UVA hosts online community event to discuss affordable housing

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The University of Virginia held an online community event Thursday evening to kick off its effort to address affordable housing.

The goal is to support the development of between 1,000 to 1,500 affordable housing units in and around Charlottesville over the next 10 years.

The plan is to build those units using land that is owned by UVA or the UVA Foundation.

“We’ll say that financial profit is not at all our driver, and that our goal has the support of the board of visitors and the entire leadership team of the university,” said UVA President Jim Ryan.

The “affordable housing project” is just one of UVA’s key priorities over the next several years. Others include youth education, equitable care, and improving jobs and wages throughout central Virginia.