The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) has awarded $28.5 million in low-income housing tax credits (LIHTCs) for the construction, acquisition, and rehab of 34 affordable housing developments in 25 counties across the state.
The developments will create 2,198 units for families, seniors, and individuals with special needs.
Demand for the housing tax credits in the 2019 round far outweighed supply, with OHFA receiving 92 applications with a request of over $80 million in housing tax credits.
In addition to the LIHTC allocations, OHFA awarded $1.5 million in Ohio Housing Trust Fund money and $6.75 million in HOME funds, both critical gap financing sources.
“Nearly half of all renters pay more than a third of their income on housing,” said OHFA acting executive director Holly Holtzen. “Today’s award announcement is an important step toward tackling the growing affordability problem for Ohio’s renter households.”
Four developments were awarded LIHTCs through the state’s Strategic Initiatives pool, which allows OHFA to ensure that priority housing needs are addressed through a balanced distribution of resources.
These developments include:
- Eastern Woods Senior: Under development by Pennrose, the project will bring 50 units of affordable housing for seniors to a continuing-care retirement community campus in Findlay.
- Longfellow School Apartments: Part of a two-phase development, this 75-unit project by Hopmeadow Development will serve seniors in Cleveland.
- Overlook Apartments: Frontier Community Services will develop the 45-unit property for families in Chillicothe.
- Oxford Place: Leveraging both state and historic tax credits, a.m. Rodriguez Associates will transform the former Lehman High School in Canton into 62 units of seniors housing.
A full list of the tax credit recipients can be found here.
