Housing Virginia Newsletter
February 2015
Housing Virginia Study Finds Residents of Energy Efficient Affordable Rental Housing Save Over $600 per Year on Electricity Bills
  
Jefferson Union in Wytheville, VA was included in the study

Earlier this month, Housing Virginia released the findings of a first-of-its-kind study that demonstrates the impact of energy efficient construction requirements in affordable rental housing. The new report shows that the average resident of an energy efficient apartment saves $54 per month on their electricity bill, which amounts to $648 annually.

The study is the first of its kind in Virginia and one of the first in the nation to verify actual electricity usage in apartments built to meet high level efficiency standards, such as those incentivized by VHDA in the LIHTC program.

The year-long study, conducted by Virginia Tech's Center for Housing Research in partnership with EarthCraft Virginia, also finds that apartments built to higher energy efficient standards, including third party testing and inspection, outperform new standard construction housing by more than 40% with respect to energy consumption.

A number of media outlets, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Affordable Housing Finance Online, and REALTOR® Magazine have picked up the story.

Click here to read more and to download the full report and fact sheet.

Housing Virginia Releases Economic Impact Calculators for New Construction & Rehab

Click to enlarge

Last week, Housing Virginia 

released two brand-new SOURCEBOOK tools that calculate the economic impact of a housing project in any locality in Virginia. These calculators were developed and tested by Virginia Tech's Center for Housing Research.


Read more

Housing Virginia's Best Practices in Affordable Housing


 

Another tool Housing Virginia made available on its website in February is the Best Practices in Affordable Housing, which illustrates the best practices in affordable housing around the state in easy-to-understand fact sheets.

 
Virginia Housing Coalition & Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness Considering Merger    


The Virginia Housing Coalition (VHC) and the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness (VCEH) have started to explore the possibility of joining forces and becoming one organization. 


 Last month, a merger study committee was created and will develop recommendations for a joint work session of the Boards of both organizations later this spring. The goal is for the Boards to reach a final decision by late spring or summer on whether and how a merger might be accomplished. 


 Click here for the VHC-VCEH potential integration FAQ's.

  
Virginia Housing Coalition Federal Lobby Day  
On Feb 11th, 2015 a group of housing advocates from around the state met in Richmond and boarded a van bound for Capitol Hill. The group broke into teams making multiple visits with aides for all of Virginia's Senators and Congressmen.
In Unexpected Move, Virginia GA Poised to Fund the Housing Trust Fund
  
The last two weeks of the 2015 General 
Assembly turned very positive for affordable housing. On Monday, the budget conferees released a report that will provide $8 million to the Housing Trust Fund and $1 million for rapid re-housing. 

The funding for the HTF was a surprise to advocates who have been restrained during the session regarding new funding for the Fund this session. The bleak revenue forecasts indicated that it would be very challenging to restore the funds that were cut in 2014. However, during the last several weeks, the Governor provided updated and improved  revenue forecasts that gave the conferees more monies to work with.
Save the Date: Housing & Schools Forum Part II on June 19th in Richmond
  
On Friday, June 19th, Housing Virginia will partner again with the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis at VCU to bring you the second installment to our Housing & Schools Policy Symposium. Last year's symposium gathered over 200 educators and housers in Richmond to discuss the ways that housing and education policy issues intersect. This year, Housing Virginia plans to expand the discussion by focusing on metro areas across the state.
Save the Date: VHC Housing Credit Conference on October 8-9th in Richmond
  
The Virginia Housing Coalition will host Virginia's 3rd Annual Housing Credit Conference on October 8-9th at the Westin Hotel in Richmond. This conference provides the opportunity for tax credit professionals to hear the latest developments in the field and to network with their colleagues. New practitioners can sign up for the Tax Credit 101 session track.
VHC Announces Drew Hogwood Professional Development Fund
  
The Virginia Housing Coalition announced this week the creation of a new program to help aspiring housing and community development professionals grow their skills and develop their talents. 

The Drew Hogwood Professional Development Fund has been initially capitalized at $10,000 and will provide young professionals and students with the opportunity to build their knowledge and skills through education, training and conferences in the fields of community development and affordable housing.  

Potential scholarship recipients can apply directly to the Virginia Housing Coalition to receive funds that can be used to pay conference registration, training fees and related expenses.
Sourcebook Data Update
Look for 2014 Q4 
Data in March

SOURCEBOOK
 

Keep an eye out in March for our Sourcebook data update. This update will bring our existing data up to 2014 Q4, including some additions to Playbook. On an even more exciting note, we will be debuting homelessness data for Virginia, including data for the Point-in-Time Count and Housing Inventory Count.


Stay tuned for an e-blast about our update in March! 
In This Issue
Calendar

NCRC 2015 Annual Conference

March 25-28 in Washington, DC

NCRC's Annual Conference is one of the nation's largest gatherings of community nonprofits, policymakers, government officials, small businesses, banks, and academia, all coming together to create a just economy.
 Click here to register

 

2015 VAHCDO Annual Conference & Scholarship Luncheon

April 29 - May 1 in Virginia Beach, VA

Join housing professionals from around the Commonwealth for this annual conference and luncheon. More details to come later - stay tuned via the VAHCDO website!
 

Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference
May 19-21 in Detroit, MI

The Center for Community Progress conference will be held in Detroit, Michigan on May 19-21, 2015.


NCSHA 2015 Housing Credit Connect

June 1-4 in Los Angeles, CA

Across more than 30 sessions, in the elite Marketplace, and at several networking events, the heavy hitters of the Housing Credit industry and their agency partners will deliver the latest news on how to make the Housing Credit work in these unprecedented times.
Click here to register


HV Housing & Schools Symposium

June 19, 2015 in Richmond, VA

Join us for our second symposium on the connection between housing & schools. Last year, over 200 housers and educators met at VCU to create cross-industry dialogue. 

See what we covered last year


VHC 2015 Housing Credit Conference

October 8-9, 2015 in Richmond, VA

Mark your calendars for the third annual VHC Housing Credit Conference! Tax Credit professionals from around the state gather to network and learn more about housing credit programs.

Learn more about the conference here

Video of the Week Digest: Feb 2015

Did you miss any of our Videos of the Week this month? Check here to see all the videos we've shared.

Mike Hawkins (VHDA) discusses the success of Timberlake Place - an affordable housing project in Charlottesville, with Housing StoryWorks.

 

K.C. Bleile (EarthCraft Virginia) explains how green, sustainable housing features are benefiting residents in affordable housing communities throughout the state.

 

Christy Eaton (HomeAid Northern Virginia) explains the positive impact her organization has on homeless individuals seeking affordable housing.

 

Don't miss a single video - you can find them all on the Housing Virginia Facebook page!

 
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Richmond, VA 23220

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