Richmond, Va. – September 29, 2026 -- Construction has begun on five 3D-printed affordable single-family homes at Carter Place I in eastern Henrico County, backed by a $1.1 million Innovation Demonstration grant from Virginia Housing. Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity broke ground on the development at 1590 Darbytown Road near Richmond International Airport, deploying a mobile 3D concrete printer purchased by the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech's mobile printer tests off-site and on-site construction methods
Project partners are printing wall components this fall inside a warehouse at 3340 Lanvale Ave. in Richmond, using a mobile printer with a robotic arm rather than a stationary system. The off-site approach allows walls to be produced in a controlled environment and transported to the site for assembly, limiting weather-related disruptions before the printer moves on-site later this year to produce concrete walls directly at the construction location.
Five partners combine research, financing and technical expertise
The project brings together Virginia Tech's Myers-Lawson School of Construction and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Henrico County Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Houston-based HiveASMBLD, India-based printer manufacturer Tvasta, and Williamsburg Builder Consultants LLC on structural and zoning permitting. Tvasta's SIRA RC mobile printer is the equipment being used on-site.
Henrico's data-center tax revenue funds the affordable housing push
The Henrico County Affordable Housing Trust Fund, established in 2024, draws on taxes paid by new data centers to lower purchase prices for first-time homebuyers in newly constructed homes. The fund is providing a grant to help make the Carter Place I development possible.
Project builds on a 2021 Virginia Housing pilot grant
The current initiative follows an earlier Virginia Housing Innovation Demonstration Grant awarded in 2021 that supported 3D-printed home construction in the City of Richmond and James City County. Researchers aim to document costs, limitations and quality-control requirements to determine how the technology could scale to future affordable housing developments across Virginia.
Dr. Andrew McCoy of Virginia Tech's Myers-Lawson School of Construction said the technology allows durable concrete walls to be built faster with less skilled labor, aligning with how nonprofits and volunteers typically construct affordable housing.