VHDA Grant Delivers Funds to Conduct Housing Study: Lynchburg’s First Step to Meeting Current Housing Needs

A recently completed study funded by a VHDA Community Impact Grant has given the City of Lynchburg valuable statistical insight into its housing situation, especially relating to a lack of affordable units for low-income residents.

The study was commissioned last year by the Lynchburg Regional Housing Collaborative (LRHC), an organization that focuses on poverty-related issues affecting the city.

The study looked at Lynchburg’s housing supply and demand environment from a number of socio-economic measures. It was conducted by Enterprise Community Partners (ECP), which used a sophisticated new tool called Enterprise 360 to collect and analyze U.S. Census-tract data.

ECP reported the following:

• Half of Lynchburg’s households make less than 80 percent of the Area’s Median Income ($48,250 a year for a family of four).
• More than 10,000 households spend at least 30 percent of their income on housing.
• Of that total, nearly 4,500 households are considered severely cost-burdened, meaning they spend at least half of their income on housing.
• The city lacks 578 residential units for its lowest-income households.
• Seven out of 10 families that moved within the city in 2016 had incomes below $25,000.

The study’s findings have been shared with Lynchburg officials and LRHC members, which include Miriam’s House, Rush Homes, Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity, Lynchburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Lynchburg Community Action Group and the city of Lynchburg. The group plans to use this data to prepare a plan to promote housing growth and stability. City staffers have been asked to analyze the data and its implications and recommend next steps to the city council.