Danville Pilots New Manufactured Home Neighborhood
A century ago, Danville was a prosperous center of the textile industry. To meet the housing needs of workers, thousands of modest frame construction homes were built in neighborhoods surrounding the mills. By the 1990s, many of these jobs were gone—and many homes began falling into serious disrepair.
Thankfully, Danville has recently seen an economic upturn. Today, it’s looking for ways to rebuild these communities with new homes that are affordable to new workers, just as the mill homes originally met that earlier demand.
A local-state-national partnership led by the Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority has launched a pilot program to build back new, low-cost manufactured homes where mill houses once stood. A recent news story describes the process of rezoning the land and assembling the team to build and finance the homes, which will be built to Freddie Mac’s new Choice Homes standard for manufactured housing. These standards include drywall throughout, minimum roof pitch, permanent foundations, efficiency standards, porches, carports, and driveways.
Gary Wasson, DRHA executive director, hopes for sales prices around $115,000 to $120,000 for the 1,250 square foot base model with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Buyers will also be able to customize their homes with porches, metal roofs, and other upgrades. The home design includes historic details consistent with the neighborhood (see example above).
If the pilot project for the first five homes goes well, Wasson hopes to expand the program. The first home should be ready on site in early 2020.
Image from WDBJ7.
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