As our community continues to grow, affordable housing has become a top priority for the City Council. At a recent City Council meeting, the council unanimously approved plans for seven new, affordable homes on the city’s west side, moving one step closer to the goal of developing additional affordable housing in the community. This priority became all the more important with the sharp rise in housing prices.

As part of the city’s commitment to address the issue of affordable housing, it purchased land, located on Gregory Street, for development by a nonprofit group. The city is now teaming up with Habitat for Humanity , an organization that has built more than 200,000 affordable housing units throughout the world the develop the parcel.

Seven single-family homes, including one two-bedroom, five three-bedroom and one four-bedroom, will be constructed on the land. The homes range in size from 979 to 1,404 square feet and will be engineered to meet Energy Star efficiency ratings. The homes will be available to families earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. Each home must remain affordable for a period of at least 50 years.

Construction is expected to begin within six months and will take about a year to complete. When complete, the project will contribute to the revitalization of the area.