LEXINGTON (February 4, 2020) – One of the greatest barriers Lexington Habitat and other local builders face in building quality, affordable housing is the skyrocketing cost of land in Fayette County. Though affordable, buildable land is becoming more scare - the need for affordable housing is as great as ever.
Lexington Habitat is adapting to the community’s changing landscape and plans to build a set of five single family attached homes, or townhomes, on what is currently vacant land near the Manchester Street corridor. This project aims to bring affordable homeownership within reach of more Lexingtonians while strategically utilizing Lexington’s land.
“Access to affordable housing is a growing, community-wide concern,” says Rachel Childress, Lexington Habitat CEO. “In order for our community to thrive, all of our citizens need a quality, affordable place to call home. We are excited that this project can be part of the solution.”
In addition to finding new and creative ways to build affordable housing, Lexington Habitat is also fighting this growing affordability issue by preserving Lexington's existing housing stock with repairs and preservation work and by advocating for smart housing policy. Driven by the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live, Lexington Habitat has built, repaired or rehabilitated over 565 homes in Lexington since 1986.
Though building townhomes is a new model for Lexington Habitat, it is common at other Habitat affiliates across the country where it has been quite successful. On Thursday, January 30, 2020, The Urban County Planning Commission unanimously voted to approve a zone change to allow Lexington Habitat to build the townhouses. The zone change must now be approved by the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council.