Links to information about this program will be added here as they become available.
Workforce housing is described as housing for people who earn too much to qualify for government aid but don't earn enough to comfortably afford a home near their workplace, especially in high-cost-of-living areas such as resort communities.
The details are still being worked out on who will be eligible for workforce housing in Crawfords Place, exactly what kind and how much of housing will be available, and what it will cost and how to apply. There are several ideas on how the “creative financing” will work here. Some funding sources have been identified, but others are being sought.
What is known is workforce housing is going to happen at Crawfords Place. And it is not an afterthought or add-on. For Michael Donovan and LF Payne, who now have the final say on Crawfords Place, workforce housing is one of the prime drivers of this project.
The two developers have access to the expertise needed and they both have long experience with innovative ideas in affordable housing in Nelson County.
Payne and Donovan were among the Wintergreen leaders who created the Nelson County Community Development Foundation in 1985. “The foundation has been very successful. During the Reagan administration, we were recognized as one of the most innovative rural housing foundations in America,” notes Payne, who represented this area for five terms in the US Congress.
Renaissance Ridge is now Crawfords Place.
Also see:
About Michael Donovan and LF Payne.
WPOA’s Jay Roberts on the history of this development and workforce housing.
While the nonprofit has been focused on low-income housing, workforce housing is in NCCDF’s wheelhouse.
Those wanting to support the workforce housing project here could use the WCF nonprofit to direct their funds to the effort, suggests Donovan.
Donovan’s son is Shaun Donovan, Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Community Partners, one of the nation’s foremost leaders in housing and community development. He served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet for his full eight years in office, as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from 2009 to 2014, and as director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget from 2014 to 2017. He was commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development from 2004 to 2009.
All this said, both Donovan and Payne said workforce housing is not easy and new ideas are still needed.
“The Wintergreen community ought to be proud that this is going on in here.”
One challenge is how do you integrate this housing into a community, so that it's not seen as different. Crawfords Place’s developers are addressing this, saying the outside of the workforce units will be the same quality as everything else.
“We have teamed up with a group in Charlottesville, Greenwood Homes, who have been doing this work. They are among the best anywhere around,” said Payne, who is involved in several real estate projects in Charlottesville.
“If you want to have a successful community you want to have people who are in the fire department, the rescue squad, and the police living nearby and available when you need them,” said Payne. “I'm excited about what Michael is doing here with Greenwood and WPOA. I think Crawfords Place will be pretty special. The Wintergreen community ought to be proud that this is going on in here. It continues what started decades ago when Wintergreen property owners starting working to do more for the families who work around here.”
-Charles Batchelor and Flo Quick
