Hello everyone, and welcome to the first edition of The Floyd Forum!
This email marks the first volume (week) and first post (day) of this new experiment, where I’ll provide timely coverage of public meetings and stories of general interest from Floyd County and beyond. I can promise at least one email/week, but likely more. Most coverage, including all write-ups of town and county government meetings, will live in front of the paywall because this publication is intended to be a community service, first and foremost. Anyone should feel free to read this coverage and pass it along to friends.
For paid subscribers, though, in addition to my sincere thanks, I’ll post at least a couple stories a month that are more “fun”—human interest stories, deep dives on a particular regional policy issue, coverage of community gatherings or nonprofit events, features, etc.—that will be delivered solely to you. Additionally, only paid subscribers will be able to comment on posts. Thank you for supporting this endeavor and allowing me to continue reporting in the New River Valley.
I’m so grateful for the support this project has already received. So let’s kick things off with coverage of Monday’s Floyd County Economic Development Authority Meeting, and please feel free to reach out to me with any comments or feedback. You can drop me a line at aspinksdugan@gmail.com.
Tomorrow by 6 p.m., I’ll be emailing out this newsletter’s second edition with coverage of the Floyd County Board of Supervisors meeting, and hopefully on Friday I’ll have my first subscribers-only post, a story about voting in Floyd County ahead of next Tuesday’s election.
-Ashley
Economic Development Authority discusses housing plans, loan deferrals
Floyd County’s Economic Development Authority met Monday evening, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The meeting was livestreamed on Facebook.
Community & Economic Development Director Lydeana Martin spent much of Monday’s meeting reviewing with the board various proposals for new housing developments in Floyd. The county received grant funding to support a housing concepts study, which was executed by Hill Studio in Roanoke.
So far, the process has involved conducting market analysis for the county; assembling focus groups of Floyd County residents, business owners, and experts from the real estate and energy sectors; soliciting survey feedback online and drawing up housing concept plans for review. Currently, Hill Studio is requesting feedback from Floyd locals on the designs. Residents can visit the survey form online or email feedback directly to Martin at lmartin@floydcova.org.
Much of the information Martin shared Monday mirrored information shared by Hill Studio representatives during a public presentation on Oct. 8. The fundamental problem, as Martin described, is that a growing labor force in Floyd County is colliding with a shortage of affordable housing, causing prices to skyrocket.
Particularly since the Great Recession, Martin said, building permits for stick-built homes have dropped precipitously. During the same time period, she said, “the number of people in the labor force living in Floyd County has gone up substantially...so those two together caused a bit of a challenge.” Over approximately the last two decades, housing prices in the county have increased 78%. Incomes have only grown 48%, pricing many people out of home ownership.
And although Floyd County boasts the highest home-ownership rate in the New River Valley, at 78%, Martin said that statistic alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Many folks who are home owners in Floyd County live in manufactured homes—which represent 20% of the total housing supply in the county. Since 2018 and through 2020 year-to-date, a full third of housing permits submitted in the county were for manufactured homes.
Furthermore, the average rent in Floyd County is $611—but, Martin said, that doesn’t mean there are actually any properties available at that rate. In the next ten years, estimated demand for housing in Floyd County is between 170 and 1,100 additional units—a broad range, but even on the low end, difficult to accommodate.
Martin relayed what she heard from participants of the five focus groups conducted by Hill Studio: People want affordable, accessible housing options that “fit Floyd.” Focus group members prioritized green spaces, walkability, energy efficiency options and the ability to rent, both short- and long-term.
Martin said of the 31 people who responded to an online survey about potential future housing options in the county, not a single person advocated for apartments, duplexes or townhomes. In both the online survey and the various focus groups, Martin sad, “There was just a lot more interest in not having anything that look institutional, like a block of apartments. But the challenge there is keeping something affordable that doesn’t have those economies of scale.”
Employers in Floyd advocated for short-term rentals and other workforce housing, Martin said. For young folks in particular, rental properties that are affordable and near amenities are desirable. Martin speculated that such properties could incentivize people currently living in or anticipating a move to Blacksburg, given its various job opportunities in information technology, to choose Floyd instead.
With ongoing investment at Floyd County High School in career and technical education, including the under-construction Collaboration & Career Development Center, having STEM professionals in the area could be a huge boon for area students, Martin said.
Martin walked through the three proposed developments—all of which would require significant investment and in some cases, the expansion of county infrastructure, including roads and water systems. The first, on Harris Street, is located entirely within the Town of Floyd and also potentially eligible for historic tax credits. It could accommodate up to eight new apartments or a mix of residential and retail space.
The second, called the “Green Acres Property,” is 15 acres located partly in Town and partly in the county and could provide 10 additional units. Mostly small cottages are proposed for the site.
And the third, called the “Larsen Property,” is approximately 136 acres located entirely in Floyd County, adjacent to Citizens Telephone Cooperative and behind the county recreational park. Over the next 10-15 years, Hill Studio has proposed developing that property into more than 300 units.
Martin offered some perspective: the Town of Floyd, she said, has about 450 residents. So 300 new dwellings could potentially double that population.
More information on the specific site plans can be found on Hill Studio’s website. Martin said one benefit of the exercise, and of choosing three such different sites, is that folks can use the proposed plans as examples for developing their own property. Martin said this afternoon that so far, only a handful of Floyd residents have contacted her with input on the proposals.
Before going into a closed session Monday evening, the authority discussed whether to extend payment deferrals for participants in the county’s 5 & 10 Loan Program and digital printing lease program. Currently, the payments have been deferred until Dec. 1, with Martin proposing an extension to Jan. 1, 2021.
EDA Chairman Jon Beegle said he doesn’t anticipate the economic situation for Floyd businesses will improve any time soon. “Heading into the winter months, I’m not sure that things are really going to improve. At this point, maybe we should consider deferring until spring,” Beegle said.
Fiscal Technician Tabitha Hodge offered some context to the board members: In October, five of the eleven businesses participating in the 5 & 10 Loan Program had sent payments—although several were late, she said. “The ones we did receive were probably having a good month due partly to tourist activity,” Hodge said, adding that others were likely struggling and many business owners had expressed their gratitude for the needed payment flexibility.
Board member George Nester said he would prefer to extend the deferral only until January—and Eddie Worth seemed to agree. Worth, another member of the authority, pointed out that the presidential election is in just a few days, and the economic tides could turn after that. “Maybe things will settle down,” he said.
The board approved an extension on the payment deferrals until Jan. 1, and then went into a closed session.