Lincoln Trail Area Development District
Jan 20, 2026
The $13 million housing project remains on track for 2026 completion, providing affordable homes for student families
A project that will shape the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College campus is underway. Family Scholar House, a new 48-unit housing facility, is scheduled to open on the ECTC campus in fall 2026. Currently under construction, the facility will provide stable, affordable housing for student families.
The more than $13 million project is funded in part by a $1 million Community Development Block Grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Lincoln Trail Area Development District’s Community and Regional Economic Development Division serves as the CDBG administrator for the project. Administered by the Kentucky Department for Local Government, Hardin County Government applied for the competitive grant and serves as the grantee on behalf of Family Scholar House and ECTC.
“We are proud to facilitate this vital funding for such an important project," said LTADD's Director of Community and Regional Economic Development Krista Levee. "This innovative partnership between Family Scholar House and ECTC has a significant impact on the region’s students by addressing one of the major barriers to their education. Now, with the Family Scholar House Elizabethtown residence program, it is tackling the most difficult of all barriers: homelessness. By helping remove this barrier, our hope is that our region’s students thrive—not just survive—and that they remain in the region to contribute to a robust economy and workforce.”
Key project stakeholders, including partners from Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, Family Scholar House, the Lincoln Trail Area Development District, Kentucky Housing Corp., county government staff and developers, meet regularly to discuss the project’s progress.
At the January meeting, representatives from Wabuck Development Co. and Clayton Watkins Construction, the project’s developers, reported that significant progress is being made.
Phillips Brothers Construction began site work in September 2025, and pending weather delays, the work is on track for substantial completion by the end of the month.
Brent Holsclaw, ECTC vice president of facilities, said the work is going “really smooth” and the project is “really coming on,” complimenting the efforts of Phillips Brothers Construction of Hardin County.
Phillips Brothers Construction has completed water relocation work and continues progress on:
Storm sewer lines and structures, which are nearly complete.
Detention basin and structures, which are underway.
Sanitary sewer installation, which has started.
Retaining wall and drainage, which are nearly complete.
Rough grading, which is nearly complete.
Building pad establishment, which is complete.
Andrew Webb with Clayton Watkins Construction reported the tentative substantial completion date for the entire project remains on track for October 2026.
“What you’ve seen going on takes the longest,” Webb said during the meeting, explaining that site work involves much more than moving dirt. “It will look slow for the next couple months, but once it gets framed, it will progress at a fast pace. It’s going to be pretty fun in the spring.”