A local housing organization is working to develop new living spaces in eastern Kentucky. Officials with Frontier Housing said they have plans to develop 40 new rental homes in Morehead.
The development will be located near the city park, across the street from the recycling center. Tom Manning-Beavin is the President and CEO of Frontier Housing. He said the organization has made it possible to bring state and federal funding into the community.
“That fact that we’re a non-profit housing organization and we’re vested in Morehead led us to try to figure out how to put the rental housing here,” said Manning-Beavin.
Manning-Beavin said Frontier has plans to work in other communities in the 22 counties they serve. The organization is also in the process of brownfield remediation of the Hayswood Hospital in Maysville.
A brownfield is an area of land that has been abandoned and contains harmful contaminants. The Hayswood property closed in 1983 and was built using lead and asbestos. Manning-Beavin said once cleanup is completed, the building will be converted into 60-80 new rental units.
“The cleanup should take less than a year, but we’re looking at cleanup finishing up sometime next spring, if all goes well, said Manning-Beavin. “And while cleanup is wrapping up, we will be putting together our materials to apply for the rental housing money.”
The new mixed-income housing would bring the Hayswood location back into the community’s livable space. Officials said they hope to begin leasing apartments in the renovated property by Fall of 2027.