A new affordable housing development for veterans broke ground in Nashville’s Edgehill neighborhood this week, just days before Memorial Day.
The Curb Victory Hall will have 39 units for low-income vets. The aim is to keep them from becoming homeless.
The building is part of a $10 million renovation and expansion of Operation Stand Down, a veterans’ services agency. The organization is overhauling its building on 12th Avenue South, where it offers services like job placement and housing assistance.
According to the most recent count, about one in eight homeless people in Nashville is a veteran. And Operation Stand Down is often working with 40 to 50 veterans who have federal vouchers for housing, but no place to use them.
“So this is not additional, nice-to-have housing,” says chief executive John Krenson. “This is housing that’s desperately needed.”
The building will cost about $7 million and take about a year to complete. The Metro Development and Housing Agency will manage it after it opens.
Funding is mostly coming from federal sources and state tax breaks, as well as private gifts. Record executive Mike Curb, after whom the building will be named, is contributing $500,000.
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