Columbus organization offers aid to first-time homebuyers

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – If you’re looking to buy your first home, a newly launched program can help pay for it.

The Columbus organization Homeport, along with the Federal Home Loan Bank, is sponsoring the multi-million-dollar effort announced Monday.

They are providing $5 million in down payment assistance for qualifying homeowners in Franklin County.

The program will offer $25,000 grants to be used for a downpayment on a home, closing costs, or principal reduction aid.

In order to qualify, applicants must:

  • Be a first-time, first-generation homebuyer.

  • Take part in home-ownership education through Homeport.

  • Meet certain HUD-approved income requirements.

The eligible properties are single-family homes located within Franklin County.


How new apartments Downtown will be reserved for affordable housing

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A new apartment building Downtown will feature affordable units as some say the city is experiencing a housing crisis.

Columbus is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country and is trying to keep up with that growth through multiple projects, but it’s also dealing with a different yet related issue, affordable housing.

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“We’re grappling with supply and demand here,” Columbus City Councilmember Shayla Favor said. “We are growing at a rapid rate to the tune of around 40 folks a day and, unfortunately, we don’t have enough housing units.”

Carlie Boos, executive director at the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, called the city’s housing crisis “unprecedented.”

“We’ve never seen a pinch like this, not in central Ohio, not ever,” Boos said. “I think we’ve always been the kind of community that defines ourselves by our quality of life, where we’re a place where you can raise a family and you can start a business and you can create. And it’s getting harder and harder to do that.”


Housing Crisis looms over Columbus’ self-proclaimed reputation as the “Silicon Heartland”

Ohio has made its reputation on being an approachable, affordable Midwestern state. With a variety of regional focuses including agriculture, manufacturing and entrepreneurship, Ohio’s diversity of profession is what makes its appeal. Columbus in particular has established itself as the fastest-growing city in the state, in part due to employment opportunities and affordability. This, coupled with announcements of arrival from tech companies like Intel and Google, has increased the city’s rapid development. However, Columbus has a long history of underdevelopment, resulting in a shortage of infrastructure and housing. At the cusp of a major population influx, Columbus finds itself at the crossroads of economic prosperity and systemic upheaval. 


Program helps developers grow while creating new affordable housing

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Destiny Lamar was proud to show off her new home. It has a garage, bedroom for her two children, and a fenced in yard for her dog. She can finally sleep in peace at night.

“I was so happy for me and my kids, like we finally got a house, a home,” said Lamar. “We don't have to worry about our neighbors fighting and… gang violence and a whole bunch of stuff.”

Lamar was looking to break out of her apartment complex in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood. She found a new construction home in the Hilltop.

The home was developed by Wade Jordan, a former landlord and graduate of the Affordable Housing Trust's Emerging Developers Accelerator Program. Jordan says without the coaching and networking, he wouldn’t have had a seat at the table.

“Minorities in the space, before I got into the program, I didn't know who to talk to or who to ask these questions to,” said Jordan. “There's not a lot of people of color, people that look like me and my neighborhood, doing what I'm trying to do.”

The program has been around for two years and it links developers with suppliers, larger developers and capital to build affordable housing units.

In a 2015 report, The Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio estimated the region needs 54,000 affordable housing units. President and CEO of the Affordable Housing Trust Lark Mallory believes the number could be even higher.

“What I am excited about and what I am bullish about is that everyone is talking about housing,” said Mallory. “That is the first step in solving the issue is everyone recognizing that we have an issue. So now let's move forward and tackle it.”

A recent donation from JP Morgan Chase of $500,000 brings the total invested from the bank to $650,000, which will go towards the Emerging Developers Accelerator Program.

“The housing crisis in our region needs addressed and the solutions need to be equitable,” said Corrine Burger, Columbus location leader for JPMorgan Chase. “JPMorgan Chase proudly partners with government, business, and community leaders to create an inclusive economy for all.”

Affordable Housing Trust also partners with the U.S. Bank Foundation, the City of Columbus and Franklin County Commissioners. For more information, and to support or join future programs, click here.



Senior Housing Development Opens in Columbus, Ohio

National Church Residences has opened a $16 million affordable senior housing community in the Northland neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.

The three-story, 85,000-square-foot community features 94 one- and two-bedroom apartments on a nearly 4-acre site. Amenities include free campus Wi-Fi, a fitness center, a community room with a kitchen, an outdoor walking path, and on-site laundry.

“As part of our more than $48 million in investment in the Northland community by the end of 2022, Northland Gate furthers our efforts to provide low-income seniors with more housing options in the area,” said Amy Rosenthal, vice president of affordable housing for National Church Residences. “We are excited to celebrate as our residents move into this beautiful new community.”

Each apartment is adaptable to the needs of the residents. Some of the features designed for this purpose involve a wide-turn radius in all rooms, grab bars in showers, adjustable-height shelves. and easy-touch rocker light switches.

