County restarts affordable housing plan

The Franklin County Treasurer’s Office is restarting an initiative to provide additional incentives for the development of affordable housing in the community.

Treasurer Cheryl Brooks Sullivan said an initial project, a four-story, 60unit apartment complex near the intersection of Lockbourne and Smith roads on the South Side, is the first to participate in the linked-deposit program, through which the county will forgo a portion of its investment return on a certificate of deposit.

The programs are allowed under state law and have long been used by communities, including Franklin County.

“As the demand for affordable housing is ever increasing throughout Franklin County, my office took the necessary action to support developers who are seeking to build more affordable housing units,” Sullivan said in a released statement. “Our collective aim is to decrease the number of housing cost-burdened residents throughout the county.”

It’s the latest effort by Franklin County officials to address a shortage of affordable housing options, particularly for an estimated 54,000 households living in poverty and paying more than half of their incomes on housing.

The commissioners have allocated about $65 million in conveyance fees, paid as part of real estate transactions, over the next decade to spur the development of more than 2,000 affordable housing units.

Earlier this year, the commissioners approved a $4 million allotment for four separate developments that would create 270-plus affordable apartments. Developers are working to secure other funding before breaking ground at Cleveland and Myrtle avenues in Linden, south of West Broad Street near Lincoln Village and the Hilltop, on Lockbourne Road on the South Side, and on Reeb and Morrill avenues on the South Side.

With the Affordable Housing Linked Deposit Pilot Program, the county will invest public funds into certificates of deposit and forgo up to 3% in interest returns, with the latter used to lower financing rates for developers’ affordable housing projects.

Sullivan said the program is being used initially by Community Development for All People’s Lockbourne Green complex, which will provide apartments for low-income residents.

“We’re not losing any money here,” Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce said. “This is a matter of using the yield on investment instruments, like certificates of deposit, to reduce the costs of affordable housing. It’s really a thoughtful and creative way” to spur the development of affordable housing. mkovac@dispatch.com @Ohiocapitalblog