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Affordable Housing in Virden: LIHTC's Long-term Impact on a Predominantly Black Neighborhood
CATEGORY
Affordable Housing
DATA
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
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Affordable Housing
LIHTC Projects
Median Income
Racial Distributions
Population
The Virden neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi, exhibits a significant presence of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funded affordable housing. The neighborhood's LIHTC inventory comprises 139 total units, with 136 designated as low-income units. This affordable housing stock addresses crucial community housing needs.
Based on the 2022 population of 3,410 and the national average household size of 2.61, the estimated number of housing units in the neighborhood is approximately 1,307. The 136 low-income units funded by LIHTC represent about 10.4% of this estimated housing inventory, indicating a substantial contribution to the neighborhood's affordable housing stock.
The LIHTC program has invested significantly in Virden, with project tax credits totaling $1,400,257. This equates to an average federal funding of about $10,074 per unit across all LIHTC-funded projects in the neighborhood.
Affordable housing has been a long-standing feature of Virden, with the earliest LIHTC projects dating back to 1987. The James Hill Project, Livingston Place Apts, and Smith Robinson Project were among the first completed that year. The most recent addition to the affordable housing stock is the Cade Courtyard Senior Apts, completed in 2012, demonstrating a 25-year span of LIHTC investment in the area.
The late 1980s saw the most significant activity in affordable housing development, with multiple projects completed between 1987 and 1990. Notable projects from this period include Love's Apts and Livingston Road Project (both completed in 1988), as well as the Wonsley Project developments on Eminence Row (completed in 1989 and 1990).
The LIHTC-funded housing in Virden offers a mix of unit types, with a predominance of two-bedroom units (84), followed by one-bedroom units (39), and three-bedroom units (16). This distribution suggests a focus on accommodating small to medium-sized families and individuals.
Over the past decade, Virden's population has shown fluctuations, with a general downward trend from 3,776 in 2015 to 3,410 in 2022. The median income has also fluctuated, peaking at $33,588 in 2017 but decreasing to $27,026 in 2022. These economic changes may indicate an ongoing need for affordable housing options in the neighborhood.
The racial composition of Virden has remained relatively stable, with the Black population consistently representing over 90% of residents throughout the past decade. This demographic consistency suggests that the LIHTC projects have been serving a predominantly Black community.
The Virden neighborhood in Jackson, Mississippi, has benefited from significant LIHTC investment over the past three decades, resulting in 136 low-income units that make up about 10.4% of the estimated housing stock. The concentration of project development in the late 1980s established a foundation of affordable housing that has been maintained and expanded upon, with the most recent addition in 2012. The mix of unit types suggests an effort to accommodate diverse household sizes within the low-income population. While demographic trends show some population decline and income fluctuations, the consistent racial composition indicates that these LIHTC projects have been an important resource for the predominantly Black community in Virden.
