Lexington's public and private interests continue their efforts to increase affordable housing in Fayette County. Officials gathered for a ribbon cutting Wednesday at Polo Club Park Apartments. The 24-unit complex for seniors 55 and over is situated in the Hamburg area of Lexington. Charlie Lanter is the commissioner of housing advocacy and community development. He said a real effort is being made to spread out affordable units.
“What we like to do is get as many as we can in as many different areas of town so that people have choices. Just because you need affordable housing doesn’t mean you should be limited as to where in the city that you’re able to live,” said Lanter.
Lanter said there are another 846 affordable housing units under construction. He noted those should be opening over the next year, including areas off Georgetown and Newtown Pike roads. Lanter added there are many seniors in the community whose only income is social security.
“And that’s a number that doesn’t change much over the years, in terms of getting a raise, or changing your month income. But, those rents still go up. So, we get calls in my office all the time from seniors who are looking for affordable housing or have been priced out of where they’ve lived for many years and need a place to go.”
The housing and community development commissioner said $11 million in federal money is spurring on projects in the pipeline. Lanter said there will be a real bump in the number of units coming online over the next few years.
