Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) is preparing to completely renovate two public housing properties in East Walnut Hills.
The Riverview San Marco Project will oversee the transformation of more than 130 affordable housing units in both the Riverview at 2538 Hackberry St. and the San Marco at 1601 Madison Road. All units will remain affordable housing, CMHA says.
Work on the units – 101 in Riverview and 30 in San Marco – will include new flooring, bathrooms, kitchens, appliances and plumbing. Upgraded, energy-efficient HVAC and electrical systems will also be installed.
The project also marks the first time CMHA will use Historic Tax Credits. Riverview, built in 1902, has completed the historic recognition process, and San Marco, built as a hotel in 1930 and later converted to residential unit in the ‘60s, is recognized as a Historic District Contributing Building by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Both have received Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits totaling $4 million.
“Cincinnati residents are lucky to have CMHA. Riverview San Marco uses historic properties to maintain the greatness of the past while providing gold standard housing for the future,” Annie Ross, vice president of Development for Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, said in a press release.
The project has $38 million in renovation funding, CMHA said in the release. Apart from the historic rehabilitation tax credit of $4 million, funds have come through housing tax credits ($14 million), the Ohio Housing Finance Agency Bond Gap Financing deferred developer fee ($1.4 million), as well as tax-exempt bonds, a re-invested developer fee and public housing capital dollars.
“Closing on this latest Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) project continues our commitment to invest one billion dollars in our affordable housing portfolio,” Gregory D. Johnson, CMHA’s chief executive officer, said in the release. “Residents of Hamilton County deserve quality affordable housing and we’re delivering.”
Work on the buildings will begin in August.
CMHA also was recently awarded $1 million from Hamilton County and the Cincinnati Development Fund to complete its senior citizen-housing development, Logan Commons, in Over-the-Rhine.
