Renters are having difficulties finding and paying for apartments and houses throughout the state, and it’s only getting worse. Photo: Vladimir Kudinov, Pexels

Hamilton County will soon see a boost in the number of affordable homes and apartments. County commissioners and the Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF) Tuesday announced the first group of projects receiving an unprecedented amount in funding to build and restore affordable housing units.

In 2021, the county received $158 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA), and out of that money earmarked $40 million to put toward housing. County Commission President Alicia Reece said $5 million went toward a “right-now plan” by helping residents stay in the homes they already had through mortgage and tax assistance.

Now, the county is partnering with CDF to put $31.8 million toward creating affordable housing. On Tuesday, they announced an inaugural round of $14 million that will go toward 17 shovel-ready affordable housing projects across the county.

“I’m very proud that our board has taken a bold step and has invested the most that we’ve ever had – probably any government entity has ever done – in affordable housing. So today is historic,” Reece said at a press conference Tuesday. “We’re working very hard. In the State of the County, I said that the goal is to have one Hamilton County – a place where people can work; they can afford to live; they can have fun and joy; raise their family. We’re working every single day with the policies that we’re making, the things that we’re passing, to make sure that everyone has an equal shot at the American dream.”

Filling the gaps

In 2017, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) released a report showing Hamilton County had an affordable housing deficit of 40,000 units. County Commissioner Denise Driehaus said since that report came out, the county and the City of Cincinnati had been working to address the need for affordable housing and made some progress. But the ARPA money changed everything.

“We have to credit the federal government because without the Biden Administration and Congress, we wouldn’t be standing here today,” Driehaus said at the press conference.

The pandemic made it even more difficult for Hamilton County to fill that gap in affordable housing. Luke Blocher, general counsel and chief strategy office for CDF, says the housing availability crisis in Hamilton County has been compounded by a housing construction cost crisis as the pandemic caused a spike in supply chain and labor costs, which were sharply followed by inflation and rising interest rates. According to the National Council of State Housing Agencies, affordable housing developments have experienced cost increases averaging 30% – and some even more.

The result, Blocher says, is funding gaps that leave projects, such as those for affordable housing, dead in the water or delayed – which will either make a project even more expensive or kill it entirely, all while families continue searching for affordable and quality housing. A recent New York Times article referred to this reality as a “looming affordable housing production cliff.”

“The risk facing us and communities across the country is rising costs preventing construction of affordable housing right at the moment when we need it the most,” Blocher said, adding the only thing saving communities from this cliff is investment from local governments, like Hamilton County.

Shovels in the ground

The county is rolling out funding in phases, the first of which is going toward 17 shovel-ready projects – ones that are ready to begin construction but couldn’t without this investment. This includes three projects that were at risk of losing their funding: Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority’s (CMHA) senior-citizen housing Logan Commons near Findlay Market; Pedretti Place, also senior-citizen housing, in Delhi Township; and Vandalia Point in Northside.

“With this infusion, we’re helping partners build more and build faster,” Driehaus said.

Construction on some of these projects could begin as early as July, with some units being ready in 12 to 18 months. In total, these projects will add 552 units with 445 of them being income-restricted under ARPA rules. The projects will come at different affordability levels, with 40% of units serving households at or below 50% of the area median income.

“We took $31 million … to invest and diversify affordable housing, because it’s not just one chunk. There are a lot of people, a lot of different categories, a lot of folks fall into affordable housing,” Reece said.

Developments span the county, including 10 Cincinnati city neighborhoods and 24% of projects falling outside city limits. Projects, both new ones and ones focused on preservation, include senior housing, mixed-income and multi-family developments and even single-family homeownership.

“We are building wealth in our communities by creating homeownership opportunities,” County Commissioner Stephanie Summerow Dumas said. “Five of 17 projects being funded will result in 65 new affordable homes.”

“That’s the target; that’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” Driehaus said. “We’re building housing that others aren’t building, that others can’t build. We’re doing it with the brave partners that stand up every day and say, ‘Yes, we’re building affordable housing in this community.’ It is not easy, and it is expensive and challenging.”

The 17 recipients were chosen out of 30 applicants. The county and CDF say they are still working with the applicants left out of this initial round of funding and accepting project applications on a rolling basis. Interested developers can apply here.

The projects receiving funding are:

  • Vandalia Point in Northside
  • Pedretti Place in Delhi Township
  • Logan Commons in Over-the-Rhine
  • Community & Pendleton in Pendleton
  • Alexandra in Walnut Hills
  • 56 E. McMicken Ave. in Over-the-Rhine
  • The Annie in Over-the-Rhine
  • Paramount Launch in Walnut Hills
  • KeyMark in College Hill
  • West End Affordable in the West End
  • 700 State St. in Lower Price Hill
  • CARE Homes Initiative in Cheviot, Colerain Township, Lockland Mt. Healthy, North College Hill, North Fairmount, Spring Grove Village, Springfield Township and Reading
  • Sedamsville Redevelopment in Sedamsville
  • Homeownership Project in Lockland, College Hill and Lower Price Hill
  • 1912 Freeman Ave. in the West End
  • Lincoln Heights Phase II in Lincoln Heights

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This article appears in Jun 14-27, 2023.

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...