Thursday April 18, 2024
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SubscribeGov. Matt Bevin today joined federal, state and local officials in Georgetown to announce $3,471,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for housing rehabilitation projects across the Commonwealth.
These federal funds, allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered by the Kentucky Department for Local Government (DLG), will benefit 45 families in central, north, east and west Kentucky.
“We are excited to announce nearly $3.5 million in CDBG funding that will benefit families here in Georgetown and across the Commonwealth,” said Gov. Bevin. “Increasing safe, affordable housing is vital to strengthening our communities and promoting economic opportunity. We are grateful to our federal, state and local partners who will help us make these projects a reality for homeowners in Campbell, Christian, Hopkins, Perry and Scott counties.”
CDBG awards include:
- $804,000 to the Campbell County Fiscal Court for the rehabilitation of six vacant and dilapidated houses for sale to low- and moderate-income families,
- $791,000 to the City of Hazard (Perry County), for the acquisition and demolition of a shopping center to construct 15 new single-family homes,
- $366,000 to the City of Crofton (Christian County), for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of five homes for low- and moderate-income families,
- $510,000 to the City of Georgetown (Scott County), for the rehabilitation of eight homes in the Boston area, and
- $1,000,000 to the Hopkins County Fiscal Court for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of 11 homes for low- and moderate-income families.
Mayor Tom Prather noted the impact of today’s grant announcements, which took place in a ceremony at Georgetown City Hall.
“Georgetown is delighted to host Gov. Bevin for these important announcements! We are excited about efforts to improve our neighborhoods, and grants like the Governor announced today are critical to the success of each community represented,” he said.
Members of the community’s delegation to the General Assembly also celebrated the major CDBG funding awards.
“These critical projects are an excellent illustration of government agencies working together to improve communities in all corners of the Commonwealth,” said Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, of Georgetown. “This investment will have a tremendous impact on the quality of affordable housing in Georgetown and in other communities across Kentucky. I’m grateful to Gov. Bevin and the Department for Local Government for their support of this project.”
“Increasing the available stock of affordable housing and improving our neighborhoods are two very important issues in the City of Georgetown,” said Representative Phillip Pratt, of Georgetown. “These grant awards provide a much-needed opportunity to revitalize our communities, and I’m grateful to Gov. Bevin and DLG Commissioner Sandy Dunahoo for coordinating these grants.”
The CDBG grant program, overseen by HUD, provides assistance to communities for use in revitalizing neighborhoods, expanding affordable housing and economic opportunities, providing infrastructure and/or improving community facilities and services. CDBG projects must comply with federal regulations, and funding is determined based upon project needs, reasonable costs, and overall effectiveness.
DLG is an arm of the Office of the Governor dedicated to supporting local officials and communities. To learn more about resources and opportunities available through DLG, visit http://kydlgweb.ky.gov.
Business leaders and elected officials join the development partners in breaking ground on one of the city’s newest and largest intergenerational communities – Riverport Landings. This intergenerational community will be home to families, senior citizens, single parent families and young adult foster alumni enrolled in FSH’s educational program. Situated on a 36-acre site, Riverport Landings includes various retail services and residents of Riverport Landings will have access to a 2.5 acre community park and other shared amenities conveniently located on a shared site.
“I want to congratulate the development team—LDG, Marian, the funders and many more—who have pushed this project forward,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “This tremendous asset to southwest Louisville will provide stable housing for seniors and families, while spurring commercial development along Cane Run Road, and establishing a community center and a park that will be excellent resources for those living in these units and in the surrounding neighborhoods. I am especially pleased to see private-sector investment in affordable housing, and the recognition that safe and reliable housing leads to more productivity and security for all members of the family. I look forward to seeing this investment progress and returning once it is complete.”
Riverport Landings is a joint venture between Marian Development and LDG Development—two of the nation’s largest developers of affordable housing. Combined, the companies have provided more than 9,000 affordable housing units for seniors, students and families in various cities across the country. Riverport Landings will include three types of affordable housing developments: Riverport Senior Living—a 108 unit senior property; Riverport Family Apartments—a 240 unit affordable family property and Riverport Scholar House—a 64 unit community for low-income single parent families and young adult foster alumni enrolled in FSH’s educational program. The development will also include a community park, retail space and other amenities that residents from all three properties will be able to access.
The need for more affordable housing in Louisville and throughout our country is well documented and is essential to attracting and retaining the diverse workforce needed for communities to grow,” said Jacob Brown, Chris Dischinger and Mark Lechner, principals for Marian Development and LDG Development. “The addition of Riverport Landings to southwest Louisville not only fills a need for more housing choice, but allows a nationally recognized non-profit—Family Scholar House— to fulfill its mission to end the cycle of poverty and transform our community by empowering families and youth to succeed in education and achieve lifelong self-sufficiency.”
Cathe Dykstra, Chief Possibility Officer and President and CEO of FSH, agrees. “Partnerships with high quality developers like Marian and LDG drive the expansion of physical sites to fulfill the needs of our families and young adults. We are not a housing program. We are an educational program with a housing component. Our partners allow Family Scholar House to focus on its mission and the housing component helps disadvantaged single parent families and young adult foster alumni transition from poverty and homelessness to financial independence and gratitude. Access to stable, affordable housing means these families and young adults can focus on graduating from college and looking forward to a future that includes self-sufficiency, home ownership and success.”
Funding for this $71,000,000 development was secured through Tax-Exempt Bonds, 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and HOME and AHTF funds provided by Kentucky Housing Corporation, traditional construction and capital loans provided by RedStone Tax Exempt Funding, PNC Bank and U.S. Bank, Louisville Metro Government’s HOME and Louisville CARES programs, FSH’s capital fundraising which includes grants from James Graham Brown Foundation and Frank and Paula Harshaw, and capital contributions from The Ezekiel Foundation. Edwin King, Executive Director of Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) believes the mix of funding being used for this project demonstrates the support and need for this type of development within the area.
“KHC wants to engage in innovative solutions to problems related to housing. Part of the solution is leveraging partnerships and resources to achieve this goal and produce impactful outcomes. This mix of funding and partnerships allowed partners to increase the scope of this development and produce a greater number of affordable housing units while adding intrinsic community value to the project by including a community park, retail services and a community service facility.”
Construction of Riverport Landings is underway and is expected to be complete by January 2019.
Millennials are a key factor turning up the heat in America’s hottest housing markets, according to a Realtor.com report on the 50 Hottest ZIP Codes in the United States – which included one Louisville neighborhood. This fueled a few dozen housing markets to rise above 32,000 others on a list topped by Watauga, Texas and Pleasant Hill, California.
The 40242 ZIP code on the east side of Louisville, bound by the Gene Snyder, the Watterson, and I-71 did not quite crack the top 10 in the nation, but it only just missed the list by coming in at the 11th spot.
“Homes for sale in this year’s hottest ZIP codes are selling almost as quickly as they hit the market,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com. “While millennials are usually a significant presence in most markets, their sheer size and buying power have made them a force to be reckoned with in these hot ZIP codes and given them the power to shift supply and demand dynamics.”
Read the full report here.
