Lee County supports CDBG application for Western Lee housing infrastructure

Jimmy Adkins, planning director with the WISE/Winn/Wisco planning district, asked the Lee County Board of Supervisors to support a community development block grant application for the Western Lee Housing Production Project, a mixed-use housing proposal at 5692 Wilderness Road in Ewing.

Adkins told the board the project would fund required infrastructure to serve rural and distressed parts of the county and its significant low-to-moderate-income population. He outlined the proposed public works: approximately 6,610 linear feet of new water line, 6,476 linear feet of sanitary sewer, and about 37,584 square feet of roadway to serve roughly 118 residential connections across single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes and townhouses. The application cap for housing-production CDBGs is $2,000,000, he said, and staff planned to file the application the following Tuesday if the board approved supporting the submission.

Board members asked about timing and process. Adkins said a successful award could be announced by the end of the calendar year, followed by contracting and an environmental review (NEPA) that could take several months; on that timeline construction would be roughly 18 months away. Adkins added that most building costs would likely be privately funded and that sought public dollars would support initial infrastructure.

With no public speakers during the hearing, a supervisor moved to support resolution 25-013, the formal authorization to apply for the CDBG housing-production award. The motion was seconded and the board voiced approval by a voice vote.

The board did not set an immediate construction start date; Adkins cautioned that design and environmental clearance must precede bidding. The county will proceed to submit the application and will await the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development’s award decision before next steps are scheduled.