Dearington Neighborhood Housing Study

The City of Lynchburg recently received a $50,000 Community Impact Grant from Virginia Housing for a housing study that focuses on “community-engaged planning” in the Dearington neighborhood.   

This effort is following the City’s work on the Dearington Neighborhood Plan, which outlined investment needed in public streets and spaces in the Dearington Neighborhood to support recreation and a livable neighborhood. That plan illustrated the concept for how housing could be incorporated along the Jefferson Park edge, blending the single-family homes of the neighborhood with the rowhouses of the Dearington Apartments. This study is intended to explore the feasibility of this concept through community input, financial feasibility, architecture, and potential partners. Secondly, vacant and underused land in Dearington as well as other older neighborhoods presents opportunities for infill housing. This study will also take a macro-view and explore how infill housing can be appropriately accommodated neighborhood-wide.

Availability of affordable housing for middle- and lower-income families is a growing issue in Lynchburg. The City plans to invest in Jefferson Park in the years to come, restoring it to the valuable neighborhood asset that it once was, and the surrounding neighborhood offers a major opportunity for mitigating housing deficiencies while reinforcing Dearington as one of Lynchburg’s great neighborhoods.

Updates:

The housing study is moving along! As of June 10, 2022, six focus groups were held with various community stakeholders. The stakeholder report summary and redacted meeting minutes are now available.

The Dearington neighborhood plan and housing study review meeting was held August 11, 2022 from 6-7:30 pm at the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Center. This meeting was an opportunity to review and give feedback on housing study concepts prepared by Hill Studio. Thank you to all who attended!

Those unable to attend the meeting were asked to review the housing study concepts for rowhomes and infill housing in the Dearington Neighborhood online here: Housing Study Concepts and Feedback Forms. The feedback form closed September 16, 2022.

As of mid-December, the housing study has been completed. The final report may be viewed above.