Организация Advantage Valley обновляет исследование жилищного дефицита в южной Западной Вирджинии

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A southern West Virginia nonprofit economic development organization is continuing its efforts to bring more people to the state. The Advantage Valley organization serves a nine-county footprint, including the Charleston and Huntington metropolitan areas combined. Founded over two decades ago, Advantage Valley markets those two MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) as one. President and CEO Terrell Ellis said they’re in the process of updating a housing study from 2023. Bowen National Research conducted the study over the counties in Advantage Valley’s region as well as in Roane County. Ellis said it was important to take another look. “Because we’ve had so much interest on the part of builders, and they’re wondering if our numbers have changed any, and their lenders are wondering if our numbers have changed any,” Ellis said recently on MetroNews “Midday.” “So, we’re updating the study, and that should be done by mid-July.” Ellis said Advantage Valley works with builders both in and out of West Virginia who use that study “quite a bit.” There are not enough places for people to live in the Mountain State, she noted. “We all intuitively know we have a housing problem, a housing shortage,” Ellis said. “It’s not just West Virginia, not just this region, it really is across the country.” She said it’s helpful to quantify that problem through the study. As Advantage Valley continues to have conversations about projects in the region, Ellis said, it’s important to have the latest data. Ellis reported Advantage Valley calculated around 700 units of new housing were built in the region in 2025. She said that’s in comparison to 400 built in 2024. “We’re seeing a steady increase in the supply of new inventory and hope to really increase that number significantly in the next year to two,” Ellis said. Ellis said still more housing is needed. Advantage Valley projected a need for around 10,000 new rental units, in addition to a “large number” of single-family homes. She said any amount of progress counts, even making a dent in 50 percent of the housing need can help. Advantage Valley is working to clear some misconceptions about the state, Ellis said. She noted that people’s impression of West Virginia is there isn’t enough market and workforce to come to the area. She said Advantage Valley is changing that narrative by discussing the Charleston and Huntington metropolitan areas as one. When we go out and talk to the rest of the world about WV, what they think is it’s a very rural, small state. Immediate impression is not enough mass, market, workforce there to do anything. When Advantage Valley can go out and market these two markets as one. Ellis said southern West Virginia is very much a “commuter region.” She described a lot of overlap among counties and urged the area to start talking about themselves as one regional economy. The narrative flips when that happens, Ellis said. In one regional economy, Ellis said there’s a population of 600,000 — about a third of the state’s population — and a workforce of around 350,000. Along with that, Ellis said the regional economy includes two airports, three interstates, three universities, and several four-lane highways. Ellis said there are “targeted industrial clusters” in the region as well. “Metals fabrication, chemicals and polymers, and auto-parts manufacturing, and you start talking about the big names of companies that are here,” Ellis said. “Well, all of a sudden, people start to sit up and take notice. ‘Oh, you’re not that small, rural place anymore. You’re a place that has a workforce with some pretty heavy hitters doing business there.'” Ellis emphasized that the region needs to promote in a regional way, rather than individual communities. She said what benefits one county often helps a neighboring county. Advantage Valley has nine counties in its footprint, and Ellis said each county has an economic development authority or organization. Ellis said Advantage Valley coordinates with those organizations once it gets leads on an opportunity. She described it as a “symbiotic” relationship, with lots of communication among counties. She said if one county can’t accommodate a business, they talk with other counties. In the end, she said it’s all about working in lockstep toward similar goals: benefitting the local communities. State of the Valley One of the efforts toward collaboration is a conference next month. The 4th annual State of the Valley is coming up on August 19 in Hurricane. The conference brings together local businesses and organizations, along with regional chambers of commerce, to develop plans for collaboration. Advantage Valley will also be there. “580 Live” host Dave Allen will moderate the conversation. Putnam County Chamber of Commerce President Ashley Alford Glance talked about the event recently on “580 Live.” “This is a great opportunity for us as a region to collaborate,” Alford Glance said. “Since the initiation of this event, that has always been the theme. How do we, here in the I-64 corridor, collaborate together to ensure that all of our businesses are thriving.” Alford Glance said it’s a very busy event every year. She said all three chambers of commerce in the region, from Huntington all the way to Charleston. “State of the Valley is an opportunity for everybody in the community to come together and talk about the successes that are happening within our own communities, as well as how we are collaborating on a regional level.”