Happy holidays, from our family to yours!

As this year comes to a close, we’re celebrating all that we’ve accomplished in 2024. One of our biggest accomplishments was the completion of the Ettrick Landing development, which has been in the works for about five years.

This accomplishment was recognized by the housing development community at the Virginia Housing Awards during the Governor’s Housing Conference on November 14. Check out the video below to learn more.

 Ettrick Landing – Best Homeownership Project, Virginia Housing Awards 2024

Online information sessions will resume on January 14, 2025 at 6pm. We’ll continue having sessions on the second Tuesday of each month. Sign up here! If you’re interested in the program, we hope to see you there.

New homes on the way

Here are some of the homes we expect to complete in the near future. Please note: details such as size and number of homes are not final and may change. Other details such as sale prices may not be available yet.

• Twenty-one homes in Varina – 14 CLT, 7 market rate
• 3-bedroom/2.5-bathroom home in Glen Allen
• Two homes on Eden Ave in Varina
• Four 3-bedroom/2.5-bathroom homes in Brookland Park

The City of Richmond recently awarded MWCLT with 2 grant awards: $20,000 to support general operations and $600,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding towards the Oak Grove Townhomes development. MWCLT is deeply grateful for the City’s continued support of our mission!

Ettrick Landing project partners present at Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference

VAGHC was not just a moment to receive the award for the Homeownership Developer of the Year for our first subdivision, Ettrick Landing, but it was also an opportunity to show the power of partnership, collaboration, and shared vision. Our Director of Homeownership, Candice Turner, sat on a panel with Nancy Ross, President for Concerned Citizens of Ettrick (CCE), Nicholas Feucht, Real Estate and Housing Coordinator for Chesterfield County, and Matthew Morgan, Director of Affordable Housing Development at project:HOMES, to discuss how Ettrick Landing became a vision realized.

The panel discussion placed emphasis on how true partnership works, taking note of the intentionality needed to bring community voice to the world of development. Nancy Ross discussed the history of the community and the land where Ettrick Landing is placed. Formerly Dupuy Elementary school and later renamed as Ettrick Annex, the Ettrick Landing site is full of history and Nancy, along with other members of the CCE, discussed how both the history of the site as well as the mission of CCE aligned with the Ettrick Landing project.

Nicholas provided a framework for Chesterfield’s interest in this affordable housing opportunity while Matthew spoke to the collaborative efforts and partnership between Project Homes as the builder and MWCLT. Candice spoke to the CLT model and to the vision of providing affordable housing opportunities that include input from the communities in which we build. The panel discussion encouraged others to find routes to collaborate with the community as well as developers who share vision and mission in effective affordable housing development.

Maggie Walker CLT featured in nationwide study of CLT-municipality partnerships

Last month the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy published Preserving Affordable Homeownership: Municipal Partnerships with Community Land Trusts, a follow up to 2008’s The City-CLT Partnership. According to the Lincoln Institute:

“Combining their own expertise with input provided by more than 115 CLT practitioners and other experts across the country, the authors identify significant trends in the community land trust landscape, share examples of innovative and effective partnerships, and offer evidence-based recommendations for policy makers and practitioners who want to make homeownership more affordable and accessible.”

Read the full study here.