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A Richmond City Council committee advanced a measure Thursday that could create a $10.1 million pool of loan funding to aid economic development, create affordable housing and alleviate blight, among other projects….  timesdispatch.com

A Richmond City Council committee advanced a measure Thursday that could create a $10.1 million pool of loan funding to aid economic development, create affordable housing and alleviate blight, among other projects….The committee also continued a perennially delayed proposed ordinance that would give the council more authority over city contracts and change orders….  timesdispatch.com

The initial plan to sell the homes dates to 2005, when the housing authority decided the scattered site properties had become too costly to operate and maintain….The authority began renovating homes to sell to residents or other low-income buyers, though only 11 had sold by this year, when the authority floated the idea of selling the homes “as is.” That move prompted bitter opposition from residents….  timesdispatch.com

This is part two of CBS 6 News Reporter Sandra Jones’ investigation into possible changes for Richmond’s public housing. Mayor Jones and his staff traveled to the city of Atlanta in December to see how that city transformed its public housing.

….Housing authority officials, citing diminishing funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, say they cannot afford to maintain and repair scattered sites. Such talk breeds cynicism among public-housing residents and affordable-housing advocates. How committed is Richmond to dispersing poverty, anyway?….  timesdispatch.com

The City of Richmond has 2,200 vacant buildings, the majority of which are single-family houses. Some are well-maintained and secured by their owners, but a substantial number of these vacant houses — by some estimates as many as 800 — are blighted: chronically vacant, with repeated code violations…  timesdispatch.com

A coalition of Richmond-area congregations made a formidable show of strength Thursday night in a campaign to pressure the City Council into following through on a public trust fund to create more affordable housing….Council Vice President Ellen F. Robertson, who represents the 6th District, introduced an ordinance Monday that sets up provisions for the trust fund and its board. It is scheduled for a public hearing April 23…. timesdispatch.com

Homelessness in the Richmond area has fallen 10 percent since January 2009, according to a report released Thursday by a regional tracking agency…. timesdispatch.com

….The housing authority said this week that it plans to sell the units, half of which are occupied, as is, rather than renovate them before putting them on the market, as the authority began doing five years ago…. timesdispatch.com

A model that’s succeeded in transforming public housing in Atlanta and elsewhere could work in Richmond, according to a presentation given today to members of the Greater Richmond Chamber. … timesdispatch.com