A new workforce housing development in Orange County is about halfway through phase one of a five-phase project.
Six houses have been built with six more set to be completed in the coming months. The goal is to construct 75 new homes over the next few years.
Kristal Painter, executive director of the Orange County Economic Development Partnership, said the homes are helping to fill a significant inventory gap in the county.
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“It was discovered that there hadn't been a new development, or a new neighborhood built in over 60 years here in French Lick, West Baden, so all of the homes were aging,” she said.
The project is being funded by the French Lick Resort. Painter said that the resort stepped up in order to support its own workforce as well as the surrounding areas.
“We can't attract or retain our workforce without new houses coming on the market. And we've got a population incentive going on in order to try to attract population and workforce to our community to help our businesses,” she said. “But we’ve got to have places to put people so it all works together and will be a recruitment tool for us to attract that workforce to our area.”
A range of options will be available, starting with a ranch style model for $155,000 all the way up to a four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath option for $185,000. All the homes will come with appliances, including a washer and dryer.
The houses are available to anyone who works for an Orange County business.
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