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DEQ Floyd Donkenny Project Visioning

Community members review design boards in Floyd, VA
The Virginia Tech team presents design concepts to town council in Floyd, VA to inform the redevelopment of the Donnkenny site.

Title of Project: Floyd Donnkenny Project Visioning

Project Period: May 2024 - September 2025

Funding Source: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)

Principal Investigator (PI): Elizabeth Gilboy, Director, Community Design Assistance Center (CDAC) at Virginia Tech

Co-Investigators:

  • Harry Gleason, Project Manager, CDAC
  • Raj Kumar Jami, Design Associate, CDAC
  • Lisa Tucker, Head, Department of Apparel, Housing, and Resource Management
  • Lara Nagle, Community-based Research Manager, IPG
  • Max Stephenson, Director, IPG
  • Aida Hassani, Graduate Research Assistant, IPG
  • Helya Sehat, Graduate Research Assistant, IPG

Key Community Partners:

  • Karen Weber, Brownfields Coordinator, DEQ
  • Andrew Morris, Town Manager, Town of Floyd, VA

Description of Project:

The Town of Floyd has recently purchased the former Donkenny property located at 326 W. Oxford Street, Floyd, VA. The town is interested in redeveloping the property to address housing and local service needs. The Virginia Tech team is conducting a series of community engagement activities, including a neighbor meeting, an online survey, discussions with town council, and design presentations to the broader community to inform conceptual redesigns for the site. The final conceptual design will inform next steps for the town in terms of applying for funding, identifying developers, and addressing larger comprehensive planning needs.

The team is also recording interviews with community members who have direct and indirect ties to the Donnkenny property to inform a Storymap and research article. Project findings from the interviews and the engagement and design process will be presented at the Engaged Scholarship Consortium conference in October 2025.

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