Habitat for Humanity wants to build townhouses in Lexington. Not everyone is happy.
Lexington Habitat for Humanity wants to build five townhouses for low-income homeowners off the growing Manchester Street corridor.
The two-story townhouses on Perry Street are the nonprofit’s first multi-family development in Fayette County. Habitat has struggled in recent years to find cheap, affordable land for its longstanding home ownership program, which has housed 470 families since it began in 1986.
All of its previous projects were single-family homes.
“This is a new model for us,” said Rachel Smith Childress, the chief executive officers of Lexington Habitat for Humanity. “But other Habitats have done this across the country and they have been quite successful.”
The Urban County Planning Commission will hear the zone change request from single-family residential to high-density residential at its Jan. 30 meeting, when some neighbors are expected to voice opposition to the project.
The higher density will allow the nonprofit to build more units on the eight lots from 213-229 Perry Street. The land is currently vacant.
The skyrocketing cost of land in Fayette County has meant Habitat has had to look at alternative models.
“What we were able to buy for $18,000 to $20,000 just a few years ago is now $30,000 to $40,000,” said Peter Carew, the director of construction for Lexington Habitat, of the cost of vacant land lots.
Multi-family developments are one way to continue to provide low-cost home ownership. Habitat has also launched a successful program that helps lower-income homeowners make repairs to their homes, keeping those homeowners in affordable housing and stabilizing neighborhoods. That program has helped more than 100 homeowners.
The townhouse units will be 1,800 square feet, which is larger than most Habitat single-family homes. The plans include a ground-floor bedroom and bathroom, living room and kitchen. The top floor will have three bedrooms, said Carew.
“The ground floors will be handicap accessible,” said Carew. Each townhouse will have a single-car garage and a driveway.
Childress said the townhouse model will likely appeal to older adults or adults with older children.
“That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to make the ground-floor handicap accessible,” Carew said.
Townhouses also need minimal upkeep and maintenance.
Irishtown neighborhood pushes back
Still, neighbors of the development have raised concerns about the townhouses on the narrow street. The Irishtown neighborhood has gone through rapid transformation in recent years as the nearby Distillery District has exploded with bars and restaurants.
A major sewer line replacement project that started in November and closed parts of Manchester Street has caused further headaches and parking nightmares. That project will last six months.
Paul Holland, owner of the C &P Market on the corner of Perry and Manchester streets, said he supports Habitat for Humanity. But the sewer line project has nearly halved his typically robust breakfast and lunch business of about 200 people. He’s worried that more construction and more houses will mean more cars.
“The big concern is parking,” Holland said. “They are also trying to get so many units on that lot.”
Roland Taylor, who lives on Perry Street across from the development, agreed.
“Parking is tough in that area,” Taylor said. “That street is also too narrow.”
Taylor said Holland’s customers sometimes have to park on the vacant lot where Habitat wants to build. There also are times when events in the Distillery district cause people to park along Perry Street, making it difficult for residents to get into their homes.
Taylor said he is concerned that even though there has been substantial work on the older sewer lines in the area that there are still issues with the system that was installed in 1918. More development will only compound those problems for residents who feel like they are being squeezed out, he said.
“Once these units get in there, is this going to open up the doorway for other developers to come through?” Taylor said. “I live in a house that my great-great grandparents lived in.”
Randall Gaines’ wife was born in a home that was once on the now-vacant site. Gaines has lived in the neighborhood since the 1950s and lives across the street from the proposed Habitat for Humanity site.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone who is for it,” Gaines said.
It’s a lot of townhouses to get on a narrow plot of land, he said.
“I don’t understand why the planning commission and the council get to decide for a neighborhood,” Gaines said. “But we know they are going to vote for Habitat.”
Habitat’s response to Irishtown
Childress and Carew said the townhouses will be built on vacant land and will not displace anyone in the rapidly-changing neighborhood.
Other Habitat homes dot Irishtown, they noted.
“Our first two Habitat homes were on Willard Street,” which runs parallel to Perry, Carew said.
After meeting with Irishtown neighbors, they added driveways to minimize on-street parking, Carew said.
They also plan a sidewalk in front of the property to address neighbors’ concerns about pedestrians. They are seeking an exemption from city planners on some of the setback requirements to get the driveways and sidewalks on the lots.
Carew said the organization is talking with potential families now but cautioned that construction likely won’t start until 2021. They hope the attached townhouses will sell for less than $140,000. Childress said they are still raising money and will likely ask for funding from the city’s affordable housing fund to pay for the townhouses.
Eligible homeowners for Habitat for Humanity homes must have incomes that are less than 60 percent of the average median income. For a family of four, that’s $44,750 annually or less. Habitat also has other requirements for homeowners, including willingness to provide “sweat equity” or volunteer hours. Potential homeowners must have a gross monthly income of at least $2,000.
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 11:14 AM.
