On May 13^th, the Fluvanna-Louisa Housing Foundation (FLHF) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a planned affordable housing project to be constructed on a lot adjacent to the foundation’s headquarters location in Louisa.  The new project, currently in the final planning and permit phase, will contain 16 one-bedroom and 9 two-bedroom units, funded by a combination of grants and donations.  These will add to the 27 units already built and in use in other locations. Construction is currently planned to start in June of this year with the first five units completed by year-end and full completion by mid-2026.  All units will be offered at attractive rental costs.  Applicants may rent the units with the help of grants and no-interest loans from FLHS.  For units compatible with use as single-family homes, renters may also apply to purchase their unit, applying for mortgage financing under a government-subsidized program at a three-percent interest rate and with help from FLHF in making their down-payment.

The foundation took advantage of a brief break in the rain sweeping the area to hold an outdoor ceremony with several speakers including Duane Adams, Chairman of the Louisa County Board of Supervisors and representatives from Rappahannock Electric Cooperative who showcased the firm’s ten-thousand dollar donation to the project… and, of course, the ceremonial turning of the first shovel of earth using specially-provided gold-colored shovels.

After the ceremony, most of the group adjourned next door to an ice-cream-social in the Louisa County Resource Council building after which the weather, almost seeming to know the program, restarted a light rain.

The Fluvanna-Louisa foundation, product of the 2003 merger of individual organizations in the two counties is a federally certified 501(c)(3) non-profit organization making donations it receives tax deductible.  The foundation is led by Executive Director Kim Hyland, and a staff of five full- and part-time employees supported by a group of 10-15 volunteers.  Funding for the foundation is provided by a mix of federal, state and county-level grants, corporate (full list on the foundation’s website at https.fluvannalouisahousing.org) and individual donations.  The foundation focuses on heavy repairs and refurbishment of local homes, demolishing and rebuilding where the structure cannot be saved. 

Qualified applicants for FLHF assistance must have incomes below eighty percent of the median area income.  Disabled applicants must also meet the income limits.  Assistance is provided as direct grants to applicants, supplemented by interest-free loans with generous repayment terms.  For those who need it, financial education is also provided to help them navigate the mortgage, down-payment, interest and other aspects of borrowing, repayment and purchasing.

Director Hyland, in office since 2020, is firmly committed to the goals of the foundation, sharing in a recent conversation; “we are strongly based on meeting the needs of our participants, whatever they may be, and that can take us down paths requiring a level of flexibility we hadn’t anticipated.“ One example of that flexibility came when the 2002 drought struck the area, turning the foundation into a well drilling and management service.

The foundation collaborates with several other local organizations with similar goals and, while not unique, has earned the respect of its counterparts and a three-star, 8.4 out of 10 rating from Charity Navigator.

The housing needs of financially or physically challenged individuals and families are the kind of problems that never fully go away but must be actively addressed so that they do not worsen.  During its more than forty-year existence, as two separate organizations from the 1980s and after its 2003 merger, the Fluvanna-Louisa Housing Foundation has worked diligently to address these problems and to merit its reputation as one of the most effective in the area.

Jen Bailey

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