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NoVa residents feel pressure to pay high rent, mortgages
A spring survey showed more than half of residents polled in the greater Washington, D.C., area are concerned with making rent or mortgage payments in 2023, highlighting the lack of affordable housing in the nation’s fourth largest metropolitan area. Fifty-two percent of D.C., Maryland and Virginia residents polled by Gallup and the nonprofit Greater Washington […]
Artist housing developer considers Roanoke for first Va. project
Roanoke developer Ed Walker first tried to lure Artspace, a Minnesota-based nonprofit real estate developer for the arts, to Roanoke in the early 2000s when he was transforming a former 1925 cotton textile mill into downtown living spaces. Artspace essentially ghosted him back then. “It’s very, very, very, very difficult to get Artspace’s attention and […]
231-unit affordable housing development coming to McLean
Construction will begin immediately on the 231-unit first phase of an affordable housing development in McLean backed by Amazon.com, SCG Development announced Wednesday. Located at 1750 Old Meadow Road, Somos at McLean Metro will be developed in two phases. In the first phase, Tysons-based SCG Development will demolish an abandoned office building on the property […]
Breeden Construction completes Newport News apts.
Richmond-based Breeden Construction has finished work on the Lift & Rise on Jefferson, a community with 81 townhomes and garden-style apartments in Newport News. The $18.5 million project, done for the Newport News Redevelopment & Housing Authority and Pennrose, a Philadelphia-based developer, started in June 2021 with cleanup and preparation of land on Jefferson Avenue […]
Communities must rally to solve housing issues, Barkin says
Homeownership is becoming increasingly unattainable for too many workers, and communities are going to need to make innovative decisions to create more affordable housing if they want to attract talent, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin said Wednesday during the Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference in Hampton. Barkin said the nation’s housing crunch [&hel[...]
Hospitality | Tourism 2023: DOUG BRADBURN
Bradburn has been leading the most popular historic estate in the U.S. since 2018. The historic home of the first U.S. president and his wife, Martha Washington, welcomes an average of 1 million visitors each year. An author and scholar of early American history, Bradburn joined Mount Vernon in 2013 as the founding director of […]
Virginia Housing CEO to retire
Virginia Housing CEO Susan Dewey will retire Dec. 31, after 24 years heading the Richmond-based authority. “Under Susan’s leadership, Virginia Housing made critical and timely strategic changes over the years to position us for success,” Bill Shelton, chairman of the Virginia Housing Board of Commissioners, said in a statement released Tuesday. “We thank her for […]
Innovation, capital key to rural growth, Barkin and Warner say
There’s hope for economic growth in rural areas despite their challenges, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President and CEO Tom Barkin and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner said Wednesday during the Fed’s 2023 Investing in Rural America conference in Roanoke. Rural areas could overcome economic development challenges, particularly housing shortages and lack of broadband access, with innovation, [...]
$35.8M Newport News affordable housing redevelopment begins
The BLVD Group has acquired and started renovations on the Aqua Vista Apartments in Newport News, the Los Angeles- and Dallas-based company announced Tuesday. BLVD expects development costs, including the property purchase and “soft costs” like engineering and design, to total more than $35.8 million. A BLVD-affiliated limited partnership, Aqua Vista LP, bought the property […]
Amazon housing fund director resigns
Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Housing Equity Fund Director Catherine Buell is leaving the e-tail giant. Housing Equity Fund Principal Senthil Sankaran will be the interim head of the fund team, according to an Amazon spokesperson. Buell joined Amazon in 2020 as head of community development for Amazon in the Community and became director of the e-tailer’s […]
Sentara invests $11M in Newport News revitalization
Sentara Healthcare invested $11 million in Newport News’ Marshall-Ridley Choice Neighborhood revitalization initiative, the Norfolk-based health system announced Wednesday. Sentara is providing $11 million in loan financing support for the project’s second phase, which focuses on the former Ridley Place neighborhood. The project is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Devel[...]
Virginia 500 Spotlight: Catherine Buell
Director, Amazon Housing Equity Fund, Amazon.com Inc. Arlington County WHAT WOULD A COMPETITOR SAY ABOUT YOU? Much like the Roomba vacuum cleaner, Catherine is “pleasantly persistent” and doesn’t give up. She will keep at it, work to find a middle ground and show results. WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Don’t forget to have fun along the way! Life […]
