Carolyn Collins has family and friends in Northern Kentucky, so when the opportunity for the former Mississippi resident to move to Walton presented itself, she was ready to spring into action.
Now, she is a part of Walton’s newest senior housing community: Haven Crossing.
City officials, developers and other partners joined Collins and Haven Crossing residents for a Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony at 12800 Towne Center Drive.
“I’m proud to be here…I’m happy,” Collins, the oldest of 16 children, said. “The place is awesome. I’ve never seen a facility with everything that’s being offered here. It’s affordable, it’s wonderful and I thank God.”
A three-story building offering 33 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom units, Haven Crossing, is restricted to residents age 55 and over with 30% to 80% area median income, officials said.
A region’s area median income is the midpoint of a region’s income distribution, meaning that half of the households in a region earn more than the median and half earn less than the median. That’s according to this 2023 article about affordable housing policy. A household income is the household’s total income received before taxes.
Units restricted for 30% AMI are for residents with annual incomes of $21,240 or less while units restricted for 80% AMI are for residents with annual incomes of $56,640, Woda Cooper Companies Director of Corporate Communications Karen Bernick said.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development calculates AMI by looking at all families who live in an area, including those with no income, and then reporting the combined household income of the family in the middle, according to Nels Nelson, who aided assembly of the Northern Kentucky Housing Data Study.
The units feature spacious floor plans equipped with Energy Star appliances, contemporary finishes, and washer/dryer hookups, and two units have adapted features for those with sight/hearing disabilities.
Developers Woda Cooper Companies and Housing Services Alliance said that six units possess features for residents with physical disabilities.
“We have an onsite manager of maintenance, a computer lab, a craft room, a fitness room an outside sitting area with grills and extra storage,” Woda Cooper Companies Vice President – Development Tammy Stansbury said. “We started leasing in October and by the end of November we were 100% leased. That just goes to show you within a month and a half what the need truly is.”
Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was paired with a Meal for Heroes catered luncheon on site for local first responders – appropriate in consideration of Haven Crossing being a neighbor to the Walton Fire Protection District, officials said.
“We want to thank those first responders, the sheriff’s department, the fire department and EMS,” Stansbury said. “They’re always the first ones on site, especially when you have a senior development. You want to make sure you have a good relationship with such great people.”
Senior housing is needed in Walton, and the lunch accommodation is appreciated, Walton Fire Protection District Assistant Fire Chief Charlie Alexander said.
“It’s nice that it has come to Walton…it’s a well-protected building,” Alexander said. “There’s easy access to all of the local establishments – the grocery stores, restaurants and the post office. It’s right next to the fire station, so obviously that makes things a lot better for the folks. This is a great way for all of us to get to know everyone.”
Anticipation surrounding the Haven Crossing project developed in its early stages of development, Walton Mayor Gabe Brown said.
“I’m very excited about this,” Brown said. “I’ve watched it from the moment they turned the first piece of dirt. Woda Cooper Properties has been an absolutely fantastic partner. I do understand the need for senior living and affordable housing and this is great.”
Primary financing for the $13.2 million endeavor was supported through the allocation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits via the Kentucky Housing Corporation, officials said. Marble Cliff Capital invested in the tax credits to provide equity financing.
“It’s hard to believe that this is affordable housing,” Marble Cliff Capital President Jack Kukura said. “We invested $9.8 million in this project. Fifty-seven households will directly benefit from this new development in a location that has convenient access to healthcare services, retail shopping and recreation areas. This is a fantastic place to live.”
Echoing the sentiments of those in attendance, Kukura offered high praise for first responders.
“They are wired differently,” Kukura said. “People that work at the first station, when their phone goes off, there’s some place they’ve got to go to and they don’t think about anything else other than how they can get there as fast as possible to serve the people that need to be served. Hats off to the first responders who really focus on that.”
