Some Northern Kentucky residents watched what looked like a real-life game of Tetris unfold in their neighborhood on Thursday, as construction workers and a crane assembled the foundation for two houses on a street corner in Covington. But this was no game. It was an intentional boost to home accessibility in this river city.
It was the first phase of a plan to develop housing opportunities for middle-income workers on Pleasant Street, a road in Covington’s Eastside neighborhood. City officials say the project, which is led by the city and Neighborhood Investment Partners, known as NIP, plan to place modular homes in several vacant properties nearby in hopes of strengthening the community.
Unibilt Industries, a Midwest-based modular home company, constructed two 1,560 square foot, three-bedroom, three-bathroom houses for the street at a warehouse near Dayton, Ohio. The two-story houses were delivered on Wednesday, Aug. 5, to a parking lot on the Covington Central Riverfront site, where they were prepared for final transport. Progress in putting the homes together onsite began on Thursday, with the installation of the homes’ first floors. One home received its second floor, and the other was expected to be placed on Friday.
But the development doesn’t end there. They’ll build front porches and a shared driveway. Later this year, five more homes will be added to the northern side of the street. And the city says they’ll begin planning to develop the remaining vacant lots on the southern side of the block this fall, with an anticipated construction date for spring 2027.
The project is expected to bring 15 new homes in total.
“These two units are the first of 15 units that are going to be built on Pleasant Street,” said Brandon Holmes, the city’s neighborhood services director and chairman of NIP. “The idea was to just create houses throughout this whole T-area that would serve as an anchor for more investment.”
What is the need for middle-income housing in Covington?
A Kenton County Planning Commission report found in 2024 that the city has a high share of low-income houses and a strong demand for mid-sized, middle-income households. The report predicted the housing gap would reach 891 units in Covington by 2028. In Kenton County, it’s predicted to reach 15,743 by 2029, according to the Kentucky Housing Supply Gap.
Roughly 95% of Covington residents are employed, but many low-income residents commute elsewhere for work, while middle-income employees from nearby areas commute to Covington, according to the Kenton County report.
The report proposed in 2024 that development projects could bring housing opportunities in the city for those who work but do not live in Covington.
Pam Mullins, a longtime resident of the Eastside neighborhood, said the housing development on Pleasant Street is the largest project she’s seen since becoming a homeowner 40 years ago. She said the area is ethnically and socioeconomically diverse.
“We still have a lot of who you would consider lower-income, who may need some type of subsidized housing. But there’s also a lot of new homeowners here, and some homeowners, like myself, who’ve been around for many, many years,” Mullins said. “They’re looking for people who are working, but also need a boost to help with buying a home.”
The two homes are expected to sell within the $250,000 to $260,000 range to those with qualified incomes, earning no more than 80% of the Area Median Income. That’s $87,900 or less for a family of four in Greater Cincinnati, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fiscal Year 2026 report.
The city said financial help from the federally funded HOME Investment Partnerships Program keeps the prices affordable for eligible buyers. Those looking for assistance can also apply for the Northern Kentucky HOME Consortium Homebuyer Assistance Program.
The homes will be ready for prospective owners to move in within a month, said Franz Stansbury, owner’s representative for the construction project. Holmes said he expects the two units to sell within 24 to 48 hours after hitting the market, but that the upcoming open house for them will also showcase their next five units.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Covington develops modular homes for middle-income buyers
Reporting by Carly Gist, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Carly Gist, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
