Company announces new 300-home subdivision for Henderson, Kentucky

HENDERSON, Ky. − The biggest single-family housing development in Henderson in decades, and perhaps ever, was made public on Tuesday afternoon.

Jagoe Homes, a large Owensboro-based housing developer, will construct up to 300 single-family homes in a new $35 million, 86-acre housing community here in the coming years.

Jagoe Homes intends to build the homes over the next seven to 10 years. The houses will consist of various lot sizes and floor plans, all located within the city limits. The average price will be approximately $250,000.

Jagoe Homes co-owner Bill Jagoe said homes could start at $200,000 and “probably go up into the 400s.”

Jagoe Homes will break ground on the property this summer. Some 15 houses are expected to be under roof by the end of 2023.

In the construction process, a wooded greenspace will remain at the back of the property with potential for walking and hiking trails.

“This is a huge success” for a community in need of additional homes, especially new housing stock, Mayor Brad Staton declared.

The Jagoe development will be built on property the city acquired just over a year ago from the Merrill family, expressly for the purpose of providing a footprint for a housing development. The tract of land was chosen because of its large size, reasonable price and proximity to Interstate 69.

Henderson Economic Development Executive Director Missy Vanderpool broke the news of the Jagoe development at a Henderson City Commission meeting Tuesday, just minutes after the commission voted unanimously to sell the 86-acre site to a Jagoe entity for $1.55 million.

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“This would by far be the largest announced development in decades, definitely,” said Henderson Realtor Jim Collier, a broker with F.C. Tucker/Collier who has been in the Henderson real estate business since 1978.

The Jagoe development will in size rival subdivisions such as Highlander Acres and Balmoral Acres, which were launched in the late 1950s, and Frontier Village, which began development in the early 1970s.

“The latest biggest one was Wolf Hills, back in the early 90s,” Collier said. “That might have been equal to this one.”

The entrance to the new subdivision will be at the cul-de-sac on Barret Boulevard behind the Walmart Supercenter. Barret will extend into the neighborhood as homes are built, and Henderson Economic Development said there is the potential to build new roads and entrances to provide residents with easier access.

“We’ll tie into Balmoral,” said Bill Jagoe, who began his building career in Henderson in 1983.

Jagoe Homes has been building scattered homes in Henderson County in recent years, but he said it has been several years since its last sizable development here.

“I think the most we built was 48 (houses) the year before” the Great Recession began in 2007-08.

In the years since then, Jagoe said Henderson has changed in many ways.

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Community advocates say Henderson has done much to become more business-friendly, such as working with developers to find solutions rather than present roadblocks.

“I just know that Henderson has been working with Manuel Ball,” who is Jagoe Homes’ superintendent of land development and a former official with the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission, Bill Jagoe said. “They asked a lot of questions.”

“Henderson is just different,” Jagoe said. “The downtown here is great,” with new restaurants and coffee shops, multiple gift shops and a new events venue called The Vault expected to open in former Henderson National Bank building on North Main Street this year.

“I tell my wife, ‘We need to go over and hang out’” in Downtown Henderson, he said.

Still, Jagoe said the decision to re-enter the Henderson housing market wasn’t taken lightly.

“We do a lot of research,” he said. “We have a lot of research done.”

For example, even though the 2020 Census indicated a drop in population here — Henderson County’s population was reported to have slipped from 44,793 in 2010 to 44,329 in 2020, while the city population declined from 28,757 in 2010 to 27,981 in 2020 — he said Jagoe’s research indicates a market for new housing here.

Others agree.

Henderson Economic Development, citing Henderson Audubon Board of Realtors data, reported that in 2022, houses in Henderson County stayed on the market for an average of just 22 days before being sold for an average price of $197,000 per house.

“Presently, we have both buyers and sellers ready to move, but we do not have anywhere for those people to go. It stops sellers from selling and gives buyers nothing to buy. It’s this bottleneck effect that we have seen both locally and nationally,” said Amber Wood, associate broker for F.C Tucker/Collier.

In 2021, a lack of housing was an issue highlighted by Commissioner Austin Vowels and then Commissioner (now Mayor) Brad Staton. After bringing their concerns to the city commission, a new housing development was made a priority by the commission moving forward.

Events since then have only made the need for new housing more imperative. Vanderpool said that in the past 18 months, Henderson Economic Development has announced 828 new high-paying industrial jobs are coming to Henderson, led by 320 jobs at the Pratt Paper complex under construction on the Kentucky 425/South Bypass, 175 jobs at Columbia Sportswear and 260 jobs at a planned new River View Coal portal planned near Corydon.

“With the announcements came the need for housing,” especially since Henderson Economic Development has begun a “Choose Talent” campaign to encourage workers to relocate to Henderson, she said.

Conversations began with Jagoe Homes in February 2022 in response to workforce needs.

Since launching in 1939, Jagoe Homes has built more than 8,000 homes. Today it is a third-generation builder co-owned by brothers Scott and Bill Jagoe.

Bill Jagoe said Tuesday that his company built 635 homes in Owensboro last year alone.

“Jagoe Homes has the experience, financial capability and construction capacity to construct enough homes over the next 10 years to meet the community’s needs,” Henderson Economic Development said in a news release.

“I think this is well overdue and very much needed, and hopefully it will calm down some supply and demand issues as we have a very starved market,” Shelbi Carroll, an agent with F.C Tucker/Collier, said.

Public officials hailed the long-awaited announcement.

“This new housing development is terrific news for our community,” Henderson County Judge/Executive Brad Schneider said in a statement.

“Henderson County Fiscal Court commends all involved in creating this impressive opportunity for growth,” Schneider said. “The project meets a significant need in Henderson for more housing options and should also be a catalyst for the effort to bolster our county’s population. We appreciate everyone who worked to make this happen.”

City commissioners thanked both Jagoe and Henderson Economic Development for the news.

“Welcome, Jagoe, I’m glad you’re back,” City Commissioner Rodney Thomas said at Tuesday’s meeting.

Prospective homebuyers and Realtors are encouraged to sign-up for the Jagoe Homes’ “New Communities Coming Soon” priority list at JagoeHomes.com to stay informed on the following:

• Updates on community progress

• Floorplans and personalized options

• Pricing

• Available home sites

A model home will be built in the neighborhood (the city commission voted Tuesday to ask the Henderson City-County Planning Commission to add a definition for model homes as being permitted in an R-1 residential zone) and it will also serve as Jagoe Homes’ local office.

This article originally appeared on Henderson Gleaner: Jagoe Homes announces new 300-home subdivision for Henderson