Subsidized housing group upgrades image, expands

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DAYTON — The Dayton Metropolitan Housing Authority has invested nearly $25 million over the last 18 months on diversifying its housing stock and expanding in the suburbs.

But that’s not all the group hopes to buy with the investment. It’s also looking for a new image.

“This is huge change for us,” said Greg Johnson, DMHA’s chief operating officer. “It’s a new way of thinking.”

A sampling of new DMHA holdings include: the environmentally friendly Governors Square apartments (on Washington Square Drive) in Washington Twp.; a four-unit apartment building in Oakwood; Windcliff Village, a 35-unit development in Germantown; and Hawthorne Village, seven new homes in Dayton.

DMHA hopes to add another 750 housing units by the end of 2012. Of DMHA’s 2,700 housing units in Montgomery County, 466 are in the suburbs.

Johnson acknowledges that negative perceptions persist toward DMHA. The organization is even thinking about a name change — part of an effort to remove the stigma for those in subsidized housing.

“We operate like a developer, but one that helps individuals and provides a service to the community,” he said.

Joshua Ortega appreciates that service. For Ortega, a disabled veteran, DMHA is the difference between living in a homeless shelter or a Kettering apartment.

“DMHA didn’t just give me something. They helped me through something,” said Ortega, who expects to graduate from Wright State University this spring. “They treated me with respect.”