$223 million plan envisions 953 affordable apartments in tornado-struck Western KY
Gov. Andy Beshear announced $223 million in funding to build nearly 1,000 rental units across Western Kentucky, particularly in counties most affected by historic tornadoes and storms that killed more than 80 people late 2021.
At a Monday news conference, Beshear unveiled the plan to fund 953 income-restricted units as way to heal the tornado-ravaged region and to accommodate for major expected growth, particularly in Warren County, which is home to Bowling Green.
The 11 multi-family apartment complexes will be built and run by private affordable housing developers. They’re to be located in Christian and Warren counties as well as Graves and Hopkins counties – the home of Mayfield and Dawson Springs, the two hardest-hit cities in the 2021 tornadoes.
Most units will have two or three bedrooms and construction is set to begin spring 2025 at the latest, state officials say.
Mayfield Mayor Kathy O’Nan said the 122 units in the town of around 10,000 will have a significant impact. Much of the damage occurred in downtown Mayfield, where many of the city’s low-income residents lived.
“This tornado struck in the heart of our community, to the heart of our people who are most vulnerable. It was those people who live in the subpar rental homes that are now still struggling,” O’Nan said. “These units will help individuals and families who have suffered enough and have continued to stay and continued to help us rebuild a community.”
Both developments slated for Mayfield will be built on the southern edge of town.
In Dawson Springs, a town of about 2,500, a total of 88 units will be built. Madisonville, the more populous Hopkins County city, will get a 32-unit apartment complex.
The plan is similar to a public-private partnership, though officials did not use that phrase.
Public funds will go to private developers to build the apartment complexes. Those complexes, in turn, must be income-restricted to “moderate- and low-income households,” according to the governor’s staff.
The developers also must accept Section 8 housing vouchers, according Wendy Smith, deputy executive director of housing programs at the Kentucky Housing Corporation. The Kentucky Housing Corporation is a quasi-government agency attached to the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet.
Almost $135 million will come from the corporation in the form of tax-exempt bonds. The Department of Local Government will direct about $60 million from the federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program to the project.
The remainder will come from a projected tax credit equity and various public trust funds.
What does “affordable” look like for the units? Smith said that it will vary based on the location, but the average two-bedroom unit will rent out around $750 to $900 per month.
Disaster survivors will get priority for renting the units, Smith said. Beyond late 2021’s historic tornadoes, the region last month saw an outburst of storms that killed five.
In a release, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, said that he worked to secure the federal funding via the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program. He called the housing announcement “welcome news” for the region.
“Communities devastated by the 2021 tornado outbreak will see $60 million in federal funding that I fought to secure go toward building hundreds of new housing units across the region. I’m glad to see my home state put these federal dollars to work and take this crucial next step in delivering real relief to Kentuckians,” McConnell said.
Beshear said staffers in the Department of Local Government and the Kentucky Housing Corporation came to him with the idea. He lauded their creativity in addressing a need many have pointed to in the wake of mass property damage due to the tornadoes.
“This is folks in government coming up with a new way to do something, and we don’t always see that. They deserve a lot of credit for not just doing things the same way we always do,” Beshear said.
While all counties were affected in the storms, there is also an economic development angle to the project
Bowling Green, home to Western Kentucky University and Corvette, is one of the fastest-growing cities in Kentucky. Of the 953 units being built, 635 will be there.
“Bowling Green’s 600-plus units, they’re necessary because of how hard that city was hit by the tornadoes, but they’re also necessary because Bowling Green is absolutely booming,” Beshear said.
A 2,000-job, $2 billion electric vehicle battery plant has plans to open there in the near future, not far from the record-breaking Ford/SK Innovations plants near Elizabethtown. A majority of the units in Bowling Green will be built near the center of town, within two miles of downtown and Western Kentucky University.
This story was originally published June 4, 2024 at 7:10 AM.
