New Albany levels failed affordable housing project

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- New Albany throws in the towel on a failed attempt at low-income housing. The city is finally taking a wrecking ball to the infamous Linden Meadows.

Linden Meadows in New Albany was created with the best of intentions. Now it's about to become a pile of rubble. It was formed when 17 homes were relocated to make way for the expansion of Floyd Memorial Hospital.

The idea was to turn them into affordable housing. That was eight years ago. After a lawsuit delayed the project, the non-profit corporation behind Linden Meadows went bankrupt.

The homes have been sitting here, rotting, until now.

City Building Commissioner David Brewer says, "When the utilities are cut off, I don't know if you can see this or not, but the basements are full of water. And, primarily all of these houses have had problems with this right here."

Brewer says the houses had gone from being an eyesore to a major safety hazard. So, New Albany's new mayor decided to act.

"Once the mayor got out here, he rolled up his sleeves and went through these houses and came out. His exact words were, "Get them down. Get them down as quick as you can," said Brewer.

Greg Bell lives in the only Linden Meadows home that was ever sold.

"I've been in neighborhoods where there have been one or two houses vacant, but nothing like this where they're all vacant. So, it will be nice when they get them all knocked down," said Bell.

The question now -- what happens next?

"Either we have the opportunity to get this redeveloped and put some nice housing back in here for families and home ownership, or it gets turned back into a park. And I think both of those are viable options at this point," said Brewer.

It will cost $35-40,000 to level these homes. For the folks who live around here, it will be worth every penny.