Sen. Warner breaks down affordable housing plan in Henrico

HENRICO, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia Senator Mark Warner says he has a plan to address Virginia’s affordable housing crisis.

Warner addressed the plan, called the ROAD to Housing Act, which Warner worked on with a bipartisan group of senators, on Monday, Sept. 8 in Henrico County.

“It’s crazy that in America, the average age of a first-time home buyer is 38,” Warner told 8News. 

As part of the measure, Warner wants to create a new pilot program that would provide money to local governments to convert vacant buildings like hotels, warehouses and strip malls into affordable housing. 

“You can save literally tens and thousands of dollars per unit if you’ve already got the utilities, roads, parking all in place,” Warner explained. 

Warner added that he also wants to make it easier for places of worship to build affordable housing. 

Plus, Warner says he’s looking to create a program that would provide grants or forgivable loans to qualifying homeowners or landlords to address home repairs in an effort to preserve the affordable housing Virginia already has. 

“At the end of the day, we need more supply, and these are all ideas about how we generate additional supply,” Warner told 8News. 

The ROAD to Housing Act has already passed a Senate committee and is awaiting a vote on the Senate floor.