The Maggie Walker Community Land Trust (MWCLT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that seeks to develop and maintain permanently affordable homeownership opportunities for low and moderate-income households. The organization was formed in 2016 and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Using the Community Land Trust (CLT) model, the MWCLT creates homes that are sold to qualified buyers while retaining ownership of the land beneath the houses. These homes receive permanent subsidy that stays in the home and allows the home to be sold below market value. As an affordable alternative to renting, the CLT model allows families to build wealth through their monthly mortgage payments. In exchange for buying the house at a lower price, a CLT homeowner agrees to pass on the gift, and sell the home at a price that is affordable to someone in a similar financial situation. The new resale price is determined by the increase in the Richmond region’s Area Median Income (AMI). The Maggie Walker CLT is committed to providing perpetually affordable homes to families with modest incomes throughout Richmond’s neighborhoods. In this way, we can keep our neighborhoods diverse and vibrant, even as housing prices rise. Without a program like the MWCLT, some neighborhoods in Richmond will be unaffordable to many of our citizens in the next decade.
