New Community in Floyd County Will Add 12 Homes for Flood-Impacted Families
GOVERNOR ANDY BESHEAR was in Floyd County on Thursday to announce funding for acquisition and development of property to build affordable housing for residents displaced by flooding. It is planned to start off with 34 homes and the first site is located next to the Big Sandy Area Development District in Prestonsburg. Potential additional locations for sites are located in the Right Beaver and Betsy Layne areas to better accommodate everyone affected.
By Lilly Adkins
BSN Associate Editor
WAYLAND —Governor Andy Beshear announced the seventh high-ground community at a site previously owned by the Wayland Volunteer Fire Department, a 4-acre site located on KY HWY 1086, near Main Street, in Wayland. The site is build-ready with infrastructure in place. It is anticipated that up to a dozen homes can be built on the land, and building can start immediately.
To benefit their community, the Fire Department voted to sell the land for housing and will search for another site for their training facility.
In partnership with the Appalachian Service Project, the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief Fund will provide up to $100,000 per home for building and land costs. Appalachia Service Project is a nonprofit committed to building and repairing homes for low-income families.
“There are many families who want to stay in Floyd County but are in need of a safe, affordable home,” president and CEO of Appalachia Service Project, Walter Crouch said. “We always work to keep impacted families on their own property, wherever it’s safe and feasible, to limit further needs or displacements, but we’re also very grateful for our partners who’ve helped us locate high-ground, build-ready properties, like this one in Wayland, where we can keep families in the community they love, and we have local folks ready to move in as soon as these new homes are completed.”
“Floyd County is a special place with strong and resilient families who have lived here for decades and do not want to move out of the county,” Judge/Executive Robbie Williams said. “Today’s announcement is a bit of hope that families can keep their roots in Eastern Kentucky.”
Beshear announced an additional $8 million to help Floyd County build 33 new homes and rehabilitate one vacant home in the New Hope neighborhood in Prestonsburg. The homes will be for Kentuckians directly affected by the 2021 and 2022 flood events that impacted Floyd County.
These funds are in addition to the $2 million Beshear gave them to acquire the land for the homes. The funds come from the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program.
Each high-ground community will provide safe, affordable housing for flood survivors outside of the flood plain. Many include new infrastructure projects that support the communities or upgrades to roads and utilities in the area.
Funds from the Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief funds will partially fund homes in new high-ground communities. To date, over $13.2 million dollars has been raised from the generous donations of over 41,500 individuals and organizations from all over the world. To learn more about the fund or contribute, click here. These communities are also being funded, in part, by $300 million in federal CDBG-DR funds.
In September, Beshear provided details on previously announced high-ground communities, including The Cottages at Thompson Branch in Letcher County, Skyview in Perry County, Chestnut Ridge in Knott County, Olive Branch in Knott County and New Hope Estates in Floyd County.
The state is not allowed under federal law to use CDBG-DR funds, or other funding sources until an environmental review of the sites is completed and approved by the U.S. Department for Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. Environmental assessments on all sites have been initiated and are in various stages of completion.