This year marks the 20th anniversary of Locus. Milestones like this naturally invite reflection. For those of us working in community development finance, anniversaries are less about looking back and more about asking: What have we learned? And what still needs to change?

Over the past two decades, Locus has had the opportunity to work across Virginia’s housing ecosystem alongside developers, philanthropic organizations, local governments, advocates, and community leaders. That vantage point has shaped how we think about our role. While financing affordable housing is central to our work, we increasingly see our role as something broader: helping the field identify problems early, convene partners, and design solutions that can scale.

Three lessons stand out from our experience.

Lesson 1: Preserving affordable housing is as important as building it

Much of the public conversation about housing rightly focuses on new construction. But across Virginia, another challenge is quietly emerging: the potential loss of affordable housing we already have.

Over the next 15 years, more than 47,000 Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) units across Virginia will reach the end of their affordability compliance periods. When that happens, owners may choose to maintain affordability, but they are not always required to do so. In strong markets, properties are increasingly acquired by investors who convert them to market-rate housing.

Preservation matters for several reasons. It protects existing housing inventory, prevents tenant displacement, and safeguards the public investment that originally created these homes. It is also often significantly more cost-effective than building new units.

Recognizing the scale of this challenge, Locus partnered with Virginia Housing Alliance and Housing Forward Virginia to launch the Virginia Affordable Housing Preservation Coalition, a statewide effort to better understand which properties are at risk and to develop the policy tools, capital structures, and data resources needed to preserve them.

The goal is not simply to study the problem. It is to equip Virginia with practical tools – data dashboards, policy recommendations, and capital products and partnerships – that will help mission-driven developers compete for and preserve these properties.

Lesson 2: Housing ecosystems matter as much as housing capital

Financing alone rarely solves housing shortages. In many communities, particularly rural areas, the deeper issue is that the housing development ecosystem itself is thin.

Across Southern Virginia, for example, we have been hearing from small contractors, property owners, and entrepreneurs who want to build housing in their communities but lack access to the networks, capital knowledge, and technical support needed to move from idea to project. Many have completed small rehab projects or own developable land but struggle to navigate feasibility analysis, capital stacks, or permitting processes.

That insight led to the design of the Homegrown Developers Ecosystem Pilot; a regional initiative focused on strengthening the pipeline of local developers capable of delivering small-scale and infill housing. The pilot combines training, technical assistance, municipal partnerships, and access to capital, recognizing that successful housing development requires all these pieces working together. In this pilot, that means that Locus will combine our financial expertise, on-the-ground presence, and partnerships in the region with an agreement with LISC Virginia to bring a proven “Develop the Developers” training model to southern Virginia.

The aim for Locus and our partners is more than just support for individual projects. It is to help cultivate locally rooted developers who understand their communities and can build housing solutions over the long term.

Lesson 3: Partnership is what unlocks projects

One of the most consistent lessons from the field is that housing projects succeed when multiple partners stretch together.

A recent example comes from Emporia, where local leaders were working to address a long-standing lack of new housing development. Through collaboration between the City of Emporia, Southside Community Development and Housing Corporation, and Locus, land that once held condemned structures was cleared and replaced with newly built homes serving local residents.

Locus knows that projects like this rarely fit neatly into conventional financing boxes. They require patience, technical assistance, and partners willing to adapt their roles along the way. Sometimes that means structuring construction financing. Other times it means connecting a developer to additional resources or helping a local government navigate new tools.

In our experience, these collaborative approaches are often what turn promising ideas into real housing.

Looking ahead: Expanding the affordable housing toolkit

Another challenge emerging in many Virginia communities is the shortage of workforce housing, including both rental homes and entry-level opportunities for homeownership.

Often referred to as the “missing middle,” this segment of the market serves households such as teachers, nurses, first responders, and other essential workers. Yet, compared to housing for moderate-to-low-income households, workforce housing has far fewer public incentives or subsidy programs to support its development. As a result, many communities struggle to produce rental units that remain affordable to middle-income residents or to create pathways for these families to become homeowners.

At Locus, we are increasingly exploring partnerships that may help expand these opportunities, including collaborations with community land trusts and mission-driven developers that can preserve affordability while enabling wealth-building through homeownership.

This work is still evolving. But it reflects a broader lesson learned over the past twenty years: housing solutions rarely come from a single tool or institution. They emerge when capital, policy, and community leadership work together.

A shared opportunity

While we celebrate 20 years of impact and partnership, we are also honest about the challenges ahead. For philanthropic organizations across Virginia, this moment presents an important opportunity.

Philanthropic capital often plays a catalytic role in housing, supporting early-stage research, convening coalitions, funding pilot programs, and helping new models reach scale. Whether through housing preservation initiatives, developer training programs, or innovative ownership models, these investments can unlock solutions that traditional capital alone cannot deliver.

In addition, we are taking advantage of our milestone anniversary to raise awareness around the opportunities to generate more impact for not only housing, but energy affordability and resilience, food systems development, and community health. Locus will host several in-person and virtual convenings throughout 2026 with stops in the Southwest, Southern, and Central regions. Through thought leadership, interactive sessions, and storytelling, these events will bring together community development leaders to exchange ideas and chart a path forward. Our first event will take place in the Town of Pulaski on March 18, and we welcome you to join and help us shape the next chapter of community investment in Virginia. To stay informed about Locus events and projects, sign up for the Locus newsletter.