Housing development receives grant
REDSTONE TWP. – Threshold Housing Development is receiving a $600,000 state grant, which will be administered through the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority, to install water, sewerage and other infrastructure for a new housing development near Republic. Ken Klein, Threshold’s director, said the 19-acre site on Stone Church Road will be subdivided into 23 home sites, with 18 of the houses going to families at 80 percent of the median income or below. For a family of four, that would be an income of up to $44,100, Klein said. The remaining houses will be sold at market value to buyers using a conventional mortgage.
“We have an engineer working on the subdivision now,” Klein said.
Klein said the bids for the infrastructure development will most likely be let this spring, with the work being done sometime this fall. Klein said construction on the houses could start in early 2006.
The non-profit housing organization was started in 1991 and has constructed 59 houses so far in Fayette County, including a subdivision in Georges Township.
“We also have a self-help housing program, assisting people in building their own homes. The family provides 30 hours of labor per week during construction. Loans are as low as 1 percent for 38 years,” Klein said.
Klein said the next round of self-help houses would cost the families a total of $75,000. The houses being built in Redstone Township will be between $80,000 and $100,000.
“With USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) financing, they are able to afford it,” Klein said.
The three-bedroom, two-bath houses with a two-car garage and basement will be placed on lots that are about one-third of an acre.
The state grant for the housing development was announced by state Sen. Richard A. Kasunic, D-Dunbar, as part of more than $1.1 million in homebuyer development and rehabilitation grants being given to Fayette County.
“These grants are aimed at stimulating economic development activity and making Fayette County a more attractive place for potential homebuyers and businesses,” Kasunic said.
In addition to the HOME grant for the Redstone project, the county will also be receiving $500,000 from the HOME program for the county’s Homeowner Rehabilitation program.