Local leaders unveiled a new tool in the community's affordable housing toolkit Thursday at a ceremony launching the Thomas Jefferson Community Workforce Housing Fund, which will make zero-interest loans to qualified homebuyers.

The fund will target members of the workforce earning 80 percent to 100 percent of the area's median income but who still cannot afford steep local housing prices.

The fund, administered by the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, will loan first-time homebuyers money for down payments. Homeowners will not make any payments on the loans; the money will be repaid when the house is next sold.

As part of the fund's "shared equity" plan, 10 percent of the property's appreciation will be contributed upon sale to help future homebuyers.

"It gives [homebuyers] a little bit of freedom because when you're a first-time homebuyer, you can barely pay the mortgage," said Cheri Lewis, chairwoman of the fund's board of advisers. "It helps them immediately, right away, and it takes funds out later when they're able to realize the profit in the house that they're selling."

Lewis hopes the fund can assist 20 homebuyers in its first year, but expects the number of clients to grow exponentially. Organizers hope to raise $10 million in the first five years.

The fund will also serve as an umbrella to similar programs, such as the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors' Workforce Housing Fund, and affordable housing programs run by Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

"When we had the opportunity to expand the fund to where we could help the entire workforce, that was great," Phillips said. "I guess you could say we were the inspirational seed for it."

Charlottesville Mayor David Brown said he is pleased to see the teamwork among the city, Albemarle County, CAAR, the Piedmont Housing Alliance and the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce that brought about the fund.

"One of the things I liked about the city of Charlottesville is it's a community where people step up and help solve problems," Brown said. "There's no one answer to affordable housing, but this is one of the answers."

This is cache, read story here