83 units of affordable housing for seniors arrives on Richmond's Southside

Virginia Housing's Brandi Payne tours a kitchen in one of the units at 2100 Bainbridge St. in Richmond’s Swansboro neighborhood, an affordable housing development for seniors. (Photos by Julianne Tripp Hillian for The Richmonder)

At a Monday morning ceremony, officials cut the ribbon on a new project that will provide 83 units of affordable housing for senior citizens in Richmond.

The project, at 2100 Bainbridge St. in Richmond's 5th District, sits between Hull Street and Semmes Ave., near the Lee Bridge.

It was a space previously occupied by a train servicing station, which has been repurposed into a community room as part of the development.

Project:Homes CEO Lee Householder cuts a ribbon during Monday's ceremony. Participating in the ribbon cutting ceremony was, from left to right, Marion Cake and Matt Morgan from project:Homes, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula, Virginia Dept. of Housing and Community Development COO Cassidy Rasnick, and Phil Cunningham, the assistant director of tax credit programs for Virginia Housing.

Mayor Danny Avula joined leaders from project:HOMES in celebrating the opening. Officials from other funding groups were there as well, including Virginia Housing, the Virginia Housing Trust Fund and the Regional Housing Development Program.

The project benefited from the city's Affordable Housing Performance Grant Program, which is helping to incentivize such projects.

The location of this project in Richmond’s Swansboro neighborhood allows for easy bus access for residents.

The ribbon cutting was the second in as many weeks for Avula, who opened the Bellevue Gardens development in Richmond's Northside last Monday.

Attendees toured one of the units after Monday's presentation.

According to project:Homes, one- and two-bedroom units at the property are available to rent for residents over the age of 55 making below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The property features a shared outdoor balcony space on the 4th floor, along with a community center, fitness center, and room for bicycle storage.