Grant aids affordable housing on South Side

Columbus’ South Side should benefit from a $3 million grant from JPMorgan Chase & Co. meant to help Ohio’s biggest cities address affordable housing issues and smallbusiness funding.

The money, to be awarded over three years, will be used to create what will be called the OH3C Collaborative made up of four community development financial institutions working in Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. The Economic Community Development Institute and Ohio Capital Finance Corp. in Columbus are participating in the effort.

“JPMorgan Chase is committed to helping everyone share in the rewards of a growing economy. While many areas are booming across the state, we know that not everyone has the same opportunities to move up the economic ladder,” Janis Bowdler, president of JPMorgan Chase Foundation, said in a statement.

Community development financial institutions lend money and provide resources to people and in places where conventional lending can be difficult to come by.

Such organizations typically work independently in local markets, but in this case Chase is providing funding meant to reduce commercial and residential vacancies in targeted neighborhoods that are facing similar issues in all three cities.

For Columbus, the grant will be used to create 170 affordable housing units and provide small-business lending to the area, said Alex Derkson, who heads global philanthropy for Chase in Ohio.