Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 27, 1990 TAG: 9007260316
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KIM SUNDERLAND and M.J. DOUGHERTY NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
Properties in the counties of Montgomery, Floyd and Giles will be sites for construction of 162 new apartments for the elderly.
The FmHA is considering loan applications from three development companies that hope to get a slice of what could be the only money left for such projects because of recent budget cuts.
"We've got to get funding now because of budget cuts," said Jeanne Stosser, a landowner hoping to have a project in Montgomery County funded by FmHA. "And it's a long and drawn-out process."
Local officials say they are ready and willing to see the projects funded and construction under way.
The New River Valley Planning District Commission, which reviewed housing plans for the FmHA, found there is a need in the valley for this type of housing.
"We reviewed the plans for general need to assure federal investments," said the commission's executive director, David Rundgren. "We determined that the plans are consistent with the development of the region and that, yes, we do need them."
Weaver Investment Co., in Greensboro, N.C., is hoping to have two projects funded in Montgomery and Giles counties.
One six-acre project, called Applewood Apartments, is east of the Christiansburg town limits on Farmview Road.
The land is owned by Blacksburg-based L&S Partnership, a company run by real-estate developers Robert Leach and Jeanne Stosser.
Applewood's design for the elderly will consist of 44 apartments. Part of the property, about three acres, will be used for a public medical facility.
"This will be a nice, clean, non-high traffic project," said Stosser, who expects construction to begin in roughly 18 months.
Another Weaver development is the $1.5 million Deerfield Apartments, a 42-unit rental housing design for the elderly on a five acre site on Valley View Drive in Pearisburg.
Each apartment will contain approximately 700 square feet and the expected rental range is $253 to $281 with rental assistance for low-income senior citizens.
"This is something we need bad," said Pearisburg Mayor Clarence J. Taylor. "We have a housing shortage, especially for the lower-income residents."
FmHA funding is also expected in Radford on the $1.5 million New River Overlook project, a 40-unit plan for the elderly.
Development by Harkins-Humprey Associates, based in Silver Spring, Md., will start in the fall, said Colette Mosley, project developer for the firm.
"Funding should be received within 60 days," she said. "And we hope to have a building permit within 30 days. We're very anxious to start construction."
Finally, Hunt & Associates of Abingdon has plans for a $1.35 million apartment complex in Floyd County called Pine Ridge Apartments, a 36-unit design on a 3.23-acre site off of Penn Avenue.
"It was a need identified in the town comprehensive plan as I recall," said Rundgren of the planning commission. "Then, the limited partnership identified it as a project they wanted to do."
The site, owned by Jerry Duncan, includes his residence and a storage building for his company, School House Fabrics.
"They've sent me a contract for an option [on the property]," said Duncan. "They haven't given me any money or anything like that. It's just an option to buy."
Duncan said he has no problem selling the property for the development and has submitted a rezoning request from residential limited to medium-density residential - the zoning necessary for the apartments.
Floyd Mayor Gino Williams said a public hearing on the request could be held as early as August and that town officials are pleased with the proposed development and the Penn Avenue site.
"We'll be glad to have it when it happens," said Williams. "There's still a lot of review to do, but we need something for the elderly up here."
Hunt & Associates operates elderly apartment complexes in Pulaski, Abingdon and Greenville, Tenn., and is developing several others, including ones in New Castle and Norton.
Pulaski Village in Pulaski opened June 19 and will have residents moved into all 44 units of its Memorial Drive facility by Aug. 1.
"It's the first elderly project for Pulaski, and it has just been so exciting," said Brenda Roseberry, the property manager. "We had so many people [wanting to live here] that we could have filled up another one just fine. The people are very excited to be moving in. For a lot of them, this is the first time they've lived in something that's been new."
However, it will be a while before the other developments become a reality.
The process of loan application and approval can take up to 24 months before construction begins. Leon Morris, district loan specialist for the FmHA in Wytheville, which is reviewing the loan applications, said everything is in the early stages now.
He said there must be an environmental review in Richmond, a 15-day notice in the newspapers for a public hearing, and then final figures must be tabulated.
The apartments are a money-making enterprise, but the FmHA limits its rate of return to 8 percent of the initial investment.
The administration also restricts occupancy to those who fall below a federally set income cap. It provides rent assistance by allowing them to pay only 30 percent of their income in rent and then making up the difference.
"This is a program the government has established," said Bill Hunt, the project coordinator for Hunt & Associates. "They've been working with people to encourage development. These developments are not only something we're capable of doing, but they are something we can do well."
Business factors come into play when deciding where to locate these facilities.
"Market studies have shown that the whole region - Southwest Virginia, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, West Virginia, and eastern Kentucky - have a great potential need," explained Tony Boyd, director of acquisitions for Hunt & Associates.
However, some valley residents do not feel the same way about the proposed housing, fearing increased problems with traffic and a saturation of low-income housing.
"These issues have been raised," said Rundgren. "We don't know if it's a big deal, but we've passed it on to the FmHA."
by CNB