New affordable housing units revealed in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The city of Lexington unveiled new affordable housing units on Liberty Road on Thursday.

“Today we celebrate not just the opening of a new building, but the promise of a home for many. Affordable housing is the foundation for vibrant communities. Where dreams can take root and the future can flourish,” said UA Membership President Johan Graham.

The video above shows an inside look at one of the city’s new affordable housing units.

“The most important thing we can do for people is to provide them with safe, decent and affordable housing. This is the starting point for a good job, a good education, food security, but most importantly, a place to call your own,” said District 7 Councilman Preston Worley.

These are the Richwood Bend apartments. They are members of AU and the city of Lexington’s latest affordable housing project. There are 83 affordable housing apartments, with one, two and three bedroom units.

“We have a housing supply gap in Kentucky. In Fayette County alone, we need 14,000 rental units. By 2029, that number is expected to increase to 18,000,” explained Terry Helton of the Kentucky Housing Corporation.

According to an Affordable Housing Needs Analysis commissioned by the city, Lexington is short 13,450 units for renter families earning less than 80% of the area median income.

Mayor Linda Gorton said this project will help fill that gap.

“Since 2014, our city’s Affordable Housing Fund has invested $48.3 million dollars in the construction or preservation of 3,500 units,” said Mayor Gorton.

Mayor Gorton said the city council approved using 1% of previous years’ revenues for the affordable housing fund. So far this year, the city has added more than 400 units. This is one of three projects opening this month and in November.

“And in the next budget, we will have the largest single dollar investment in affordable housing the city has ever seen,” Worley said.

AU Associates began construction on the $21 million Richwood Bend project in April 2023.

The project was made possible through the use of low-income housing tax credits and more than $5.6 million from the HOME Program and the city’s Affordable Housing Fund.

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