Warner talks efforts to increase affordable housing during visit to Harrisonburg
By Michael Russo
In WHSV
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., visited Harrisonburg on Friday, presenting a ceremonial $2 million check to fund permanent supportive housing in the city and discussing his work in the Senate to help create more affordable housing.
Warner’s stop in Harrisonburg was at Commerce Village — a property of the Harrisonburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority. The $2 million in funding was secured in Congress’ most recent spending bills, and the HRHA is dedicating the money toward renovating and maintaining downtown Harrisonburg’s Lineweaver Apartments, another HRHA property.
The recently passed ROAD to Housing Act contains multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation, some of which Warner helped draft. That includes laws that Warner said will help make the rezoning and building new housing go faster.
“One of the things about this ROAD to Housing law now, thank goodness, is that it got rid of a lot of the regulatory hurdles. Government’s got to be a lot faster on improving things,” Warner said. “It is also going to give incentives to communities that will move through the zoning process quicker.”
Part of the ROAD to Housing includes the RESIDE Act, which creates a pilot program to take vacant buildings — abandoned hotels, warehouses, strip malls and the like — and convert them into affordable housing units. Warner said many of these spaces could already have the foundational resources of water, electricity and broadband to provide a jumpstart on converting the buildings into homes.
The senator also discussed how part of the new legislation can help ensure that affordable housing stays affordable.
“One thing as well in the supply that’s very popular is it’s not going to allow these big private equity firms to come in, buy up a bunch of houses, jack up the rents, or take supply of houses off the market for folks who want to buy,” Warner said.
In addition to sharing about his work in Congress and presenting the ceremonial check to HRHA, Warner’s visit allowed for community members to share their experiences with the senator.
City council members like Vice Mayor Dany Fleming said having a stable, affordable home can allow people to focus on other aspects of living a healthy life, adding that the partnerships between local, state and federal government and with community organizations help make that possible.
Representatives from area nonprofits and services such as First Step, Strength in Peers, Mercy House, Central Valley Habitat for Humanity and more also shared their experiences with helping residents in need of affordable housing. From stories of helping survivors of domestic violence to families who can’t afford the rising cost of living, nonprofit leaders reiterated that federal support continues to be essential to their organizations’ operations, which often provide services beyond just helping someone find a home. But to do that, they said, there needs to be a larger stock of affordable housing to get into.
As for addressing the growing need for housing, Warner said “there is no-one-size-fits-all” answer and that it will require “relentless action,” but that Harrisonburg is willing to innovate to find solutions.
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