New affordable housing coming to Buena Vista

BUENA VISTA, Va. ( WFXR ) – The City of Buena Vista expects multiple small housing developments to begin over the next six months.

Tom Roberts , Director of Community Development, estimates about 40 new dwellings. It may not sound like a lot, but for the city of 6,000, it's a sizeable boost to housing options. Developers are building townhomes and apartments to provide more variety.

"The vacancy rate for Buena Vista is very, very low so there's a demand for housing already," he said. "A lot of households are folks that are single, couples, maybe a household that's three people, they need a place that's affordable and fits their lifestyle."

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He says some people have moved to the area for jobs or the affordable cost of living, but he adds that the growth is happening in tandem with growth at Southern Virginia University ( SVU ).

"Their student body over the last ten years or so has grown from around 850 to 1,150 so that's significant growth," he said.

Roberts expects the homes to be finished sometime between Spring and Summer 2025.