Three new townhomes off Gayton Road have been sold to first-time homebuyers
Discovery Ridge, a community of two dozen townhomes at Gayton Road and Lauderdale Drive, touts its “prime location” near Short Pump and access to choice schools and parks. Each home is three stories, with three bedrooms, two full baths, two half-baths and a one-car garage.
“The units are all the same throughout the project and just as upgraded,” with granite countertops and frosted-glass cabinets in the kitchens and a tile shower and ceramic tile flooring in the master bath, said Tim Parent, who is guiding the development as Richmond market president of Mungo Homes.
The homes, priced starting at $449,950, would typically be unaffordable for most first-time homebuyers. But Henrico County is removing some of those barriers under a program to increase access to affordable homeownership.
The county launched its program in 2024 when the Board of Supervisors established the Henrico Affordable Housing Trust Fund with $60 million in previously undesignated tax revenues from the county’s data center industry. Funds from the trust are used to reduce the price that a qualifying buyer pays for the home.
So far, the program has facilitated the purchase of three new homes – all at Discovery Ridge. The nonprofit Partnership for Housing Affordability (PHA) administers the program and promotes participation among nonprofit and for-profit builders and developers. For each development, a committee that consists of representatives from Henrico and PHA must approve an application that outlines the terms for participation, including the number and sales price of the homes and the income range of the targeted buyers. Overall, the program is designed for buyers with incomes between 60% and 120% of the area median income (AMI). For a family of three, that equates to a household income ranging from $61,300 at 60% AMI to $122,650 at 120% AMI.
Once the criteria are set, the developer and lender work directly with a buyer to finalize a purchase.
“Our goal is to make this as conventional a process as possible for buyers,” said Jovan Burton, executive director of the Partnership for Housing Affordability. “We never know who the buyer is until the closing happens and a buyer-certification form has been signed.”
At Discovery Ridge, the trust is providing a total of $560,000 to facilitate the purchase of five homes. That’s an average of $112,000 per unit, which would effectively allow a buyer to pay $338,000 for a home priced at $450,000. Additional discounts from the builder can reduce the buyer’s cost to as little as $318,000.
For its affordable units, Discovery Ridge is targeting buyers between 101% and 120% AMI, which is set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That equates to a maximum household income of $136,200 for a family of four.
Parent, of Mungo Homes, said the program is addressing a significant need, and the sales at Discovery Ridge have been completed without issue.
“Mungo was quite interested in this program because of how well thought out it is and what it can do for people in the local community,” he said. “Discovery Ridge’s timing was right on track to try it out, as we are in the county and in an underserved area to help provide homes that meet the county’s AMI program criteria. We provided discounts to the individual units for the program, and the funds from the Henrico trust fund truly make this a successful project and program.”
With the program and recent zoning changes to allow smaller lots, Henrico is serving as an “incubator” for potential solutions to the national challenge of high housing costs, County Manager John A. Vithoulkas said. Last summer, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner met with county officials and suggested the program could serve as a model for other communities. Among other program benefits, Henrico waives permit and utility connection fees as well as provides an expedited review of subdivision plans.
“On any given year, Henrico County has about 800 homes that are built new,” Vithoulkas told the RVA’s Got Issues podcast. “And this program is targeting 150 homes, basically, to have their prices reduced.”
Officials expect the program to grow gradually and are encouraged by the early results. “This is really an opportunity for us to build and establish trust with the homebuilding community,” Burton said.
So far, 70 homes are in the program’s pipeline, including five in Discovery Ridge. The total from approved projects also includes 25 townhomes at Parkside Townes in Sandston, which is being developed by HHHunt with a total of 123 units, and 20 townhomes in a development planned on Quioccasin Road by Center Creek Homes. In addition, a fourth development – The Crossings at Mulberry by StyleCraft Homes – has received conditional approval and would include 25 affordable townhomes among its 165 units off Chamberlayne Road, near Azalea Avenue.
The program has two primary models, Burton said. Participating buyers in Discovery Ridge are required to keep their homes as their primary residence for at least 10 years. They retain full equity and are bound by no price restrictions if they decide to sell after the 10 years.
A different model is in effect at Parkside Townes. HHHunt, which is developing the community on Whiteside Road, is selling 25 lots to the nonprofit Maggie Walker Community Land Trust. That will ensure the homes remain affordable in perpetuity. Buyers of those homes will own only the dwelling, not the land underneath it. As resales occur, they’ll be subject to restrictions that guarantee affordability for the next buyer.
“Those units will be far, far more affordable than under other models,” Burton said. “Every deal will be different.”
More information is available from the Partnership for Housing Affordability at pharva.com.