Friday’s ribbon-cutting for a major section of Lexington’s Newtown Pike Extension signals more than a change in traffic flow.
Another key feature of the revitalized area is an effort to offer affordable housing.
Four lanes of pavement run from Versailles Road to South Broadway where the two-lane DeRhodee St. once cut through the Davis Bottom neighborhood.
Several well-worn houses in the low income community were torn down to make way for new housing as part of the Lexington Community Land Trust Program.
Land Trust Director Barbara Navin says people can buy homes at publicly-subsidized lower prices and, when they sell, some of the appreciation is left in the house.
“It keeps that one time subsidy going owner after owner after owner and that’s why we call it permanently affordable housing,” said Navin.
There are 19 housing units, with plans to eventually reach 100. Navin says commercial development is also envisioned along the new roadway, which is an extension of Oliver Lewis Way.
