Housing Conference: Session Proposals

Governor’s Housing Conference:

“The Governor's Housing Conference has a broad range of attendees from many professional sectors including nonprofit organizations, foundations and other philanthropic donors, affordable housing developers, economic developers, local government elected officials, design professionals, financial institutions, government agencies, private developers, real estate professionals, educational institutions trade organizations, community-based and faith-based organizations and public housing providers.

Innovative proposals are being sought to address a broad range of housing, community and economic development issues...  

The conference will offer 90-minute concurrent sessions, as well as 30-minute informational snap sessions.  The snap sessions are designed to provide brief and basic information about a specific topic or initiative. Each 90-minute concurrent session will be limited to three (3) panelists. Your proposal can recommend one additional person to serve as moderator or the program committee can provide one for the session. The snap sessions are limited to one speaker. The program committee will review and evaluate all proposals on a competitive basis. Due to session limitations, the conference cannot accommodate all proposed sessions, and the planning committee may merge topics or speakers to best accommodate the need.  Because of the complexity in scheduling around other conference activities, presenters will need to be flexible in availability and the acceptance of assigned time slots. Notifications regarding the status of proposals will be sent by Friday, June 27, 2014.

 All selected conference presenters will receive a complimentary conference registration that enables full participation in all conference activities, except any conference tours. Lodging and travel should be arranged by presenters, as these costs will not be provided by the conference. All selected conference presenters will be required to provide biographical information by Friday, September 5, 2014.”

~ DHCD

Click here to submit a proposal - deadline is May 9th!

Housing the Future Workforce of Hampton Roads

Housing Virginia:

“Dr. Lisa Sturtevant (Executive Director, Center for Housing Policy, National Housing Conference) will present a report on the type, pricing and location of housing needs throughout the region based on projected job growth over the next two decades. A panel of local industry experts will provide a response from the local market perspective.

The panel will include:

• Steve Lawson, Lawson Companies
• Dr. Vinod Agarwal, Old Dominion University
• Michael Carpenter, Virginia Peninsula Association of REALTORS
• William Harrell, Hampton Roads Transit

Sponsored By:

Hampton Roads Community Foundation, The Landmark Foundation, Hampton Roads REALTORS Association, The OBICI Healthcare Foundation, TowneBank, Housing Virginia, The Dragas Companies, The Lawson Companies, Virginia Housing Development Authority, The Beazley Foundation”

~Housing Virginia

Click here to register (by May 6th)

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

Click here for the link

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

Click here to learn more

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

Click here for the link

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

Click here to learn more