Featured Profile: Church Hill Central Neighborhood

Provider: Richmond Affordable Housing

Location: Richmond, Virginia

Property Type: Single Family Homes

Description: The Bon Secours Sisters Health System, one of Mercy Housing’s Strategic HealthCare Partners, approached Mercy Loan Fund about providing a loan to Richmond Affordable Housing, a subsidiary of Better Housing Coalition in Richmond, Virginia. The Bon Secours Health System had purchased a hospital in the Church Hill Central neighborhood and wanting to foster a good relationship with the community, they decided to participate in the revitalization of housing and retail establishments.

Church Hill Central sits above the James River and is described as a “time capsule of the 18th century”. Because of its rich history, the city has targeted Church Hill Central as one of its redevelopment areas where it hopes to recapture the community’s historic flavor while redeveloping the more blighted blocks. Mercy Loan Fund’s $300,000 line of credit loan has been used to acquire homes for rehabilitation or demolition and replacement. The homes are being sold to low-income families who have been counseled on homeownership, budgeting and credit issues.

Church Hill Central represents a model for a successful partnership between cities and nonprofit organizations to create housing for low-income residents while revitalizing inner-city neighborhoods rich in history and character.