City officials share their plans to address Hopkinsville’s housing shortage

Hopkinsville is facing a housing shortage, and at Tuesday’s Rotary Club meeting, city officials spotlighted their plans to meet local housing needs.

In July, a study exploring housing trends and needs in Hopkinsville was presented by Real Estate Researcher Patrick Bowen. The study showed that housing construction is not keeping up with Hopkinsville’s workforce growth.

City Policy Analyst Cody Brem says, according to the study, Hopkinsville needs 3,136 more housing units, split evenly between rental and for-sale homes, by 2030 to keep up with demand. To develop solutions for the shortage, Brem says they created the Housing Task Force, composed of community leaders and city council members, which recently had its first meeting.

Along with the task force, City Public Information Officer Amanda Brunt highlighted the Lot Next Door Program and the Mass Foreclosure Program, which promote the revitalization of local properties and the creation of new homes. Brunt says there are currently around 1,000 vacant lots across the city, and it costs them approximately $300,000 per year to maintain those lots.

Not only do these vacant lots cost the city money, but Brunt says they also decrease property values due to their poor conditions.

The Lot Next Door Program allows property owners to obtain vacant lots that directly neighbor their property and help put them back into productive use. Through the Mass Foreclosure Program, abandoned properties that have racked up liens and taxes that exceed their value are eligible for the program. Once the property has been foreclosed, it can be sold to a developer.

Brunt says the process can be lengthy, as workers have to reach out to the property owners before anything can be done to the lot, but through the programs, they have had multiple successful property redevelopments.

Even if all the vacant lots were developed into housing units, Brem says the city would still be facing a shortage. To encourage more housing developments, Brem says the task force is looking into creating housing construction incentives for larger developers.

More information about the recent housing study and the city’s housing programs is available at hopkinsvilleky.us.