Work Continues on Oxford Workforce Housing Developments

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

The Belle Rivers workforce housing development is about 37 percent complete. Photos provided by Stewart Rutledge.

One of two “workforce housing” developments spearheaded by Steward Rutledge and LOU-Home is nearing 40 percent completion.

The Belle Rivers development, located off Slack Road behind Kroger, is at about 37 percent. The second development, dubbed Eastover, is at about 10 percent. It’s located just south of Oxford High School near the Sisk Avenue Extension which is currently under construction.

The developments, positioned to provide workforce housing to Oxonians, were made possible after the public-private partnership between LOU-Home and Rutledge was awarded $15 million in housing credits last year in competitive funding.

A rendering of what Belle Rivers and Eastover units will look like. Photo provided. 

LOU-Home, a private housing advocacy nonprofit, is one of the lead developers of the planned communities, and its proposal overcame funding gaps by layering traditional bank lending with the federal housing tax credits.

Rutledge said pre-leasing should begin for Belle Rivers this summer.

“We will perform credit checks, background checks, and other verifications when deciding to whom we lease our units,” Rutledge said. “We are very strict with regard to initial lease-up.”

Dirt work on the Eastover development started in the late fall. Photo provided. 

Each development will have 48 units, most of which will be townhouses with adjoining residences per building.

The homes will be 1,400-square feet with three bedrooms and two and a half baths with two-car garages. Each community will have a shared community building.

The leases are renewed annually and rent is expected to be about $689 a month.

In 2034, tenants living in the developments will have the option to purchase the home. Their rent payments will be deducted from the sale price. For example, if a tenant has lived in the unit for 15 years, they will have paid $126,000 in rent. That amount will be applied to the purchase price that will be determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

After residents have been offered the units, those not sold will then be put up for sale to the general public and will no longer be restricted to income levels.

The units will be only available for people who make 60 percent of the area’s median income. In Lafayette County, the median income is currently $43,000.