New Hope lives up to its name as Eastern Kentucky flood survivors move into new homes

Officials gathered March 5 to celebrate the completion of the first two homes in New Hope Estates, a 40-lot subdivision in Prestonsburg designed to provide permanent housing for individuals and families displaced by Eastern Kentucky's devastating floods of 2022 and 2025.

The Big Sandy Area Development District (BSADD), the Floyd County Fiscal Court and Frontier Housing co-hosted the ribbon cutting at the Cliff community subdivision, where Ruby Hale and Claudette Reffitt — both of whom lost their homes in the 2022 flood — were welcomed to their new residences.

The project is funded through $10.8 million in Community Development Block Grants — including $2.8 million in standard CDBG funds and $8 million in CDBG-DR disaster recovery funds — along with $1 million from the Kentucky Product Development Initiative grant through the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. The funds were used to acquire land and install infrastructure including water, sewer, natural gas and street lighting, and to prepare the site for construction.

Big Sandy Area Development District Executive Director Eric Ratliff serves as the project administrator.

New Hope Estates is one of several high-ground developments underway in Eastern Kentucky to relocate flood survivors to safer locations.