Restoration Housing has announced that they have completed the historic rehabilitation of their fifth home in Roanoke, a circa 1900 home located in the Belmont neighborhood of Southeast Roanoke.
The 1800 square foot home, described as an example of “Folk Victorian” architecture of the early 20th century housing, had been in an extreme state of disrepair when the nonprofit acquired it almost two years ago. A small hole in the roof of the structure had been exposed for over six years and had caused the rear floor systems of the first and second stories of the house to deteriorate heavily. The house was threatening to close in on itself when Restoration Housing began stabilizing it using funding from Virginia Housing (formerly known as VHDA) in December of last year.
In addition to the stabilization funding that was used to structurally stabilize the house in preparation for the rehab phase, Restoration Housing received Community Development Block Grant Funding from the City of Roanoke in the Summer of 2020, which allowed them to afford the extensive costs to rehabilitate the heavily deteriorated home and keep their debt to a minimum in order to provide an affordable rent to the family who will be moving in. Other construction sources were obtained through local foundations as well as through the use of Historic Tax Credits.
“This house is a charming example of Roanoke’s early housing stock from the turn of the century. It always seemed like a lovely and inviting home to us, even when it was practically falling down. So it’s been very rewarding to see it come back to life and to ultimately provide a safe and affordable space for a family.” said Restoration Housing Executive Director Isabel Thornton.
Restoration Housing is partnering with Commonwealth Catholic Charities to house a family of Afghan refugees who were recently relocated to Roanoke into this home. Plans are underway for them to move in to the welcoming home sometime in the next week.
Acquired by Restoration Housing in early 2020, this project will be the fifth rehabilitation overhaul for the nonprofit organization, which began in 2014, with one more project in the pipeline just around the corner in Southeast Roanoke.
Their first two projects are located in the West End and are both used as affordable rental housing. The third project is the Villa Heights Recreation Center, which is located in Northwest Roanoke and which provides affordable rental space for nonprofit organizations seeking to expand services in low to moderate income neighborhoods. The fourth project is also located in Southeast Roanoke, just down the street, and provides housing for four formerly homeless individuals.
Roanoke contractor Square 1, which also completed the previous four projects, performed the latest enovation and Jeff Wood Designs completed architectural drawings. Each project of the organization uses historic tax credits to offset construction costs and keep rents affordable.
The organization will hold a small, socially-distanced ribbon cutting on Friday November 5th at 10:00 am to celebrate the completion of construction. The home is located at 820 Dale Avenue in Southeast Roanoke.
