By Ray Daniels, Preston Worley, Clark Williams, Rob Shear and Carla Blanton
The numbers from the Kentucky Housing Corporation and a city-commissioned study by EHI are staggering:
- To meet existing need, Lexington needs 22,000 new housing units – 14,000 rental and 8,000 single family – right now.
- By 2030, that number will exceed 30,000.
- Rental prices have skyrocketed 47 percent in 5 years. By 2028, the average rent is expected to reach $1,305 — a 56% rise over 11 years.
Meanwhile, we are only building about 600 new homes per year – about one-third of what Lexington was building before the Great Recession.
Other cities, such as Madison, Wisconsin, have taken decisive action to create more housing opportunities. This capital city of 285,000 and home to the flagship University of Wisconsin faces land constraints because it has three lakes within the city limits.
Madison set a goal of creating of 15,000 new homes by 2030, with at least 25 percent (3,750) being below-market rates to achieve long-term affordability. It also created a housing tracker to measure progress toward these goals.
Last year, 2,328 homes were completed and another 5,320 were under construction.
“These numbers show me that our efforts to create more homes in Madison are starting to pay off,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said. “I’m also very encouraged that we are seeing an increasing percentage of affordable homes, and a high number of homes under construction. These are positive signs that I hope to see continue in 2026. Whether it’s improving our policies, creating incentives or just building it ourselves, we are using all our tools to keep pace with growth and keep Madison affordable.”
Of the homes added to the Madison market in 2025, 17 percent are offered at affordable rates below market value for those making up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income ($54,540 for one person, $70,140 for a household of three people).
In addition, Madison’s Community Development Division recently announced four housing developments totaling 422 new homes. Of those, 263 will offer permanent below-market affordability and will receive support from the City of Madison’s Affordable Housing Fund. (Those homes will not be included in the totals until they receive building permits.)
If we’re going to make a meaningful difference on the affordability and availability of housing, then we must do things differently and intentionally. We need to increase access to land and cut down on government bureaucracy.
Here are five steps that we urge local government to enact:
- Establish a housing goal for 2030 and create a housing tracker to ensure accountability and a data-driven process. No goal can be achieved without naming it and creating accountability.
- Conduct an annual review of vacant land and discuss what incentives or partnerships might be needed to create housing on that land. Public and private sectors must work together – bringing their knowledge, expertise and creativity – to solve this complex problem.
- Explore opportunities for unused or underutilized publicly owned land to develop for affordable or workforce housing. We have been asking for a database for years to help identify land that could be donated or sold at a low cost to expedite infill and redevelopment that works for all income levels.
- Create a development liaison to help expedite the process. For example, it currently takes 523 days for approval on a major subdivision plan in Lexington vs. 45 days in our peer city of Greenville, S.C.
- Expedite infrastructure to the expansion area. We know based on past experience that it will take 5 to 7 years for homebuilding to begin in the expansion area.
Lexington residents can learn more and sign up to join Lexington For Everyone’s 30by30 Campaign at www.lexingtonforeveryone.com. We hope the entire community will make it a top priority to ensure Lexington has housing opportunities for all income levels and stages of life.
Lexington for Everyone board members are Ray Daniels, president of Equity Solutions Group and a Thoroughbred horse owner; Preston Worley, member of McBrayer PLLC and former LFUCG council member; Reverend L. Clark Williams, owner of Progression Strategic Solutions and chairman of the People’s Campaign; Rob Shear, general manager of SRC of Lexington, an employee-owned manufacturing company; and Carla Blanton, president of Carla Blanton Consulting and past member of the Planning Commission.