I read that the city is highlighting progress on affordable housing and has surpassed four thousand units. Where exactly are these new affordable housing developments going up in Lexington, and what's considered affordable?

That's right. Lexington officials expect to surpass four thousand units of affordable housing across the city this year, which is really impressive progress since the city created its affordable housing fund back in twenty fourteen.

So where are people actually seeing these new developments pop up?

There are several spots around town. Three new apartment buildings are going up on Delaware Avenue near the intersection of Winchester and Liberty roads, with completion expected by December twenty twenty-six. There's also a pilot project on twelve and a half acres at the site of the former Transylvania University baseball field, and the Lexington Housing Authority has nine houses available for sale on Shropshire Avenue. Around two hundred seventy units are currently being built across the city, mostly for seniors.

What makes housing count as affordable in these programs?

A multifamily housing unit is considered affordable if rent and utility costs do not exceed thirty percent of a household's gross income. The city actually uses Area Median Income calculations, so affordable housing apartments and homes are typically priced to be affordable for residents who make sixty percent or less of the city's median income. For homebuyers, qualifying applicants could be eligible for as much as one hundred thousand dollars in assistance to help make homes more affordable.

That assistance sounds pretty significant.

It is. The city's really been investing heavily in this. Mayor Gorton has proposed more than five million dollars toward affordable housing in next fiscal year's city budget, and the city has invested more than fifty million dollars since twenty fourteen. What's interesting is they're focusing a lot on what they call infill development, finding vacant lots within the city rather than just building out in the suburbs.

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