Dive Brief:
- Virginia Beach entered the new year with 372 affordable rental units in the pipeline after years of rezoning efforts and the introduction of a performance-based grant program that rewards affordable housing development.
- The city’s Attainable Workforce Housing Performance Grant, launched in September, offers annual grants based on a percentage of the incremental real estate taxes generated by approved affordable housing developments. Grants are awarded after the development is completed, provided certain criteria are met, according to the city.
- The program is designed to promote more affordable multifamily rental options in the Virginia Beach housing market, where one in three households are considered “housing cost-burdened,” spending more than 30% of their income on housing.
Dive Insight:
Virginia Beach’s homeless population grew from 311 to 327 in 2025, an increase the city blames in part on a lack of affordable housing options.
With the AWHP grants, based on a model also used in Richmond, Virginia, the city said it hopes to make affordable housing “more feasible” by filling funding gaps.
“This program comes at a crucial time and will make a significant impact on meeting the critical need for more housing that is affordable for seniors and workforce members in our community,” Ruth Hill, director of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation, said in a statement.
The first two approved projects in the program include the Grand Lake Senior Apartments, which will offer 172 units for residents ages 62 and older, roughly half of them for households at or below 50% of the area median income. The other, known as the Silo Apartments, will provide 200 units for households with incomes ranging from 50% to 80% AMI.
Both new developments are by the Franklin Group Companies. Both also required new zoning that was approved for Grand Lake in December 2024 and for Silo Apartments in July.
The Silo Apartments project is also using the city’s Workforce Housing Bonus Density Program, allowing the developer to increase the number of units from 154 to 200.
