ROANOKE, Va. – The City of Roanoke’s Economic Development Authority announced Wednesday that it had received a $2.5 million award to support affordable housing development of the former Walker Foundry Site on behalf of developer Greg Kaknes and The Foundry Realty, LLC.
The $2.5 million award comes on behalf of the Virginia Housing Workforce Housing Investment Program (WHIP), which aims to increase the workforce housing supply in areas that have new or expanding businesses with $75 million in total funding across five award cycles.
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The foundry project plans to deliver over 200 new housing units with an emphasis on new homeownership opportunities for “missing middle” households earning between 80% and 120% of the Area Median Income.
“On behalf of the development team and the Norwich neighborhood, I want to thank Governor Youngkin and Virginia Housing for their support of this exciting project. We also want to thank and congratulate our partners in this application, the City of Roanoke EDA and Total Action for Progress, for their ongoing efforts to achieve this award and the underlying mission to support affordable homeownership and economic development,” said Greg Kaknes, Foundry Realty.
“The Foundry Project forwards our community development mission by recognizing affordable homeownership as a tool of economic development in addition to a basic need. The funding from this award can serve as a strong model for public-private partnerships that support comprehensive community development,” adds TAP Vice President of Financial Services Curtis Thompson.
Officials said that strong local support drove the City’s success in receiving funding. Formal letters of support from Carilion Clinic, Virginia Western Community College and Roanoke City Public Schools all voiced the need for “middle-income” housing to support workforce development.
“Additional affordable housing will enhance the region’s quality of life, which is an important part of Carilion Clinic’s efforts to hire and retain staff for our growing healthcare system,” said Paul Hudgins, Carilion Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. “The Foundry will benefit our workforce recruitment and sustainability goals by providing more housing for the skilled workers and medical students choosing to live in Roanoke while pursuing health services jobs, research, and education.”
This award from WHIP is in addition to the $1 million that the project was awarded by the Industrial Revitalization Fund in July of last year.