Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky (HONK) is hosting an Open House on Thursday, September 28 from 4-6 p.m. — with a short program at 4:30 p.m.) to celebrate the completion of a newly rehabilitated home in Elsmere that is available for homeownership. The home is located at 437 Spring Street in Elsmere.
This was no ordinary rehab, nor is this an ordinary house.
437 Spring is the site of one of the first schools in the area to formally educate African American children not long after the end of slavery. It was started in the late 1800s by leaders of the African American community in the Erlanger/Elsmere area. Among those leaders were two formerly enslaved people, Thomas & Fannie Green, and a deacon of a local church, Mat Slaughter.
The HONK home in Elsmere (Photo provided)
The school founders most certainly recognized the power of a good education. Born into slavery in the mid-1800s, Thomas & Fannie Green, would’ve been forbidden from a formal education. As their family grew and their freedoms evolved, they would’ve undoubtedly wanted to make a better life for the next generation.
The school at 437 Spring eventually became known as The Dunbar School. Looking at it now, you wouldn’t know it had been a school. It doesn’t have the traditional features you’d expect to see, like a tower, a school bell, or chalkboards. It’s two-stories tall, has a front porch, and otherwise looks like a house. In fact, HONK didn’t realize the significance of this property until the prior owner shared details as HONK was signing the purchase contract. Prior to HONK, the same family had owned 437 Spring for the past 70 years. They were the same family that added a second story, dug out the basement by hand, and otherwise converted the one-room schoolhouse into a four-bedroom home in the 1950s.
The 3-bedroom, 2.5 bath home was rehabbed by HONK, a Covington-based non-profit organization. This represents the fourth home HONK has developed in Elsmere. This major transformation was made possible with significant help from Dennis & Lois Doyle, Guardian Savings Bank, PNC Foundation, FDS Bank/Macy’s, Northern Kentucky University’s Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project/Learning By Giving Foundation, St. Timothy Church in Union, The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, The Ed & Joann Hubert Family Foundation, individual donors and volunteers.
Significant upgrades have been added to this home, thanks to the generosity of a local family. These include adding an extra bathroom on the second floor, upgraded kitchen cabinets, granite countertops with a tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, luxury vinyl tile, an open floor plan, upgraded windows, an extra parking pad, and a backyard patio, among other improvements.
Open house attendees are expected to include descendants of the Dunbar School founders, descendants of children who went to school there, and descendants of people who taught at the school.
“This property has a long history in the local African American community,” says David Hastings, Executive Director of HONK. “We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to transform a property of such significance. And we are equally excited to now offer this home as another affordable homeownership opportunity in Elsmere.”
Like most HONK projects, in addition to skilled local contractors and HONK’s own construction crew, volunteers throughout the region contributed to the renovation. “Volunteers put a lot of work into this one. Their contributions have played a critical role in our ability to keep costs down and make this home affordable,” Hastings said. “We certainly couldn’t have done this without them.”
HONK is a faith-based, non-profit organization with a mission to help low income families and individuals reach the goal of stable homeownership through programs of education and support. HONK has helped 105 households in Northern Kentucky to become homeowners.
HONK uses a 12-18 month lease-to-own program to help people achieve homeownership. HONK works with each household to improve credit, reduce debt, develop savings and otherwise prepare for homeownership while living in the home they are working to purchase. HONK families typically experience all four seasons in their home before buying, so they are familiar with the utility costs and maintenance expectations of their home before purchasing.
More information about HONK can be found at www.HONKhomes.org.
Housing Opportunities of Northern Kentucky
