Both Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg are in the process of planning for more housing, for students and non-students.
Blacksburg has a population of just over 44,000 people, according to the U.S. Census. That includes an estimated 25,000 students who attend Virginia Tech.
“We’re a small town,” said Matt Hanratty, deputy town manager for Blacksburg. “[Virginia Tech has] land on campus that they need to be smart about putting housing on. And we need to be strategic where students go off campus. And sometimes there’s friction there. But we all need to do our fair share, or it’s not going to work long term.”…