2014. Even so, recent housing reports indicate that the region lagged behind 2013 in the first two months of the year. January and February home sales were down 9 percent this year compared to the same time last year, according to the latest report from the Real Estate Information Network, the region's multiple listing service.

Home sales fell 2.1 percent in February compared to a year earlier, marking the second consecutive dip after a drop of 15 percent in January year-over year. Snow and budget uncertainty issues had been blamed for the slow start in January. Even so, one bright spot was Portsmouth, which saw a 25 percent increase in sales from February to February. Suffolk saw the largest drop by 34 percent. Active listings and pending sales remained flat. New construction sales dropped 12 percent year-over-year.”

~ Writes the Daily-Press

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CSPDC's HOME Down Payment Program

Central Shenandoah PDC:

“The HOME Down Payment Assistance Program (DPA) in the Shenandoah Valley region has received $75,000 in funding for the calendar year 2014. Created to help first-time, income-eligible homebuyers to obtain decent, safe and affordable housing, this Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program has been administered in the region by the CSPDC for the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for more than a decade. It has helped 225 people grow their personal wealth and equity through homeownership.

For more information on the HOME program contact Kimberly Miller, kimberly@cspdc.org, 540.885.5174.”

~ Central Shenandoah PDC

Report says new home sales in Central Virginia were up 30 percent in 2013

Central Virginia:

“The number of new home sales in Central Virginia increased 30 percent to 2,763 in 2013 compared to 2012, and the average price for a new home rose 9 percent to $341,407.  New home construction picked up as well, with building permits 25% higher than in 2012, according to a new report.

The Home Building Association of Richmond (HBAR), in partnership with Commonwealth Partnerships, released a semi-annual report that looks at the state of the housing industry in the greater Richmond area. ‘We felt very strongly that there was a need for this kind of data among professionals in the housing industry in Central Virginia,’ Craig Toalson,  the HBAR’s CEO said in a statement.

Data provided by Integra Realty Resources-Richmond (IRR) indicates that while activity was up last year, it remains below pre-recession levels. Still, ‘The increase in new home sales and new development activity are positive signs for the industry,’ said Ken Brown, Senior Managing Director at IRR. Chesterfield County was the most active jurisdiction in terms of new home sales. In 2013, the county captured a 38 percent market share. Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover Counties accounted for 81 percent of all new home sales in the market. Yet Goochland County saw the largest jump in the number of overall home sales in 2013 with 131 percent more closings than in 2012.”

~Virginia Business

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For an online version of the report, click here

Rezoning granted for new construction slated for Langston Park

City of Hopewell:

“An amendment to the zoning of the Langston Park Public Housing Development was granted by City Council Tuesday, amid questions and hesitations from some councilors about a plan to revitalize the development. Community Housing Partners, plans to demolish the 52-year-old development in favor of building energy efficient mixed-income units. CHP is a nonprofit organization that works with public and private partners to provide energy efficient and quality affordable housing.

The current 30-unit development will be replaced by 56 units, 26 of which will be rented at market rate. Thirty of the units will be under the Section 8 voucher program. Construction of the apartments is slated to cost about $9.5 million. CHP has acquired all of the funding for the project, which includes state and federal tax credits, grants and private investment.

The area is currently zoned R-4, but is slated to become a Planned Unit Development following Tuesday's decision. During a Council work session last month, developers stated that the new designation would allow more open space, and be landscaped into a safer, more well lit environment.”

~Writes Leah Small of Progress-Index

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Affordable senior housing proposal meets opposition from residents

Shenandoah County:

“A proposal to build low-income senior citizen housing in downtown Woodstock has many town and Shenandoah County residents upset. At a public hearing during last Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, at least a dozen people criticized or defended the proposal to transfer county land to People Inc. for a senior citizen housing development.

Previously, the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging had planned to build affordable housing for senior citizens on a small tract of land across the street from the old Woodstock School on Court Street. SAAA had also planned to renovate the old school and use part of it for office space. The organization started encountering severe financial difficulties in 2011 and did not move forward with the project even with a large federal grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. About $1.3 million in grant money was transferred from SAAA to People Inc., which dropped the plans to renovate the old school.

Many Woodstock residents who live close to the school said on Tuesday that they don’t want to see the building go to waste, and they do not support a project that would not put it to good use. People Inc.’s Vice President for Development, Bryan Phipps, said the organization is not in a position to use the school. It does not need it for office space and was told by HUD that it could not use the funds to renovate the school. The grant money is only designated for new construction.

‘Those funds can’t be used to do anything with the school,’ Phipps said. The $1.3 million in grant funds would be used to build 11 housing units for low-income seniors. To qualify for the housing, families or individuals must meet income requirements and have at least one household member age 62 or older.

County residents who spoke at Tuesday’s public hearing said they didn’t feel there was a large need for affordable senior housing in Shenandoah County. Many Court Street residents who can see the old, deteriorating school from their windows also said they didn’t want to see any such project move forward in that area if the school wouldn’t be renovated.”

~ Writes Kassondra Cloos of The Shenandoah Valley-Herald

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Region III HUDLine News

HUD:

“An e-briefing from Region III featuring news and information about housing and community development efforts in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.”

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