As Northern Kentucky employers continue to cite housing shortages as a key barrier to hiring, Tami Wilson of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce shared the steps that could help bridge the gap with state lawmakers earlier this month.
Wilson, vice president of government relations and business advocacy at the NKY Chamber presented to the Kentucky Housing Task Force during the Kentucky General Assembly Interim Session. Wilson shared details about the NKY Chamber’s Northern Kentucky Housing Blueprint alongside Travis Gysegem of the Catalytic Fund in Northern Kentucky and Brian Miller with the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky.
The Northern Kentucky Housing Blueprint builds on the momentum of the Home For All report – a community-led report coordinated by the Northern Kentucky Area Development District with Brighton Center and Brighton Properties – that identified 50 actionable strategies that prioritize housing affordability, availability, and income alignment as key drivers of workforce and economic development.
“From small family-owned shops to some of our region’s largest employers, our members repeatedly tell us about housing availability and how it directly affects their ability to attract and retain workers, which is why this issue is so critically important to us,” Wilson said. “The purpose of the housing blueprint is to help align the private sector, local governments, and community partners around practical, actionable steps that grow housing and strengthen our economy.”
The Housing Blueprint highlights four priorities:
• Create a Housing Fund to support regional priorities
• Explore innovative pilots like an Employer Assisted Housing Program
• Add a variety of housing types by building Missing Middle Housing
• Growing the Residential Construction Workforce
The testimony from Wilson, Gysegem, and Miller focused on strategies 1 and 4, emphasized the impact those strategies could have and detailed what could be done.
According to the NKY Housing Blueprint, over five years, a $25 million Northern Kentucky Housing Fund could help construct 1,000 new income-aligned homes, repair 50 existing homes, and provide down payment assistance to 275 first-time home buyers.
Gysegem said the fund could make flexible, low-interest loans to produce new housing via new construction and renovation and would support both market-rate and affordable housing units.
“We aim to raise $5 million initially and grow to $25 million by year five. That would support creation of 1,000 new income-aligned housing units,” Gysegem said. “Support from the Kentucky legislature for locally controlled housing funds like ours will be critical.”
Miller shared that recent studies from the National Conference of State Legislatures, found that high construction costs and labor shortages are key factors keeping home prices high. Additionally, a national study from the Home Builders Association found that construction labor shortages reduced single-family home production by about 19,000 homes last year.
“Without enough trained workers, we cannot build housing at the pace required,” Miller said. “Housing affordability cannot be solved without people to build homes. Investing in workforce development strengthens housing supply and creates good-paying jobs.”
The Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky training arm – the Enzweiler Building Institute – aims to deliver about 30% of the metropolitan region’s needed new construction workforce, which is over 2,200 new workers per year.
Miller said legislators can play a pivotal role in increasing resources for growing the workforce through establishing dedicated training funds for the construction trades, empowering public-private academies and workforce grants and reforming apprenticeship tax credits to make them more effective.
To learn more about the NKY Chamber’s policy priorities and advocacy work on behalf of members, the public is invited to join the Chamber’s 2026 Legislative Session and Business Advocacy Preview on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
The event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. at Triple Crown Country Club, located at 10644 Triple Crown Country Blvd. in Union, and feature a discussion with Kentucky House Speaker Pro Tempore David Meade and State Senator Amanda Mays Bledsoe. Attendees will hear directly from these state leaders about the initiatives shaping Northern Kentucky’s future and will have the opportunity to engage with policymakers on issues impacting the region’s continued growth and success and provide insight into their priorities and those of their respective chambers.
To register and for additional information, visit www.nkychamber.com.
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce