Ground is broken for Elevate Estates, a $15 million residential community for 64 people with developmental disabilities
Perhaps Jerry Wischer is up in Heaven, chuckling that his daughter proved him wrong.
Years ago, Julie Wischer, the executive director of Elevate, would come to her parents’ home to talk to her father about a dream to one day build a residential community for Elevate’s students and others who have barriers to living independently.
After Jerry Wischer passed, Julie Wischer said her mother, Cathy, had told her that her father, a lifelong banker, once confided to her that he thought his daughter’s plan was a “pipedream.”
No doubt he’s proud of Julie now. The pipedream is one more step closer to becoming reality.
Friday, Wischer along with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and more than 100 onlookers celebrated the groundbreaking of Elevate Estates, the dream residential community that will provide housing for 64 people who have barriers to living independently.
Wischer got choked up at times talking about the journey and dedicated the moment to her parents, as well as past and present board members, community partners and students who helped bring the project this far.
“This day is huge for us,” Wischer said.
In Beshear’s remarks, the governor said he believes all Kentuckians deserve to be invested in, and the project shows that “we are including everyone in what we’re doing in our new Kentucky home.”
“All our citizens have unlimited potential,” he said.
The $15-million project will be built on a 12-acre campus on Old Madisonville Road and will include 16 two-bedroom apartments and 32 one-bedroom apartments. Elevate Estates will offer group and social activities, clubs, and on-call drivers to take residents to appointments and fun activities off-site, Wischer said in a previous interview. There will also be a bus stop at the community to take residents to and from town, she said.
Sandra Kaiser, a student at Elevate, said she’s “excited” to move into an apartment so that she can have more freedom and partake in exercising with others who live in the community.
The groundbreaking marked a midway point for the construction of the facility, a journey that began in earnest when Wischer and colleagues began attending Kentucky Supportive Housing Institute educational sessions, both in-person and online.
From there, Elevate applied to the Kentucky Housing Corporation in August 2023 for grant funding which was initially approved in late January 2024. The $15 million in funding—$9.5 million coming from HOME Investment Partnerships Program of the American Rescue Plan and $5.5 million coming from HOME Investment Partnerships Program—will allow Elevate a debt-free beginning after construction is completed and people begin moving into the community, Wischer said.
Another key for a debt-free beginning is the land donation by Pittsburg Tank and Tower Group President Ben Johnston and family. Johnston said that for the project to reach this milestone “warms my heart.”
To be able to give back and help the Elevate students—“That’s why we’re here,” he said.
The new campus will require employees to be present at the residences 24 hours a day, and as many as 13 new employees will need to be hired, Wischer said in a previous interview.
Additionally, Wischer believes Elevate Estates can house at least some of the homeless in the Henderson community. In January, the Henderson Homeless Coalition, along with Daniel Pitino Shelter Henderson employees, counted 98 unsheltered homeless people in the community.
Wischer said legislation passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2024 provides for waivers for housing for many people struggling with severe mental illness and substance use disorders. The residential community will provide housing for those with barriers to independent living, which can include those with severe mental illness and substance use disorders
She said a portion of the homeless in the community may qualify, and Elevate will employ a coordinated entry system, with assistance from the Green River Area Development District, in attempts to find those who may want to live at Elevate Estates.
The project’s developer is Bill Hollingsworth, of Equal Development LLC from Carmel, Ind. Hollingworth also developed the Audubon School Senior Apartments on Clay Street.
Wischer said work can begin next week and hopes for completion in mid-2026. She said she wants residents to move in as soon as possible after construction is complete.
“This will be something our entire community can be a part of,” Wischer said.