The Northland neighborhood has a high concentration of vulnerable seniors facing housing cost burdens and chronic health issues. According to a 2017 report from the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, elderly households make up 38% of low-income, cost-burdened homeowners in Franklin County. As the first in a series of National Church Residences’ new construction developments in the neighborhood, Northland Gate was designed to address this urgent need for affordable housing, said the nonprofit.

Funding for the community included $11.7 million in low-income housing tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency and $300,000 from the city of Columbus. CREA and First National Bank were financial partners providing equity and debt. CVS Health and Aetna, a CVS Health company, are an “adopted partner” of the community.

In addition, National Church Residences collaborated with the Northland Community Council, 161 Task Force, Sharon Woods Civic Association, Forest Park Civic Association, and the Northland Area Business Association. The architect was Berardi Partners, and Ruscilli Construction Co. served as the general contractor.

Looking ahead, National Church Residences has secured financing to build two additional senior communities in the Northland area. The developer has received $17 million to build Salem Village and $13 million for Bretton Woods. It also completed a $2.8 million expansion of the Senior Health Center on East Dublin Granville Road in late spring 2021.


Coalition coming together to close the homeownership gap for people of color

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A major investment was made here in Columbus to close the homeownership gap for the black community and people of color.

The Maude Hill Homeownership Fund has money to help families ready to make the jump to become homeowners.

Here in central Ohio, the real estate market is hot. Michael Jones is a real estate agent in Columbus, and he says that right now, it’s a sellers’ market.


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Central Ohio fund helps close minority homeownership gap

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Instead of closing, the gap between Black and white homeowners is widening, according to the Urban Institute. A new program in central Ohio aims to help bridge that gap.

The Maude Hill Growing Homeownership Fund is now available for qualifying first-time homebuyers in Franklin County. The fund provides up to $15,000 as a five-to-one match of personal savings to help with a down payment, closing costs and other eligible expenses to participants who meet eligibility criteria.

Colulmbus' 31% minority homeownership gap is the second highest of any metro area in the U.S.

"That's what homeownership and that's what this fund is really about," said Columbus city councilman Nick Bankston. "It is about providing opportunities for the next generation of folks to call Columbus home."

The fund is the result of partnerships between banks and community organizations who raised $1 million to help reduce the racial homeownership divide in Columbus.

For more information, visit bloom614.org.



Unaffordable housing toughest on Ohio’s lower income communities

Rising housing costs are creating significant challenges for Ohioans seeking affordable homes - especially those with the lowest incomes.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), to afford a two-bedroom home in Ohio without spending more than 30% of your income on rent, you will need an annual household income of $39,702.

[…]


"We have not had enough affordable housing for a very, very long time. But one of the novel things about what we're seeing is that that instability is creeping up the economic ladder," said Carlie Boos, executive director of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio. "And it's not just minimum wage earners who are feeling the pinch. It's not just retirees who are feeling the pinch, but now it's folks who are working 40 hours a week in a very respectable profession."

Fewer Franklin County households are burdened by housing costs, but it's still a regional problem

A report from Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio titled “Finding Home in the Heart of it All” shows that in the last five years, the number of Franklin County households who put more than half of their income toward housing has decreased, but high housing costs remain a burden to tens of thousands of families in the region.

Five years ago, around 54,000 county households were severely burdened by housing cost, but that has dropped to about 52,000, according to the report. The report attributes the decrease to efforts to tame housing costs from both county and Columbus leaders.

In the 15-county central Ohio region, however, some 80,000 households are severely burdened, the report says. It also says area home prices are growing three times faster than the median household income.

The report focused on the health, educational and economic impacts of housing stability.

Kyle May, of the firm MKSK Studio, is a lead researcher on the project and says that evidence has linked housing stability to better healthcare access and better health outcomes.

“This housing shortage creates real physical and mental health challenges and elevates healthcare costs. I think we all kind of feel that,” May said.

Canal Winchester 6th grade teacher Cara Jeffers said children who move frequently because of unstable housing have difficulty building relationships and struggle in school. She said she sees 6th graders reading at a 1st grade level – and some students had been to as many as four school districts before coming to Canal Winchester, due to housing instability.

Jeffers says she also worries about her own stability.

“The average salary to afford a home in Columbus, Ohio is $75,000. Currently, I make 20,000 less than that as a young professional with a teaching career,” Jeffers said. “I not only carry the burden of worrying about my students daily, but I worry about myself and my abilities to make ends meet.”

AT&T Ohio President Molly Kocour Boyle said she wants employees in Ohio to be able to come in everyday and focus on the job at hand.

“But we also know that there are so many factors that impact how they show up at work,” Boyle said. “How much of their paycheck is going to housing costs? Do they have to work multiple jobs to make sure that they can maintain that shelter?”

The AHACO report goes on to warn that "if swift action is not taken," another 20,000 households could become seriously burdened by the cost of housing by 2040. This means that "by the time today's 1st graders are graduating college, a population the size of Newark, Ohio, will have slipped into housing instability," according to AHACO.

In addition to revealing the report Tuesday, the Affordable Housing Alliance set out a plan to close housing gaps. The plan includes expanding grant funding for affordable housing and increasing access to low-cost loans to finance affordable construction, among other strategies.