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.