Appalachian Revitalization Effort Taps Into Virginia Housing’s Expertise

August 26, 2025

Across Appalachia, communities are working to breathe new life into their downtown spaces, and Virginia Housing is a key partner to building a stronger Appalachia for all. Recently, Virginia Housing served as an advisor in creating the Appalachian Downtown Developers Initiative (ADDI), an organization focused on helping community-based developers gain access to the training, technical assistance, financing and peer support they need to spur redevelopment in Appalachian downtowns.

 

Led by Invest Appalachia and the West Virginia Community Development Hub, ADDI convened over 40 organizations and 60 individuals from across southwest Virginia, eastern Kentucky, western North Carolina and all of West Virginia. All share the common vision of an Appalachia where downtowns are thriving economic hubs for 21st-century industry. ADDI’s implementation plan lays out a vison of real estate as a foundation for downtown revitalization.

 

As the plan states, “The key to unlocking opportunity in Appalachia’s downtowns is in the developers themselves. The goal is not to merely get more projects done, but to build the capacity of a network of place-based developers to continue advancing downtown development for decades to come.”

 

Virginia Housing’s Director of Strategic Housing Chris Thompson and Strategic Housing Officer Chris McNamara joined ADDI working groups to share information about development from around Virginia and relay perspectives from partners on the ground, all with the goal of painting a clearer picture of what downtown revitalization requires and what tools work.

 

“ADDI is a fantastic resource for developers to build capacity, network with peers and gain access to capital, all with the goal of making our rural downtowns the vibrant economic hubs they can be,” said Thompson. “Virginia Housing has a strong track record of supporting downtown revitalization through our mixed-use planning and financing resources, and we see this effort as a way to continue to expand our work to support small-scale real estate development throughout Virginia’s business districts.”

 

The initiative will support aspiring developers to secure financing, strengthen their networks and sharpen their technical skills, all of which will build their portfolios. It will also be useful for navigating the unique challenges that present themselves when redeveloping and infilling historic environments like those in Appalachia’s downtowns, including higher construction costs and zoning and permitting hurdles.

 

Virginia Housing's involvement in ADDI is one example of the many ways our team partners with local governments, regional organizations, nonprofits, housing agencies and others to deliver safe, affordable housing across Virginia and create thriving communities for all to prosper.

 

Visit our Housing Partners page for more information on Virginia Housing’s grants, sponsorships and educational opportunities.