Non-profit receives funds to help with affordable housing

Community Ventures, a non-profit, received a grant of $50,000 from NeighborWorks America to help Kentucky with affordable housing in both Fayette and Bourbon Counties.

Lexington, Ky (WTVQ): Community Ventures, a non-profit, received a grant of $50,000 from NeighborWorks America to help Kentucky with affordable housing in both Fayette and Bourbon Counties.

The Artist Village off of Goodloe Street is a space created by Community Ventures in the East End of Lexington. Stephanie Batts and Kevin Burney are artists who have lived in the neighborhood for nearly six months. “I like the idea of an area with people coming together with lots of different backgrounds, and lots of different experiences,” Batts said. “I think it always makes it richer.”

Community Ventures serves people and communities in several ways, including helping people own a home, and revitalizing neighborhoods. Batts enjoys how the neighborhood is walking distance from downtown shops. “So, what I would like to see is more things like that, that we could enjoy in the area,” she said. “Bringing more people in I think would be helpful.”

The non-profit will use the funds to preserve home equity, reduce housing costs, and associated housing burdens. “We also know that communities begin to decline whenever homeownership rates fall below 50 percent, and East Lexington is a product of that,” said Brian Hutchinson, the Chief Development Officer for Community Ventures.

“When we began working here, it was in the mid-30s,” he said.

The artists’ village is currently working with an artist to build a sixth home in the village which hopes to be complete within the next year. They have room for seven more artists at the village.

The couple is looking forward to the future of the East End.  “The new park, the new water park, the things that are bringing kids around, that makes it really a vibrant area,” Batts said. “I think the more that you can do for the community, the more interesting an area becomes.”

The neighborhood in Bourbon County will be a brand-new development to create affordable housing for the community on the west side in Paris.