How much affordable housing has Louisville built and where is it? Check out these graphics

Since the first days of his campaign, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg has regularly restated a goal of building 15,000 affordable housing units within his first term.

It's a lofty aim meant to drastically make ground against the city's ongoing housing shortage. And it's one that to some might seem downright impossible – especially considering fewer than 9,000 affordable units received public subsidies during the previous administration's 12 years in office.

(Not all of those subsidized units were new and some are yet to be built.)

In a recent interview with The Courier Journal, Greenberg said he expects to release a plan on how he'll meet the 15,000-unit goal this summer.

In advance of that plan, the Courier Journal took a look at how much funding has been put toward affordable housing in Louisville and where units are being built.

Find that data below. But first:

What is affordable housing?

At its simplest, affordable housing is housing that you can afford, based on your income.

Experts say no one should put more than 30% of their annual salary toward housing and utility costs, allowing them to afford other bills and necessities, such as food, health care and transportation.

Affordable housing, however, is a term often used to mean subsidized housing that's affordable to those earning well below an area's median income (AMI).

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In Metro Louisville, the median income for a family of four is $89,800, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Households with very low incomes (50% AMI) earn $44,850 or less, while households with extremely low incomes (30% AMI) earn $30,000 or less.

For a household earning an extremely low income to live affordably, members would have to pay less than $750 in housing and utility costs per month.

How big is the housing shortage in Louisville?

A housing needs assessment published in 2019 found Louisville was short 58,341 housing units affordable to households considered low income – earning 80% of the area median income and below.

The bulk of that shortage was homes affordable to extremely low-income households (31,412 units), while very low-income households had the second largest need (22,520 units). The shortage for low-income households, or 80% AMI and below, was 4,409 units.

Local housing advocates say those numbers are outdated at this point, especially after large income fluctuations during the COVID-19 pandemic left many low-income households less stable than before.

The city's economic and development department and the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund plan to partner on a second needs assessment this year and will likely publishing a new report in 2024.

How much money has Louisville spent on affordable housing?

Since 2011, when former Mayor Greg Fischer took office, Louisville has put more than $111 million toward construction and renovation of affordable housing units, according to an analysis of public data with help from Louisville Tenants Union member David Maddox.

A vast majority of that money has been distributed by the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund (LAHTF), a quasi-governmental entity that was established in 2008 but that didn't start receiving most of its funding until 2017.

About $19 million has been distributed through Fischer's CARES program, launched in 2015.

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Both the CARES program and LAHTF offer low-interest loans to developers who plan to build multi- or single-family homes affordable to low-income households. As part of the agreements, developers promise to maintain affordability for a certain period, often 15 years or more.

Loans offered through the local programs are typically required to be paid back (though some are forgiven), allowing the programs to continue approving new loans with the revolving funds, said Christie McCravy, executive director of the LAHTF.

Since 2014, the LAHTF has approved more than $92 million in loans and other subsidies to construct or renovate 5,100 units of affordable housing, according to LAHTF data.

More than half of that total was approved in 2022, thanks to an influx of federal funding through the American Rescue Plan.

LAHTF is required by law to dedicate at least half its funding to units targeted at households earning 50% AMI and below.

Since 2014, the trust fund has approved funding for:

• 2,135 units at 80% AMI

• 296 units at 60% AMI

• 1,707 units at 50% AMI

• 740 units at 30% AMI

Where is subsidized housing being built?

Developers can also receive subsidies through the Kentucky Housing Corporation, which distributes federal low-income tax credits and state affordable housing trust fund dollars, along with other programs.

When combined with local funding, developers have received more than $825 million to build or renovate nearly 9,000 units of affordable housing in Louisville since 2011.

Another $189.5 million is pending approval by the Kentucky Housing Corporation.

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When mapped, many of the subsidized units fall west of Interstate 65, with a vast majority of units located in Louisville's West End.

Several large developments, including Jefferson's Landing and Lone Oak Meadows, are in south central Louisville, while a few smaller apartment complexes and some single-family homes have been built in eastern Louisville.

Who's getting the subsidies?

A bulk of federal, state and local funding has gone to a handful of developers, including:

• LDG Development, which built Jefferson's Landing, Lone Oak Meadows and several other large apartment complexes: $257,845,975

• Marian Development Group, which built Crossings at Mill Creek and other apartment complexes: $89,970,261

• McCormack Baron Salazar, which redeveloped Beecher Terrace: $61,084,789

• The Housing Partnership, which has built both multi- and single-family homes: $49,657,388

LDG and Marian Development also received $41 million to partner on Riverport Landings, an apartment complex off Cane Run Road near Shively.

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville affordable housing: See where units have or will be built