HUNTINGTON Ƶ After a 2024 housing needs assessment, local entities will partake in site analysis to identify the best properties for residential housing developers.
The Cabell County Commission approved the contribution of $12,000 to Advantage Valley for site engineering. The main goal is to attract more developers to the county, which shows a need for residential housing.
Terrell Ellis, president and CEO of Advantage Valley, said the money will allow Advantage Valley and partners Huntington Area Development Council (HADCO) to identify sites viable for developers to invest in the county.
ƵWe can do an analysis of how many lots can be put on those sites, what the utility requirements might be and some conceptual planning and cost estimate,Ƶ Ellis said. ƵItƵs a tool that we can use to attract attention from developers.Ƶ
The site analysis initiative will help address housing needs in the region identified by a regional housing study by Bowen National Research and Advantage Valley Inc., a nonprofit regional economic development organization representing the Charleston-Huntington metro area. The housing assessment found every county in the region has close to a 0% vacancy rate in rental units.
ƵWe have very little housing inventory for single family homes or homeowner-owned housing,Ƶ Ellis said. ƵWe didnƵt want to take that study and just have it sit on the shelf. We want to be proactive about trying to address the shortages that we have.Ƶ
Ellis said it can be difficult to get developers unfamiliar with the region to invest in it. This initiative will look at available land in Cabell County and identify at least the top two sites that it believes will be best suited for residential development.
Once the sites are chosen, the groups will roughly identify the amount of lots it can develop on the site, where the utilities and roadways need to be and estimated cost. They also look at the infrastructure to increase capacity for the site.{span style=Ƶbackground-color: #ffffff;Ƶ} {/span}
{span style=Ƶbackground-color: #ffffff;Ƶ}ƵIt de-risked the process for somebody whoƵs not used to investing here because many times theyƵre investing in areas where you know theyƵre used to working in an area. They understand that market. They may not understand our market because theyƵve never been here, so anything we can do to de-risk that for them is what weƵre trying to accomplish.Ƶ{/span}
Ellis said anyone from the public who has land available and would like to be included in the analysis can contact Advantage Valley. A list made up of publicly for sale properties and suggested properties from the public will be assembled.
Ellis said the site analysis will not do all the work for the developer, but it will help a potential developer get started.
ƵItƵs just enough to get an investor on the hook,Ƶ Ellis said.
The analysis can look at lots ranging in size from 10-60 acres.
Advantage Valley will also do this work with other counties, such as Kanawha. Ellis said she will work closely with President and CEO of HADCO David Lieving on the project.
ƵThis is a great example of where thereƵs an intersection between economic development and community development, so we need more people to move to Huntington area that can support our industries that are growing and expanding, and the new ones that are coming in, so thereƵs a real need,Ƶ Lieving said. ƵWest Virginia really needs more West Virginians and Cabell County needs more people living in Cabell County and paying taxes in Cabell County.
ƵOur mission is to try to see the community grow and the lack of housing is an issue,Ƶ he said. ƵPeople are going to choose where they want to live and where theyƵre going to work and here in the Tri-State, there are options ... so we want to try to be proactive and encourage more residential development in our area, so we can attract more people here.Ƶ
Ellis said the process will consist of doing outreach work with Lieving, gathering the group of properties and then having an engineer go through the analysis, which Ellis said will be in graph form and later presented to the commission. She said she will keep the commission updated on the process.
In other business, the commission approved the list of real estate and other taxes delinquent for Fiscal Year 2024.
ThereƵs a total of $7.2 million in delinquent real estate and personal taxes for FY24 Ƶ 7.5% more than last year; however, money on the books was 3% more than what it was the year before.
The commission also approved a letter of support for the City of Huntington in its FY26 request in congressional designated spending to initiate a flood risk management feasibility study for the Fourpole Creek watershed.
