News
Homebuyer Readiness Series Offered
The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) and the City of Harrisonburg are partnering with Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP) to offer a series of free Homebuyer Readiness short-courses in the months of February through April. The courses will provide information on homebuying basics, including what is needed to qualify for a mortgage, how to increase financial readiness and save for a down payment, and budgeting and credit preparedness. Jacob Hodges, a Housing Counselor with SERCAP, will facilitate the series.
The first four sessions are scheduled for the following Saturdays from 10am-1pm at the Lucy Simms Center in Harrisonburg, and will culminate in a full-day Homebuyer Education Training Class on Saturday, April 15:
- February 18: Homeownership Preparation Overview – Clients will learn the basics of what’s involved in the process of buying a home, including budgeting, credit preparedness, and saving for down payments.
- March 4: Homeownership Preparation Overview Session 2
- March 18: Homeownership Partners and Personalized Paperwork – Clients will continue their homebuyer readiness journey by learning about programs and tools that eligible borrowers can access to reduce down payment and closing costs. Following the presentation, attendees can schedule one-on-one pre-purchase and credit counseling. Partners and presenters for this event TBD, more details coming soon.
- April 1: Details TBD (Participants from prior sessions will select topics of interest)
- April 15: Certified Homebuyer Education Training Class – This full-day class will be accompanied with a Virginia Housing Certificate, which is required to access many down payment and closing cost assistance programs, including the CSPDC’s First Time Homebuyer Program.
For more information about the course, including a flyer available in English and Spanish, contact Olivia Raines at olivia@cspdc.org.
Housing Grant Recipient Breaks Ground
On February 5, the CSPDC attended a groundbreaking for the Suter Street Neighborhood Development. The development is led by Central Valley Habitat and PDY LLC, who applied for gap funds through the PDC Housing Development Grant in Spring of 2022 and received an award of $325,000. Once complete, the development will supply 21 new units of affordable homeownership and rental opportunities in Harrisonburg. PDC Housing Development Grant funds are being used throughout the construction process, and have assisted in covering the costs of engineering & design, site planning, and permitting over the past year.
The event was organized by Central Valley Habitat, and was attended by Habitat board members, elected officials and local government staff from the City of Harrisonburg, Habitat volunteers, and families that have received or will be receiving a Habitat home.
BRITE Request for Proposals for Mobile Data Collection System
The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission (CSPDC) is soliciting proposals from qualified firms for a system to administer mobile data collection for BRITE Bus fixed route operations. The mobile data collection system (MDCS) will be a foundational technology for BRITE, transitioning from more manual methods of collecting data while also providing a rich data source to support operations and planning. The purpose of this RFP is to contract with a system provider to deliver a MDCS that includes but is not limited to: production, installation, configuration, hosting, training, licensing, maintenance, and support. The CSPDC intends to award one contract for the entire solution. Please click here to access the RFP.
PDC/MPO Staff Attend Title VI Training
On December 16, 2022, five members of staff attended a training on Title VI on the Civil Rights Act addressing non-discrimination in all federally-funded activities that we undertake at the PDC. Title VI ensures that no one is discriminated against based on their race, nationality or skin color. The Virginia Association of MPOs (VAMPO) hosted the training in partnership with PlanRVA, which contracted with KLT Group to develop and lead the training, and Thomas Jefferson PDC, which acted as the local host at the UVA North Fork Facility in Charlottesville.
Waynesboro Receives Eastern Federal Lands Access Program (EFLAP) Funding
US DOT awarded the City of Waynesboro a $950,000 grant that will pay for preliminary engineering and partial right-of-way acquisition on a trail to connect Sunset Park to the Crozet Tunnel and then onto Shenandoah National Park and the Appalachian Trail via the Rockfish Gateway Trail. Waynesboro Director of Parks and Recreation, and the Chair of the Crozet Tunnel Foundation Dwayne Jones says that “while all final appropriations will be contingent upon Congress approval, we are thrilled to share the great news!”