At Swansboro Place, Richmond Uses Tax Program to Add Affordable Housing

November 13, 2026

 

Virginia Housing recently joined the celebration of the ribbon cutting for Swansboro Place, a new affordable housing development on Richmond's Southside. Virginia Housing provided permanent financing and administered Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for the project. Swansboro Place also received support through the city of Richmond’s Affordable Housing Performance Grant (AHPG), a funding tool that makes affordable housing a viable option for developers in the city.

Affordable Housing in Richmond

Swansboro Place is the latest progress in Richmond’s efforts to achieve the goals laid out in Richmond 300, the city’s long-range growth and development plan. The plan highlights how housing costs often outpace income growth for Richmond’s low- and very low-income residents, and that a large proportion are often cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Within its overarching housing goal of preserving and expanding mixed-income communities by adding housing in all parts of the city, it places special emphasis on adding affordable housing in areas with access to transit and other amenities.

 

All 90 of Swansboro Place’s one-, two- and three-bedroom units are reserved for households earning 60% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI), and the community is located on Hull Street, a key transportation corridor that offers residents easy access to high-frequency bus routes and the James River Park System.

"Affordable housing is deeply needed in Richmond, and Swansboro Place is an important milestone for the southside community," said Virginia Housing Development Officer Melissa Waller. "Swansboro Place is more than a set of buildings. It's new opportunity, greater stability and a stronger future for the individuals and families that will call Swansboro home."

Richmond’s Affordable Housing Performance Grant

Beyond financing from Virginia Housing and other partners, Richmond’s AHPG program helped make Swansboro Place possible. Launched in 2023, the grant provides tax relief to property owners who build housing that’s affordable to households earning up to 80% of AMI. For up to 30 years, the property owner receives a yearly rebate that is proportionate to the number of affordable units being offered and tied to the amount that the property’s real estate taxes have increased since the development was built. The program has helped support the construction of thousands of affordable housing units across Richmond.

"The project definitely needed [the AHPG], and I think all affordable housing projects need support like that," said Junior Burr, owner of Swansboro Place developer Canterbury Enterprises.

To illustrate where the AHPG helped bring Swansboro Place to fruition, Burr explained that early into construction work, his team discovered an underground gas tank that needed to be removed. The unexpected challenge required the developer to draw on more than $800,000 in contingency funding. Knowing that the AHPG rebate was coming lessened the setback’s negative impact, making it possible for the project to move forward toward completion.

"A program like this frees up capital for whatever might come up, so you can make the numbers work,” said Burr.

Swansboro Place has already welcomed its new community members, and dozens more have submitted rental applications. Virginia Housing is proud to have contributed to this project that is bringing new quality, affordable housing for Virginians that call Richmond home.