By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor
At a recent open house, Welcome House revealed the results of its latest effort, a $9.5 million project to develop affordable housing for low-income residents.
Welcome House Executive Director Linda Young shows off the entrance and kitchen area in one of the renovated units in Mainstrasse Village (photos by Mark Hansel).
The project includes eight buildings and 41 units, consisting of five efficiencies, 20 one-bedroom, 13 two-bedroom, two-three bedroom and one-four bedroom apartments. Three of the units are ADA accessible, one is visual/hearing impaired and all are located in Covington’s Mainstrasse Village neighborhood.
Executive Director Linda Young said Welcome House was like other organizations, focused on providing services.
“About seven years ago, and some of this had to do with housing costs and income and wages that weren’t moving a whole lot, we had this widening gap of people that couldn’t afford housing,” Young said. “It occurred to me one time, when we looked at how many times kids moved school and so forth, that we had to give them a house.
Welcome House was founded in 1982 and opened its doors as an Emergency Assistance Center.
In the early 1980’s homelessness of single parent families, usually headed by women, skyrocketed. Working in cooperation with the Benedictine Sisters, Welcome House recognized the need to shelter women and children and after renovating the building at 141 Pike Street to accommodate living areas, the Welcome House Shelter opened in 1983.
The exterior of one of the eight building that have been renovated by Welcome House in Covington’s Mainstrasse Village to provide housing for low-income residents.
As further needs arose, Welcome House responded. Today, Welcome House has three service areas located at four different locations in downtown Covington.
Welcome House has formed a partnership with The Model Goup, which is the developer on this project. In addition to providing housing for low income residents, the project has also resulted in the renovation of some beautiful old Mainstrasse buildings, which Young says, “were in terrible shape.”
Amenities in the units include refrigerator, range, air conditioning, hardwood floors, ceiling fans, window treatments and secure entry.
“Some of our properties have programs attached to them, so they are more specific to the population,” Young said. “These properties are Section 8, open to the public. What we’ll do is form an outreach here.”
Welcome House plans to work closely with property managers, so if there is some trouble paying the rent or if there are issues about cleanliness, or other things, they will intervene.
“We try to be proactive to determine if the family needs help, or if there are some issues that need to be addressed,” Young said. “Is there a community garden they can be a part of? Really it’s to try to get to stabilizing households and then getting them to be more involved in the community in which they live.”
Sources of funding on the project include:
*$633,627 in low-income housing tax credits from Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) which resulted in over $6.1M in equity from investor Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing.
*RiverHills Bank provided $5,300,000 in construction loan dollars and provided the permanent loan to the project.
*Federal Historic Tax Credits and State Historic Tax Credits which resulted in additional $1.5M of equity.
*Welcome House contributed more than $0.5M in owner equity to fund the project.
There is also a Phase II of the project, which includes several other properties in Mainstrasse. Young said funding changes every year and Welcome House is waiting to see what sources are available to move forward with that project.
“We just continue until we can find a way to completely rehab those, too,” Young said.
Young says participation in projects, such as a community gardens will encourage residents to engage in the community and provide stability.
The organization recently made the decision to develop two of the Phase II properties on Sixth Street as market-rate housing.
“The value of these properties is really the Section 8 housing, so we are talking to HUD about transferring those to other properties,” Young said. “They have been favorable, it’s just a lot of paperwork.”
Young compared the standard of living in much Section 8 housing to broken toys and she says that has an impact on the self-esteem of residents.
“There is nothing wrong with used toys, but if people who are poor are just getting toys that nobody else wants, it reflects that they don’t deserve anything more than what nobody else wants,” Young said. “That’s why I want the standard of this housing to be what I would live in. It’s really building homes and giving people opportunities to experience stability and we’ll measure that by kids being in school, attendance in school, all of those things.”
The project has had some naysayers and Young said the open house was a celebration of what has been accomplished. It also provides an opportunity to demonstrate that quality housing for low-income residents can be produced and maintained.
“I won’t build anything that I can’t sustain, so when it does need things, we have (rental) income coming in that can take care of that,” Young said. “The whole piece with Section 8 is, people can pay a third of their income and that’s what makes it affordable and the government pays the full rent and it’s all based on a pro forma that is spread out over 15 to 30 years, about sustainability. We set aside reserves, so we can plan – they are older buildings anyway, so we’ve got (a plan) 10-years-out, for what needs to be replaced.”
That plan, however, will be in the hands of others. After two decades of being affiliated with Welcome House, Young is retiring in a few weeks. She admits that it is difficult to walk away when such an important part of the organization’s mission is beginning to bear fruit, but she is ready or others to take over.
“It’s a great way to go out,” she said.
Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com
That is the last year of that community garden. The owner is hoping to develop them into single family dwellings.
Wishing this housing program could help… I watch my daughter struggle in the beautiful city of Florence with the cost of living for a nice place to raise our Grand Children, constantly asking for help. I don’t understand how $1,200.00 in child support + sometimes $3-400.00. extra from side jobs can NOT be LOW Enough income to get assistance in Section 8 rent, only in food when she is raising two kids both with medical assistance needs. A real list of living expense’s:
1-Rent 2- food, 3- utilities, 4- School & Lunch & required supplies for each child, 5-Clothes for each child, 6- Car Insurance, 7- Rent Insurance, 8- Gas to get to school & work, 9- Dental needs, 10- Medical needs, ? extra life incidences.
Yet the needs of the Illegal residents in our country get free; or severely discounted housing, Free; bus passes, school, clothing, cell phones, food, medical care and an allowance for extras.
Thi s program is ocvurting in exactly the wrong area and is one of the ma my reasons former Mayor Sherry Carran was thrown out of office. No more. If Covington is to support its burden of carrying on its back the least fortunate of Northern Kentucky, we need to have economic engines that can through off the tax dollars to support those social services. The over concentration of poverty will be ended and the do gooders from the suburbs who turn these programs are served notice. No more. You will not be allowed to further construct our economic growth areas because it’s convenient for your administrative efforts and you will need to accept these downtrodden in your neighborhoods.
the illegal residents in your county do NOT get free or severely discounted housing….. I wonder who told you that lie? nor do they get free bus passes, clothing, cell phones an no allowance for extras.
They do get food if they go to the parish kitchen, or food pantries; they also get emergency room medical care Most of those in school are NOT “illegal residents” but are American Citizens just as your grandchildren are….and they might get free school lunches, I wonder who is feeding you all of the false information you have.