“What we want to contribute to these amazing communities is permanently affordable housing and inclusive wealth building opportunities through homeownership,” she said.

The support from Altria, she said, will be transformational.

“We want to demonstrate that the revitalization of unused land can be a tool for equity and inclusion,” Lafayette said. “With these resources, we will be able to create housing that is attractive, permanently affordable, and a community asset for all who reside in Manchester and Blackwell.”

Before now, the trust has focused much of its attention in the Church Hill, Randolph and Barton Heights neighborhoods. It also has one house under development in Chesterfield County.

The trust will seek to secure properties in Manchester and Blackwell for newly built or renovated houses to make sure these neighborhoods include households with a range of incomes.

The land trust buys the property and owns the land under a home and leases the land to the homeowner for 99 years for a small amount. The homeowner buys the house, not the land.