Longwood Village back on the market. Several options considered

The Better Housing Coalition won’t be buying Longwood Village as planned. But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening with the property. Officials with the Longwood Real Estate Foundation say there’s several options being considered, with hopes that a sale could soon be finalized.

First off, some background. When we say Longwood Village, that’s referring to the property on Clark Street in Farmville, behind Sheetz. It was originally used as housing for Longwood University students, hence the name. The property covers an estimated 20 acres, with eight buildings and 96 total housing units right now. The construction is all on 10 acres, with the remaining 10 acres currently vacant.

Why are we bringing up a vacant property now? Because over the last two years, multiple offers came in to purchase the property, including one from the Farmville Affordable Housing Alliance and another from the Better Housing Coalition (BHC) out of Richmond. BHC was the first with an offer, in 2022, and the property went under contract.

They were given a timeline of moving forward by December 2023 or the deal would be scrapped, with the property going back on the market. BHC had held a number of community meetings, asking residents what they wanted to see done with the property. In those meetings, residents called for more senior housing, some additional townhouses and more commercial development. But that plan won’t be happening.

“Amid efforts to finalize a sales contract, the Longwood Real Estate Foundation was informed by the Better Housing Coalition that the organization would not be able to continue with the planned purchase of the Longwood Village apartment complex,” said Lori Blackwood. She serves as executive director for the Longwood University Real Estate Foundation, which is handling the sale of Longwood Village.

‘Committed to moving forward’

“Better Housing Coalition is a great community organization, and the REF was disappointed their project did not move forward,” Blackwood said. “However, we remain committed to finding a buyer whose vision for the project will help address the urgent need for housing that has been identified by County and Town leaders – places where teachers, health care workers and other essential professionals, along with their families, can live and help Farmville and Prince Edward grow and prosper.”

That’s been the challenge multiple groups in Farmville want to address. The last market study here found one in five households in Prince Edward County earns less than $20,000 per year. Two in five earn less than $35,000 per year. At the same time, average home prices in the area necessitate an annual salary of $42,000 (for ownership) or $31,800 for rental according to the study.

There is also a housing size mismatch, according to that 2019 study. Seventy-three percent of the study area’s housing units are three bedrooms or larger, while 63% of the population exists in one or two-person households. For the 4,061 one- or two-person households in the study area, there are only 1,933 studios, one-, or two-bedroom housing units. That is a gap of 2,128 smaller housing units. And then there’s the issue of being cost burdened. The U.S. Census Bureau defines cost burdened as someone who has to pay more than 30% of their income for housing.

The problem for Farmville is that 22% of its current homeowners are cost burdened, according to that latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The percentage jumps even higher when you start talking about renters. An estimated 44.8% of renters in the area fall under that label.

More options for Longwood Village

So now the question remains as to how to provide housing options that fit some of those needs. And as mentioned earlier, there are other groups that believe Longwood Village can play a part in solving that problem.

“Happily, other potential buyers have submitted offers that would accomplish these goals, and we are currently moving forward with the process and hopefully soon finalizing a sale,” Blackwood said.

This time around, Blackwood said, the Real Estate Foundation is approaching a sale in a different way. The group plans to subdivide the property, selling the portion with the dwellings. Another portion will be kept by the Real Estate Foundation, but not built on. And it’s something Blackwood hopes to be able to talk more about, sooner than later.

“We don’t plan to comment further at this time as the process is ongoing, but we hope to have an announcement soon once the sale is finalized,” Blackwood said.

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