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Nothing has yet been put on paper. The project doesn't have a name. The land isn't even technically located within the town limits.

But some residents along Harding Avenue in Blacksburg are already worried about a concept plan that could eventually turn a field near them into the town's next big affordable-housing project.

If it's built, the subdivision of up to 130 homes would be a joint project between Community Housing Partners and Blacksburg's Housing and Neighborhood Services office and would provide housing for families living on 80 percent or less of the median income. In Blacksburg, a family of four living on $49,300 or less could qualify.

The preliminary concept would build various types and sizes of certified "green" housing on the property and use the latest in technology to reduce storm water runoff and mitigate other environmental issues, officials say.

But Bijaya and Hara Misra were so concerned about the proposal that they helped make it a topic of debate in the Blacksburg Town Council election campaign. Together they questioned council candidates about how the present roads and water and sewer systems could accommodate a 27-acre subdivision.

Officials say they are cautiously optimistic about the idea, however, because it could provide a significant number of environmentally friendly housing units for purchase by people living on lower incomes -- a major goal of the current council.

Council candidates, including incumbents Don Langrehr, Mary Holliman and Paul Lancaster, pointed out recently that the town could extend bus routes to the project and provide public water and sewer services for the new homes, mitigating some of the impact on roads and other infrastructure that so concern neighbors.

But the project is far from a done deal. In fact, the land, which sits at Harding and Steinbeck roads, is currently in Montgomery County. Community Housing Partners is still studying the feasibility of the project and has not yet purchased the land, company President Janaka Casper said.

For the project to go forward, the property would also have to be brought into the town limits through a boundary adjustment, a legal process that requires public input and cooperation from the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and the signature of a Montgomery County judge.

The Blacksburg Town Council would then likely rezone the property through its normal public hearing process.

For those who are concerned about the project, Blacksburg Housing Manager Matt Hanratty had this advice: "Get involved in the process. ... Come out [to public meetings], listen, be open-minded. We're willing to work with folks, just as always."

Such projects "can be done right," Hanratty added.

If the development goes forward, Community Housing Partners will do its own "public process inviting stakeholders to come in and tell us what the look and feel of it should be," Casper said.

Community Housing Partners is a nonprofit developer of affordable housing projects in Virginia and other states. The company, in partnership with Blacksburg's housing office, built 14 affordable housing units last year near downtown Blacksburg that have won national awards for environmental stewardship and affordability.

The housing office administers the town's Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds, both of which are used to help fund housing projects and services for low- to moderate-income residents.