Henrico County leaders today joined U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, state and local leaders, and officials from SupportWorks Housing to celebrate an injection of federal funding for a new affordable housing development that aims to help individuals experiencing long-term homelessness.
Warner announced $500,000 in additional federal funding for Greenview Apartments, a 60-unit community planned on Rady Street, in Richmond off of Mechanicsville Turnpike. Designed for low-income residents and formerly unhoused individuals, the community will offer a range of onsite services to support residents and help them maintain their housing. Henrico and Chesterfield counties and the city of Richmond previously collaborated to commit about $9 million of their allocations of federal HOME-ARP funds to the project.
The funding announcement was made at Cool Lane Commons, a supportive-housing community that was spearheaded by SupportWorks Housing and opened in 2024. Officials noted that 97% of residents of Cool Lane Commons have not returned to homelessness.
“Permanent supportive housing is an important strategy for addressing chronic homelessness for vulnerable individuals in our community,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Roscoe D. Cooper III, of the Fairfield District. “This is not just safe and affordable housing. It provides much-needed services, improves the quality of life for these individuals and enables them to rebuild their lives.
“We are proud of what Cool Lane Commons has done for this community and the people it serves, and we look forward to Greenview Apartments doing the same,” Cooper said.
Warner applauded Henrico, Richmond and Chesterfield for their collaboration on funding affordable-housing projects and credited the SupportWorks Housing model.
“We need to copy this program and take it around the country — 97% of residents do not return to homeless, that is remarkable,” Warner said.
The senator said that housing is “one of the last bipartisan issues” in Washington.
“There is recognition at the federal level that we have to do more,” Warner said, noting that congressional work on a housing bill, the Housing for the 21st Century Act, is underway. “You all are doing your part to make [the issue of affordable housing] better. This is a real partnership between jurisdictions.”
