A work-in-progress housing development near Bowling Green plans to offer survivors of the 2021 tornado outbreak a unique homebuying opportunity.
The subdivision being built by a partnership between the city and Habitat for Humanity will prioritize tornado victims when selling homes, while offering zero-interest mortgages to qualifying applicants.
Brent Childers, director of Bowling Green's Neighborhood & Community Services department,said the city recently accepted a $5 million state grant to lay the groundwork for the new subdivision to be located along Kentucky Highway 185.
There's been a years-long need for affordable starter homes locally, Childers said. The tornadoes that struck the area in 2021 were yet another blow to the local supply.
"One of the things we saw after the tornado was the impact on our affordable housing stock and our loss of affordable housing stock," Childers added . "We became really aggressive about, 'how do we find ways to reproduce affordable housing?'”
The answer has come through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
Matt Sheffield,Habitat for Humanity-Bowling Green's chief development officer,said the city will use that state grant to acquire and develop land before construction begins, overseen by Habitat for Humanity.
The non-profit is in the process of drafting a "design book" of homes built around modern affordability, but without sacrificing quality and aesthetics. The 14-acre development will offer both townhouses and single-family residences.
“We build these homes with our families in mind, and we carry a consciousness of affordability from start to finish, versus if you're buying a house market rate on the market, there's profitability, there's different sorts of factors in play,” Sheffield said. “We’re not in this to make money.”
Something like a driveway is nice, but will substantially increase a home's price and upkeep. A garage makes for a useful addition to a home, but it also prices out some buyers and makes the structure more susceptible to storm damage.
“We want this neighborhood to be a neighborhood that when people drive through it, they go, ‘Man, I love the house, look at that house,’” Sheffield said. “We're excited about being able to bring some creativity and design to affordable home ownership and to do some fun things that we haven't been able to do in the past.”
Habitat for Humanity considers a home affordable if an owner pays no more than 30% of their income toward their mortgage.
Anyone can apply for a home, though victims of the 2021 tornadoes will receive priority among home applicants.
Sheffield said the word “victim” is a broad one, in this case. Victims who lost housing permanently or temporarily will be prioritized first, but even those who lost transportation or saw extended power loss could be eligible.
“There's many different ways individuals were impacted by the storm,” Sheffield said. “Anybody that had a direct impact that is looking for homeownership through our program, that will be a priority applicant.
Sheffield said the first homes in the subdivision should break ground in early 2027.
