Part of $94 million in grant money coming to Virginia to improve foreclosed homes will make its way to Lynchburg, according to the Lynchburg News & Advance.

This is a great investment in to the future of home values in Lynchburg. As the foreclosed and abandoned homes are fixed up and new families move in, the entire area will see increases in values and quality of living.

"A coalition of local nonprofits has been awarded $1 million to rehabilitate foreclosed homes in Lynchburg, the governor’s office announced Monday.

The funding will be focused on the Middle Rivermont neighborhood around Early Street and the Diamond Hill neighborhood around Grace Street, two areas deemed to be suffering from a high rate of foreclosed or abandoned properties.

Four nonprofits will share in the work: the Lynchburg Neighborhood Development Foundation, the Lynchburg Community Action Group, the Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity chapter and Rush Homes. Region 2000 will act as grants administrator.

'This is a considerable amount of money that we can invest in a concentrated way in two vulnerable neighborhoods,' said Laura Dupuy, executive director of LNDF, which served as the lead organization on the funding application.

The money has been awarded through the Virginia Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a new initiative focused on combating the state’s rising foreclosure rate.

According to the governor’s office, Virginia has seen an eightfold increase in foreclosures in the past three years. Currently, there are more than 28,000 homes in the foreclosure process and more than 16,000 foreclosed homes sitting empty.

Lynchburg itself has not reported such a sharp rise in foreclosures, but it is dealing with multiple risk factors, according to a report from the state Department of Housing and Community Development."

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