The regional commission is committed to the housing needs of New River Valley residents. Through roles with the Livability Initiative, New River Valley HOME Consortium, and programs offered by the Department of Housing and Community Development, Rural Development, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the regional commission recognizes the importance of housing. Acknowledging that housing can have an even larger impact on the elderly or disabled, the regional commission also actively participates in the Aging in Place Leadership Team.
The Regional + Local Housing Study, completed in 2021, provided seven regional strategies and dozens of individualized local strategies for the region and its localities to pursue. With $2M in implementation funding from Virginia Housing, the Commission is now pursuing one of these regional strategies, the creation of a regional Housing Trust Fund (HTF).
A HTF will act as a locally-controlled bank account to construct or preserve affordable housing throughout the region and will provide funding flexibility currently not available with other state and federal funding sources.
Over the coming months, a regional working board will provide input and oversight to determine the organizational structure, programmatic design, and financial sustainability of the fund. Funding awards are slated for Winter 2023.
Featured Projects
The regional housing study began in 2018 with the goal of addressing common housing questions from localities across the New River Valley. The study incorporated regional and local data as well as input from 10 focus groups and over 1,100 online survey responses to develop seven regional housing strategies and tailored strategies for each locality. The Regional Commission partnered with the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech, Housing Forward Virginia, and czb, LLC to provide housing market data collection, analysis training, and strategy development.
Detailed Report
- Detailed Report (full-document download)
- Executive Summary
- Table of Contents
- About the Study (study team, data and methodology)
- Important Terms and References
- The Importance of Housing
- Market-wide (regional) Findings
- Montgomery County Local Profile
- Floyd County Local Profile
- Giles County Local Profile
- City of Radford Local Profile
- Pulaski County Local Profile
- Conclusion
- References
Regional and Local Strategies
- NRV Regional Strategies
- Floyd County and Town Local Strategies
- Giles County Local Strategies
- Montgomery County Local Strategies
- Montgomery County-Blacksburg-Christiansburg Partnership Strategies
- Town of Blacksburg Local Strategies
- Town of Christiansburg Local Strategies
- Pulaski County Local Strategies
- Town of Pulaski Local Strategies
- City of Radford Local Strategies
- Radford City-Radford University Partnership Strategy
The housing resource guide was created through a collaboration between the Regional Commission and a dedicated and diverse group of housing partners, with the aim of providing a comprehensive list of housing services and rental options for the NRV.
The New River Valley HOME Consortium was created in 2007 and comprises Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Radford. An annual allocation of funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allows for the development of rental and homeowner housing affordable to households who earn less than 80 percent of the area median income.
