ROOTS Community Land Trust breaks ground on Black Mountain development
Heartwood Village Commemorates Construction of 50 Affordable homes for Helene survivors and working families
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
October 28, 2026
Shovels filled with red soil were pulled from a mound of clay, Oct. 27, as representatives from ROOTS Community Land Trust, established by Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders, celebrated the groundbreaking of a project designed to provide stability for area families displaced by Hurricane Helene.
The ceremony, held on 10 acres of land along Blue Ridge in Black Mountain, commemorated the construction of Heartwood Village, which will offer 20 single-family homes and 30 duplexes to qualified buyers otherwise priced out of the housing market.
The community land trust model provides access to home ownership with a renewable 99-year ground lease. The nonprofit organization leverages volunteer labor to reduce building costs, allowing buyers to purchase the houses and build equity. Homeowners in the trust are eligible to retain a share of the profit if they sell the structure, or pass it down to financially qualified heirs.
The goal is keep homeownership within reach for generations of the “missing middle” in Western N.C., according to ROOTS Director of Operations Nathan West.
“The folks who lost everything and qualify for nothing. Families who lived here for generation on family land and it’s gone; moms and dads who work two or three jobs just to put a roof over their family’s heads; the young people who grew up and want to stay and raise their kids here. These are the people who helped rebuild this town after the storm, but can’t buy a house in it,” he said. “They earn too much to qualify for most housing help, but nowhere near enough to compete in this market.”
The property was purchased for $1.6 million, last January, by Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes volunteers to rebuild homes after natural disasters. The organization, founded by Bart Tucker, arrived in the Swannanoa Valley within days of Helene, and has rebuilt home in Beacon Village, Bee Tree, Black Mountain and Yancey County.
While the Fuller Center has responded to 21 natural disasters since its establishment in response to Hurricane Katrina, representatives encountered something new in WNC, according to Tucker.
“This is the most expensive area we have operated in, and that is reflected in what happened after Helene,” he said. “Many people who have lived here for generations looked around at damage to their property and questioned whether they could continue to thrive in this community they call home.”
The land trust, Tucker added, will provide stability for 50 local families.
“These are families with children attending some fine schools in the area and coming back to a stable home, instead of moving from one rental property to another,” he said. “They will have the security of a stable home, putting the parents in a different mindset… Because this is affordable, they will be able to afford groceries at the end of the month.”
By providing long-term affordable housing, Heartwood Village will address a need that predates Helene, according to Black Mountain Presbyterian Church Senior Pastor and ROOTS board member Mary Katherine Robinson.
“Affordable housing was a dream of mine, long before Helene ever touched this valley,” she said. “I had watched, for years, as the people who hold this community together—our teachers, our caregivers, the folks who built our homes, cooked our meals and taught our children—were quietly priced out of the place they loved.”
Despite ongoing conversations and prayers, she continued, "it was a dream without a shovel in the ground” until the devastating natural disaster revealed its urgency.
“I want to say a particular word of thanks to the Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders. You have been in the Valley since the earliest hardest days, not as a one-time responder, but as a long-time partner,” Robinson said. “Partnering with you and now serving alongside you on this board has been one of the greatest privileges of my ministry, and I look forward to what is to come.”
Plans for the neighborhood include community gardens, green space, a dog park and walking trails, while the homes will be built to the IBHS Fortified Gold Standard, according to David Venables, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) consultant for the project.
“We’re especially proud to contribute our Strong Homes initiative to help ensure these homes are built, not only for today, but for the storms and challenges of tomorrow…” he said. “Through our partnerships with Fuller Disaster ReBuilders, Mennonite Disaster Services and IBHS, we will work together to ensure every home built on this site incorporates some of the most durable and resilient standards of construction available.”
Governor Josh Stein, in a letter read by the Director of the Governor’s Western Office Holly Jones, congratulated the ROOTS Community Land Trust and partnering organizations on the groundbreaking.
“By creating safe affordable homes for Helene survivors, including families who were uninsured, Heartwood Village addresses both the immediate need for disaster recovery and the region’s long-term need for housing,” Stein wrote. “The recovery process may be long, but this groundbreaking represents an important step by helping local working families remain in their community.”
The trust anticipates residents will begin to arrive in spring or summer of 2027, with completion of all 50 homes expected in 2029. Twenty-one partners, including the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities, U.S.A., the United Way Asheville and Buncombe County and the N.C. Community Foundation, are supporting the efforts of ROOTS and Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders.
“We’re taking the darkness of this disaster and turning it into something beautiful,” West said. “We’re using disaster recovery to reshape the future into a sustainable one. One that redefines the face of attainable housing in this region. Not a lesser version of a home, but a real home, within reach.”
A photo gallery of the groundbreaking ceremony for Heartwood Village can be viewed in the gallery the top of the page.