Cool Lane Commons Coming Soon

by Charles McGuigan 06.2022

Earlier this month, Virginia Supportive Housing (VSH) hosted a ceremonial ground-breaking on Cool Lane Commons—a $23 million affordable housing project that encompasses 86 individual units. The Commons will be housed in a renovated and expanded vacant assisted living facility that sits on the border of Henrico County and the City of Richmond. It will offer units of more than 500 square feet to homeless and low-income people in the metro area. Additionally, this VSH project will provide on-site supportive services. The 100,000 square foot, two-story building will also house office space for VSH staff, and some community partners. 

“Cool Lane Commons will end homelessness for eighty-six people in the Richmond region, a significant step towards our goal of ending homelessness for all,” said VHS Executive Director Allison Bogdanovic. “And its design marks another significant step for us: our partnership with neighboring Faith Community Baptist Church is a milestone in more intentionally integrating our properties into the surrounding communities.” 

Faith Community Baptist Church and its founding visionary, Dr. Patricia Gould-Champ, were key supporters of this project from the beginning.  Cool Lane Commons will provide offices and meeting rooms for the Church’s non-profit community development corporation—Community in Development. This non-profit offers critical neighborhood services, including food and urban farming programs, workforce development, and HIV/AIDS prevention education.

Among the dignitaries gathered for the ground-breaking was Henrico’s Fairfield District Supervisor Frank J. Thornton. “Cool Lane Commons promises to provide much-needed affordable housing, in addition to key support services, for residents in our region who are most in need,” Frank said. “This exciting project also will reinvest in the local community and boost programs already on the ground. Henrico County is pleased to join Virginia Supportive Housing and our partners in this effort to improve the quality of life of our residents.”   

Cool Lane Commons will be VSH’s largest development to date, and its third sixty-plus unit development in the Richmond area. Along with housing, VSH properties also offer many supportive services for their clients. And this approach works. Ninety-nine percent of the people VSH serves in the greater Richmond area never return to homelessness.