IN-DEPTH REPORTING
Affordable housing is a pressing issue facing the Dayton community. We have brought you the latest news on projects that seek to grow the supply of affordable units in the region. We will continue to cover redevelopment and community-improvement efforts.
The Dayton Arcade made a big splash this week with news that it has received $20 million in housing tax credits for a multi-phase rehabilitation project.
But that project was just one of six in the region to win funding from the state. Developers on other local projects secured more than $35 million in housing credits to construct and renovate more than 240 units.
One project will benefit disabled and homeless veterans in Dayton.
Two others will create new housing for seniors in Riverside and Huber Heights.
Another will help homeless families in west Dayton.
The Housing Tax Credit program “is the largest affordable rental housing production vehicle, both in Ohio and nationally,” said Doug Garver, executive director of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency on Wednesday announced it had awarded nearly $31 million in annual housing tax credits to 40 development projects across the state. Winning projects receive annual credits for 10 years.
The program is highly competitive; more than 90 applicants asked for more than $71 million in annual funding.
Ten projects in Butler, Clark, Miami and Montgomery counties submitted requests for about $7.8 million in yearly credits, or $78 million over 10 years.
Six of those projects received allocations, and the Dayton Arcade stole the show by earning not only $1 million in annual funding from this year’s program, but also the same funding commitment from next year’s program.
Developers plan to convert part of the Arcade into about 125 units of housing in two phases, which officials hope will ignite the large-scale renovation of the seven-building complex.
The second-largest award for a local development went to Freedom Path’s at Dayton.
The project secured $960,000 in annual funding to renovate five existing duplexes and construct a new, three-story building aimed at serving veterans who are disabled, homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
The housing is located on the Dayton VA campus, and residents will receive support services from the agency.
The roughly $7.3 million construction project will create and renovate 60 units on the campus, located along the 4100 block of West Third Street.
The Dayton area is on track to end local veteran homelessness later this year because of a variety of programs and efforts that have prioritized giving the underserved population rapid and stable housing, Kathleen Shanahan, program coordinator for Montgomery County Homeless Solutions, said earlier this month.
A nearby housing development, the Homefull Family Living Center on the 800 block of South Gettysburg Avenue, received $578,000 in annual credits.
Homefull is partnering with Oberer Companies on the project, which will renovate 34 permanent housing units. The complex, featuring six townhouse buildings, was constructed in 1950.
The redevelopment project will ensure access to high-quality and affordable housing for formerly homeless families with children in west Dayton, said Homefull CEO Tina Patterson.
The Carriage Trails Senior Village II project earned a $771,664 annual allocation. The development sits at 1000 Waterside Circle in Huber Heights.
The $5.8 million construction project will offer 43 apartments for people 55 and older at affordable rents. Three units will be market-rate.
The first phase of the project, completed in the fall of 2012, constructed 34 cottages that are fully occupied.
“Affordable senior housing is very important as many of our seniors live on fixed incomes and the demand for this housing far exceeds the supply,” said Tim Bete, president of St. Mary Development Corporation, general partner on the project.
The other two local projects that won awards were the Riverside Senior Lofts and the Cypress Commons Apartments in Middletown.
A $750,000 annual funding award will help create 62 senior housing apartments at 2333 Harshman Road in Riverside, which will be spread across a three-story building and one-story ranch structures.
On-site amenities include a community room, fitness space, theater room, workforce-training area and a health clinic. Other attractions include a community garden, dog park, picnic shelter and rain garden.
Cypress Commons, which won $4.8 million over 10 years, will renovate 44 existing townhomes. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing systems will be replaced, and new amenities will be a multi-purpose community lounge, outdoor patio, computer room and laundry facilities.
The senior housing developments in Huber Heights and Riverside will ensure high-quality affordable housing with connections to important services as the state’s elderly population continues to grow, said Kelan Craig, director of planning, preservation and development with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
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