Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on September 2, 2021

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine was the honored guest at the celebratory ground-breaking of the New River Valley’s Habitat for Humanity (HFH) New Town Project, a townhouse complex on New Town Road that will provide affordable housing for seven families in Floyd.

Held at the Presbyterian Church of Floyd, the event featured a Meet & Greet with refreshments and a presentation of speakers that included Kaine, followed by the ground-breaking ceremony in the church parking lot, a couple of blocks from the building site. Floyd’s Red Rooster Roaster provided coffee and pastries.

Kim Snider, HFH Resource Development Director, spoke from the church sanctuary podium, welcoming guests. She recognized Floyd Mayor Will Griffith, Floyd Supervisors Linda Kuchenbuch Devito and Jerry Boothe, Town Councilman David Whitiker, a representative from Congressman Morgan Griffith’s office, Ray Gaines Group Architects for their donated design plans, Patrick Daily of Crenshaw Lighting for proposed lighting donations, Kamala Bauers and Jack and Derick Wall for donating the land for the HFH’s first building in 2016 and for facilitating the transfer of land for the current project.

Snider then invited Reverend Bob McLavey of the host church to lead the group in prayer. He emphasized the commandment to love the Lord and our neighbors. “We are grateful that soon we will have new neighbors in this community, neighbors who will have homes because of the generosity and hard work of many who carry out your commandment of love,” he said.

Supervisor Kuchenbuch Devito, one of the speakers, commented that the bedrock of the New Town Project is based in the golden rule of ‘love the neighbor,’ a tenet of every religion across the world.

She spoke of the increasing costs of buying a home today and about the grassroots efforts that have brought county and town government, the Public Service Authority, Habitat for Humanity, the Floyd Initiative for Safe Housing (FISH) and local citizens together to solve Floyd’s affordable housing problem.

“That’s one of the things about Floyd County. We’re very independent and very involved in helping our neighbors,” said Devito Kuchenbuch, who also expressed her gratitude for the federal dollars that come through housing and urban development programs and that make efforts like the New Town Project possible.

Speaker Jonathan Vandergrift, a founding member of the non-profit, recalled the 2017 origin story of FISH. He spoke about how the group’s grassroots efforts to improve housing led to collaborating with HFH, and how a simple idea can grow.

“I’m as excited as a kid at Christmas,” said HFH executive director Jim Drader about the start of the New Town townhouse complex, a significant housing project that will build on the organization’s success with Church Street housing in Blacksburg.

Drader broke down the Floyd project explaining that each New Town unit will be Earthcraft-certified for energy efficiency and will house 3 bedrooms and 2 ½ baths. Four units will be ADA-accessible with first floor bedrooms.

Because HFH uses donated materials and volunteer labor, the New Town Houses will be sold to new owners at $135,000 to 140,000, 60% of the actual cost. Home owners will be provided home ownership courses and each adult in each family will commit to 250 hours of service, sweat equity, to build their home or the home of a neighbor, Drader explained.

“With every home that we construct and sell, we are facilitating more active citizens, thriving families, stronger economies and overall better communities,” Drader added.

Senator Kaine, who has been in office since 2012, spoke on the tradition of neighborliness and recalled the story in the New Testament about “The Good Samaritan,” who put aside differences to help a traveler who had been robbed and beaten. Kaine spoke of his and his family’s connection to HFH builds and remarked that the organization puts into action the concept of neighborliness.  He acknowledged the hard times and losses people have been experiencing through-out the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If ever there is a time to be a good neighbor, it is now,” said Kaine. While in Floyd on August 26, the Senator also toured the Floyd Innovation Center and attended a luncheon hosted by Floyd County Democratic Committee.