Loudoun County was recognized with two Virginia Housing Awards at the Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference in November, giving a nod to efforts to address the complex issue of unmet housing needs in one of the fastest growing counties in the nation.
Loudoun was part of a regional collaboration that earned the Best Regional Partnership Award for addressing how to expand the range of housing options in anticipation of Amazon’s new headquarters in Northern Virginia.
Closer to home, Loudoun provided project-based vouchers and letters of support for the Woods at Birchwood, an active adult community and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit project, which encourages the development of affordable rental housing by providing owners a federal income tax credit. It also provides incentive for private investors to participate in the construction and rehabilitation of housing for low-income families. This project, developed by TM Associates, earned the Inclusive Community Award.
“These two projects provide a sense of the breadth and depth of housing needs in Loudoun and give us a boost as we work to draft the Unmet Housing Needs Strategic Plan,” said Project Manager Sarah Coyle Etro, who is leading the planning process.
The goal of the Unmet Housing Needs Strategic Plan is to identify strategies and tools for how the county will address unmet housing needs in a systematic and comprehensive way with integrated programs. The plan will also aim to identify housing targets over the short term, which is considered to be the next five years, and the long term.
As part of the community engagement component of the plan, Loudoun County residents and employers are encouraged to take a brief, online survey about community housing needs. Links to the survey are available at loudoun.gov/housingneeds along with more information about the plan.
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