Calling it “an opportunity that’s not going to come again,” Bowling Green/Warren County Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Rodney Goodman on Wednesday kicked off a homebuilding frenzy aimed at addressing a growing affordable housing shortage in Warren County.

On Regis O’Connor Boulevard – named for the late Western Kentucky University professor and Habitat benefactor – Goodman and local and state officials held a groundbreaking for what’s being called the “BG Strong Build Blitz” that is expected to stand up 10 townhome residences in 10 weeks.

The residences – six 3-bedroom units and four 4-bedroom units – will be going up from late July through the end of September as part of a 16-acre subdivision that was already being developed in Bowling Green’s west end by the local Habitat office but will now shift into a higher gear to meet a pressing need.

“We already had an affordable housing shortage before the (Dec. 11) tornadoes,” Goodman said. “The tornadoes only made it worse.”

Thanks to infrastructure investments by the city of Bowling Green and cash infusions from the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund and the Kentucky Housing Corp., the homes can be purchased by low-income families at bargain prices.

The city has pumped more than $600,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds into the project, and Team Kentucky and KHC are putting $400,000 each into it.

Already affordable at an estimated $160,000, the townhomes will have their price tags essentially cut in half by the KHC and Team Kentucky contributions.

“You can have an instant 50% equity in the home,” said Bowling Green City Manager Jeff Meisel, who said CDBG funds were used for the project’s streets and utilities because “affordable housing is part of our strategic plan for the city.”

Goodman said the “Build Blitz” will begin in earnest the week of July 25-29, when he expects about 200 volunteers per day to work on getting the townhomes under roof.

Electrical, plumbing and other work will continue through August and September, with a grand opening for the 10 units planned for the first week of October.

“What we’re attempting to do is insane,” Goodman said. “We’re doing it because we want to see families thrive. Having the opportunity to own a house can change the trajectory of that family.”

Eligibility for the homes is based on income, with the guidelines varying by family size, but both Goodman and Meisel said the townhome development should benefit many families whose homes were lost or damaged during the tornadoes.

“This is part of the comeback from Dec. 11,” Meisel said. “This is ideal for those affected by the tornado.”

Goodman said the townhome development isn’t the only Habitat initiative geared toward helping those displaced by the tornadoes.

He said the Lexington-based Community Ventures nonprofit organization has sponsored a 320-square-foot “container home” that has already been set up along Regis O’Connor Boulevard.

“It’s a shipping container that has been converted to a house,” Goodman said. “One individual or a couple can live in it rent-free and utility-free for one year.”

The “Build Blitz” isn’t limited to Bowling Green, Goodman said. He said the Habitat state office is working to build 100 homes in parts of the state that sustained tornado damage.

A blitz of building similar to the Bowling Green project is planned for the Dawson Springs area, starting in October, and other projects will follow.

“It’s incredible that this has come together so quickly,” said Mary Shearer, executive director of Louisville-based Kentucky Habitat for Humanity. “We began to plan on Dec. 12, so we’re well-positioned now.”

Shearer said the state organization has benefitted from the experience of Sara Coppler, who has worked for Habitat in disaster response throughout the world and is now an advisor to Kentucky Habitat.

“We had a lack of affordable housing before the tornadoes,” Shearer said. “Now we have an opportunity to position ourselves to be stronger for the future.”

More information about the townhomes being built by Habitat and the eligibility requirements for purchasing them can be found at the habitatbg.org website.