New affordable houses, town homes, apartments approved at former Transy baseball field
The Lexington Urban County Planning Commission has approved the construction of a new affordable housing subdivision off North Broadway at the site of Transylvania University’s former baseball field.
The proposed project includes 26 homes, 29 town homes, three apartment buildings and one senior living facility in the Radcliffe-Marlboro area. The plans, proposed by a consortium of affordable housing providers, in partnership with local banks, call for 179 apartment units.
The commission voted unanimously Thursday to approve several zone changes on 12 acres for properties at 475 and 495 Haggard Lane and 450 Radcliffe Road. The area served as the home to Transy’s baseball team until 2020, when it moved to the Lexington Legends’ Whitaker Bank Ballpark.
The single-family homes would front Radcliffe Road and Haggard Lane. The apartments and senior living facility would be closer to North Broadway.
The vote came after a more than two-hour public hearing where residents of Radcliffe-Marlboro neighborhood urged the commission to limit the development to homes due to repeated traffic backups in the area and stormwater and flooding issues in the neighborhood.
The zone change will now go to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council. A date for that vote has not been set.
The 26 homes and 29 town homes will be available for purchase for those who qualify. The entire development is aimed at those who make 80% or less of the median income in Lexington — or under $76,150 for a family of four.
A banking group — consisting of Central Bank, Community Trust Bank, Republic Bank and Trust, Stock Yards Bank and Traditional Bank — pooled $2.8 million toward the purchase of the property. Developers AU Associates, Habitat for Humanity, Urban League of Lexington and Winterwood have tentatively agreed to develop the homes, apartments and townhouses on the 12.5 acre property.
In addition, the Kentucky General Assembly has allocated $10 million to help pay for public infrastructure — such as building roads, relocating utility lines and stormwater and sewer projects.
Jon Woodall, a lawyer representing the affordable housing developers, said it was a unique project, combining the private and nonprofit sectors to provide much-needed affordable housing.
Woodall said the city’s comprehensive plan, which guides development, emphasizes providing different housing types, affordable housing and utilizing under-developed properties inside the city’s growth boundary. This project does all of that.
Several affordable housing developers also noted that the project offered several different types of affordable housing — ownership, senior housing and rental units.
The vast majority of affordable housing built in Fayette County has been rental units, according to data from the city’s affordable housing fund.
Habitat for Humanity Chief Executive Director Darryl Neher said it’s nearly impossible to purchase homes for less than $300,000 in Fayette County.
As of Thursday, there were 419 homes for sale in the county, and only 75 were listed at less than $260,000, he said.
The new development “would put 55 units into play,” Neher said.
Neighbors say traffic, flooding are problematic
More than a dozen people spoke against the zone change at Thursday’s meeting.
Many in the neighborhood said there are long-standing flooding and sanitary sewer overflows. One woman said she can’t take a shower if it rains.
Others said water consistently backs up in basements and crawl spaces in the Radcliffe-Marlboro neighborhood.
Several people also said traffic on North Broadway and Paris Pike and Haggard Lane backs up during morning and afternoon rush hour.
There is a light at Haggard and North Broadway.
“I have sat through three or four light changes,” said Frank Green, a neighbor.
There are also plans to extend Citation Boulevard from Winburn Drive that will also increase traffic in the area, Green and others said.
Some speakers asked the commission to restrict the development to single-family homes, which would match the Radcliffe-Marlboro neighborhood and cut the number of new people living in the area. Several said that they met with the developers but did not learn until last month the developers planned to include apartments.
“Our input has been disregarded,” said Rachel Sloan. “This is simply micro-scale gentrification.”
A traffic study commissioned by the developers showed there will be an additional three-second delay on Haggard Lane when the entire development is finished.
There is a sewer trunk replacement project in the area that will address stormwater and flooding issues in the area, city staff said. That project is scheduled to begin in 2025. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is also expected to conduct a traffic study to address consistent traffic back-ups on North Broadway. North Broadway becomes Paris Pike in that area.
Many planning commission members said they were sympathetic to the neighborhood’s concerns but the development complies with the comprehensive plan.
Planning Commission member Ivy Barksdale said as a real estate agent she sees the need for affordable housing every day. The plan emphasizes the need to create more affordable housing and different types of housing. However, those projects have been rare.
“In order to do that, we are going to have to make some compromises,” Barksdale said.
