Project Update: Housing Conditions and Economics

Excerpt from Partners for Economic Solutions’ Presentation on Lexington’s housing needs and economy

On March 21, project team members Abigail Ferretti and Anita Morrison of Partners for Economic Solutions presented an update on their research of Lexington’s current housing, demographics, and economy. This economic research will help inform the Urban Growth Plan in terms of what types of development Lexington’s economy needs and how that might change in the future. You can see the presentation by below, but some of the highlights include:

Data Highlights

• 59% of Lexington’s current housing stock is single family detached unites

• 19% of Lexington homeowners and 31% of Lexington renters are severely cost burdened, meaning that they are spending more than 50% of their income on housing

• Partners for Economic Solutions forecasts that Lexington will need 25,600 more housing units over the next 20 years

• Almost 2/3rds of Lexington’s households contain three or fewer people

• They also forecast that demand for office space will decline as more residents work from home and existing businesses convert to smaller spaces

• 61% of LFUCG‘s General Fund Revenue comes from “Occupational Licenses”, meaning payroll taxes or net profit taxes on businesses

Conclusions

• The recommended expansion areas are most competitive for residential development

• There is an interesting opportunity to build smaller housing units that fit the 1-3 person households that are common in Lexington

• The recommended expansion areas have limited potential for commercial development, particularly in the near future

• Because of Lexington’s tax structure and the cost of providing new infrastructure to the recommended expansion areas, residential developments alone will not pay for expansion