Columbia’s Lyon Street neighborhood gets 6 new affordable homes

Six new, affordably priced homes are on the market in Columbia’s Lyon Street neighborhood thanks to an investment of more than $700,000 in federal Housing and Urban Development funds.

“Nothing says opportunity more than owning a home,” Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin said Thursday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of one of the homes. “You’re not just talking about four walls and a roof. When you’re talking about a home, you’re talking about Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas morning. You see children doing their homework at a kitchen table and playing in the yard. You see birthdays, anniversaries and all the milestones that make our lives shared and cherished by friends and families.”

Priced between $113,000 and $118,000, potential homeowners who earn 80 percent or less of the area median income could qualify for financing through the city’s Community Development department and could pay a monthly mortgage of less than $500 per month.

The homes, located in one of the city’s traditionally lower-income neighborhoods, are a product of the Columbia Housing Development Corporation.

“There are a lot of people out here who earn salaries between $28,000 to $35,000 a year that deserve a home, and the way we can do that for them is to provide affordable housing,” said Gloria Saeed, executive director of the Columbia Housing Development Corp.

One of the homes, a yellow one-story, is being purchased by a Korean War veteran who is excited about joining the neighborhood, Saeed said, and a second house is likely to be sold within a week.

“Each of these homes is a dream come true for a hardworking family and hardworking individuals,” Benjamin said.

The Housing Development Corp. also owns several other lots in the neighborhood that it hopes to sell to private developers.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 7:13 PM.