Dearington Neighborhood Housing Study

Lynchburg, Virginia

Housing Study Overview

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.

Proposed concept: rowhoMES

The City wishes to showcase ideas for new housing in the Dearington neighborhood. One proposed concept is rowhomes on a number of vacant lots adjacent to Jefferson Park. The concept below shows 30 rowhome units in total, including 10 handicap-accessible units. Improvements to the sites include additional parking, streetscape improvements, etc. This proposed concept will ultimately be used as a way to generate excitement and ideas for local developers/builders - the City itself has no plans to develop these lots.

(Above) Conceptual site plan

(Above) Conceptual illustration of rowhomes on North York Street

please share your thoughts below!

Neighborhood Infill Housing

Throughout the Dearington neighborhood, there are a number of vacant lots. For an area in need of more housing and more diverse housing options, these vacant lots present an opportunity for infill housing when appropriate. Below are a handful of illustrations showing infill housing on an existing vacant lot in the neighborhood. These illustrations show a small cottage, duplex, and triplex.

(Above) Example infill housing - Cottage (small unit ~1,000 SF)

(Above) Example infill housing - Duplex (two units)

(Above) Example infill housing - Triplex (three units)