CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will decide on recommendations staff has made on distributing just over $7 million of the 2027 Affordable Housing Investment Fund, according to the agenda for its Wednesday afternoon meeting. While the Board worked to get the number as high as it did, it still fell well short of the $17 million worth of funding requests it received for the upcoming year.

“It’s hard to stay ahead of the game, because we do need these funds,” Rivanna Supervisor Bea LaPisto Kirtley said. “We took some moneys from the Economic Development Authority, not affecting primarily what they need to do, but we were able to get some money there. Frankly, we need more money, we need more money in the AHIF fund, and I think that’s something as a board we’ll be working toward.”

According to the meeting agenda’s executive summary, seven applications were submitted for the FY2027 AHIF competitive process.

The applications are scored by a review team that awarded points based on affordable housing strategy and alignment, site readiness and location, the capacity and experience of the development team, and project financial feasibility.

A project typically must score 75% to be considered, but in the 2027 case, only two of the four projects recommended met that score while the other two were close.

The two projects scoring more than 75 were both Habitat for Humanity Charlottesville initiatives with their homeownership project scoring 89%. The project proposal is for the construction of 46 affordable units in Southwood Neighborhood, 11 on Proffit Road and two in Crozet for home ownership. In total, the proposal will cost $1,770,000.

Next at 81 was Southwood Promise, which proposed providing rental assistance for 11 families and relocation assistance for nine in Southwood, and construction of eight affordable units. That project will cost $2,239,500.

“Two additional applicants scored just under the 75% threshold score, because the proposed projects do not assume the same level of site control required by traditional new construction activities, which was a scored item in the application,” according to the summary. “As a result, these scores do not reflect deficits in the proposed projects or implementation plans. Staff recommend the board consider these two applications for funding given this background.”

One is LEAP Energy Efficiency upgrades for 92 low- and moderate-income families totaling $747,350, which scored 74%.

The other is $1.7 million for Piedmont Community Land Trust to support construction of 61 condominiums and 17 townhomes at Brookhill Square and Greenstone. It scored a 71%.

The largest project missing the cut was the Piedmont Housing Alliance $6 million request for purchase of a motel “to establish 58 transitional housing units for individuals and couples experiencing homelessness”. It scored just 44%.

The first item in the meeting, which starts at 1:30 p.m., is County Assistant Chief Financial Officer Andy Bowman Albemarle’s annual economic outlook.

“The national, state, and local economy impacts the County’s revenues and expenditures,” according to the executive summary. “Understanding the current economic state and future forecasts enables the County to engage in long-term financial planning, prepare fiscally responsible budgets, and monitor its ongoing fiscal health.”

In the night session, beginning at 6 p.m., the last action item is a public hearing on conveyance of 82.028 acres of county-owned Rivanna Futures land to the Economic Development Authority.

“The EDA will compensate the County for the 82 acres after the EDA sells the property to Astra Zeneca,” County Communications Director Abbey Stumpf told Cville Right Now.  “The conveyance of land between the County and the EDA will be pursuant to the terms of a Memorandum of Agreement.”

That agreement ensures that AstraZeneca pays the EDA $4,165,500 which will then be turned over to the county within 90 days.

AstraZeneca has committed to developing the property into a biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility.

“The revenues that will be received from the transaction are planned in the FY 27-31 Adopted Capital Improvements Program,” according to the summary