For a decade or more, the little Town of Floyd in the Blue Ridge Mountains south of Roanoke has been gaining a reputation as an artsy, creative community. During this time, local artists, musicians and entrepreneurs have worked with town officials and property owners to adapt and convert old downtown buildings into revitalized spaces that can preserve the town’s unique down-home flavor.

One of Floyd’s newest adaptive re-use projects is The Station on South Locust. The oldest part of the original building, a former service station, dates to the 1940s. Other parts of The Station, added on in the 1970s, once housed Vernon Baker’s furniture store and Mama Lazardo's Pizza. Today the 17,000 square-foot building features a new ground-floor restaurant, as well as a variety of retail shops and artist studios on the first floor. And because the community believes that part of a healthy downtown is people living there, The Station also has nine one- and two-bedroom second-floor apartments.

“The Station is everything it could have been, and more,” said Floyd Town Clerk and Treasurer, Karen Hodges. “It took what had become a blighted area and transformed it into a shining star reflecting our heritage. And,” she added, “turning the second floor into modern, upscale apartments helped us address downtown housing issues, while giving residents a new appreciation of living in downtown Floyd.”

Sponsored by a group of artisans, families and small business owners that include long-time Floyd resident and developer Woody Crenshaw, The Station project was designed specifically to attract small local businesses—and add to the village concept of Floyd—rather than big businesses from outside the area.

"Floyd is a good example of a community that has been moving toward the creative economy model," Crenshaw said. "That is, emphasizing our creative and natural assets like crafts, music, local food and natural beauty to build an economy around. The Station represents a big step toward facilitating this kind of economic development in town."

Funding for The Station, the first Southwest Virginia mixed-use project financed by VHDA, included a VHDA permanent loan for $870,000; $540,000 is from REACH Virginia subsidy funds and features a 3 percent interest rate. The loan balance is at VHDA’s prevailing taxable bond rate. Other funding included a $120,000 Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) loan and $302,950 from the 9th Congressional District Loan Fund, grants and owner equity. Virginia Community Capital provided the construction financing for the project, and People’s Inc. provided a small permanent loan to fill in a gap in the project.

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