Campbell County officials have recommended approval of the first phase of a proposed 60-unit apartment complex on Moreland Road, a project aimed at expanding workforce housing.
Hill Tide Ventures LLC received the first round of approvals for a zone change and stage one development plan from the Campbell County Planning and Zoning Commission on April 14 to build “The Spilman” apartments at 27 Moreland in unincorporated Campbell County. The planning commission’s recommendation will now go to the Campbell County Fiscal Court for the final zone change approval.
The proposed design includes two three-story 30-unit buildings and a community building. This design consists of a total of 60 units with a blend of one, two and three-bedroom layouts. A total of 117 parking spaces are proposed for the development.
Hill Tide Ventures is located in Charleston, S.C. It has over 40 communities developed in 10 states.
Taylor Koch, a representative with Hill Tide Ventures, said the company received a $15 million award from the Kentucky Housing Corporation to provide workforce housing, which Koch described as the development’s purpose. He said rents would range from about $1,000 for a one-bedroom unit to about $2,000 for a three-bedroom unit. He said the apartments would target the $50,000 to $93,000 annual income range.
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
“You have to be able to pay your rent,” Koch said. “This is not serving as public housing or section eight, like I mentioned. Our tenants … typically we’re talking about firefighters, first year teachers, police officers, medical assistants.”
The proposed $18 million development would generate approximately $58,000 in new recurring tax money annually for the county, schools and the fire department. If you compare that to the current vacant land, he said it generates $1,600 in annual taxes.
Five residents who live on Moreland Road spoke at the public hearing, stating various reasons they were against the development.
Earl Woeste owns a house across from the entrance of the development.
“This directly affects everyone on Moreland Road,” Woeste said. “I think that the development is going to cause property devaluation to everyone beyond this development.”
Brycen Lehman, who lives at the end of the street, said his mother just built a house next to his to serve as a retirement home, understanding she was surrounded by single-family homes. Lehman said that had he known about the development sooner, he would have told his mom not to build on that lot.
“This really feels like a cash grab from out-of-state investors versus lifetime Campbell County residents,” Lehman said.
The area under review consists of just over six acres in unincorporated Campbell County on Moreland Road, which is just outside of Alexandria city limits between Creektrace Road (KY 536) and Summerlake Drive.
The 2008 Campbell County & Municipal Comprehensive Plan identifies the future land use plan for the area as “Urban Mixed-Use.” The Campbell County & Municipal Vision Statement and Goals and Objectives (updated in 2016) highlight the importance of a variety of quality housing options in the county.
Koch said the company is not over developing. Their design leaves over 60% of the site green space.
The planning commission’s recommendation came with conditions for the developer, the biggest being widening Moreland Road to accommodate two lanes for a certain distance and requiring the development to connect to a public sanitary sewer.
Campbell County Planning and Zoning Commissioner Justin Verst said he felt for the residents who live on Moreland Road, but the county’s vision, goals and comprehensive plan address workforce housing and the need for a mix of housing types.
“It’s pretty rare to get a developer willing to spend the kind of money to rebuild that much of a road and run a sewer that far to get to a piece of property,” Verst said.
The plans do not include a development timeline, but Koch said build time typically takes 18 months.
