Why Louisville is spending tax dollars to buy land for affordable housing

Requests to allow multifamily housing on three properties at opposite ends of Jefferson County have been filed by one owner with a familiar name: Louisville Metro Government.

In recent weeks, the city has moved to rezone two pieces of land in Valley Station and Berrytown, along with the former Watson Lane Elementary building, in an effort to convert all three to affordable housing.

The requests come as Mayor Craig Greenberg seeks to build or renovate 15,000 homes within his first term. And they serve as a potential way to speed up private development of critically needed units for lower-income residents through new public investment.

"We need to create more housing options for families and individuals across our city, and this rezoning process will remove a barrier for developers to create a variety of affordable housing options on these properties," Greenberg said in a statement. "Steps like these will help us meet the 15,000-unit housing goal in the My Louisville Home plan."

Louisville Metro Government has spent a combined $2 million on the properties, using general funds from the city's budget. If successful in rezoning them, the properties will be granted to developers through a bidding process, said Marilyn Harris, director of Louisville's Office of Housing and Community Development.

Rezoning can take upwards of 18 months and is not guaranteed to be approved. By taking on the process, the city can shoulder that burden for developers, Harris said.

The city does not have specific plans for the properties and will leave their designs up to interested developers. But Harris said none will be used for large apartment complexes.

Instead, the city would like to see developments that add slightly more density than single-family homes, such as duplexes, triplexes or townhomes.

"Right now, you can build one house on 9,000 square feet of land," Harris said. "If we put two, that's doubled our density. We're looking at how we can increase density and provide more housing choices for the residents of our community."

Harris said city employees spoke with Metro Council members who represent the districts where the properties are located before moving forward with the rezoning process. And any development proposals will have to honor strategic plans for the areas, such as the Berrytown Neighborhood Plan.

"We don't want to be an intrusion into the community," Harris said. "We want to blend into the community."

Metro Councilman Markus Winkler, who represents Berrytown's district, said residents in the historic Black neighborhood were "highly concerned" when they heard the city was buying land for housing. But their minds shifted when they learned they'd have more of a voice in what's built there.

Berrytown has a strong history of Black homeownership, and residents there want to see that tradition remain, Winkler said.

"When the city owns the property, we have a lot more say in the outcome," he said, adding the city can require some level of homeownership in selecting a bid for the property. "There's healthy skepticism until the grant agreement is signed. But at this point, my guess is most of the neighbors would say this is as positive of an outcome as anybody could hope for."

All three properties will have to go through the same rezoning process that any other property would, with city officials required to hold two public meetings before going to the Land Development and Transportation Committee for review.

Public meetings have already been scheduled for two of the properties:

• 9101 John Hicks Way − 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 12 at the Southwest Government Center, 7219 Dixie Highway

• 1408 N. English Station Road − 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 19 at the Berrytown Recreation Center, 1300 Heafer Road

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Why Louisville Metro Government is buying land for affordable housing