Covington has OK’d the sale of city-owned land located at 609 Patton Street for the eventual construction of roughly 60 units of affordable housing for seniors.
Although the move, approved by the Covington Board of Commissioners Tuesday evening, does not guarantee the eventual construction of such a complex, it signifies the first steps in getting a project off the ground.
Kenton County property records indicate the property consists of several parcels of land, which at one point served as a mobile home park, but is currently vacant. Prior to being a mobile home park, according to city staff, it was a dumping ground.
The land is located in the Austinburg neighborhood and the units would be available to seniors with incomes between 30% and 80% of the median area income.
A study of housing in Northern Kentucky has revealed troubling trends for housing in the region, with the largest need being for “workforce housing” for households earning between $15 and $25 per hour, with monthly housing costs between $500 and $1,500. The region needs about 3,000 more housing units to provide for people within that income range, according to the study. The demand for one- to two-bedroom rentals and owned properties consistently exceeds their supply, while supply for three and four-bedroom properties consistently exceeds demand. The study suggests that the region needs to build 6,650 housing units to support economic development in the next five years, which equates to 1,330 units per year. Read more here.
Understanding NKY’s housing shortage
The agreement, which passed as part of Tuesday night’s consent agenda, will allow the purchase of the property for $1, according to city documents, by a joint legal entity consisting of three organizations.
The first is Neighborhood Investment Partners, or NIP, an independent nonprofit affiliated with the city and the Housing Authority of Covington. Its directors are appointed by the mayor. The other two are Kingsley & Co., a Cincinnati-based, minority-owned developer and Beacon, an affordable housing developer out of Louisville.
Additionally, the agreement would allow NIP to apply for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to help bankroll the construction of the complex. Applications and compliance for such tax credits are onerous, but organizations like NIP have specialists on staff familiar with the process of obtaining such tax credits. If the credits are awarded, the construction could begin next summer.
Mayor Ron Washington laid out the income levels the complex would target.
For single people, Washington said, “your income would be between $17,000 and $47,000 a year, or $8.48 an hour to $22.62 an hour. If it’s a two-person income residence, your income would need to be $21,450 to $57,200 [a year], or $10.31 an hour to $27.50 an hour. And if you’re a three-person residents or family, $25,650 to $68,400.”