More Columbus Neighbors

09/13/2023

Did you know there are 8,890 fewer homes within the 1950 boundary of Columbus today than in 1960? And 146,705 fewer people.

With punchy commentary and ample data ‼️

03/16/2023

"The Columbus City Council on Thursday introduced a sweeping set of proposals designed to address the shortage of affordable housing in the city.

Among the proposals: requiring landlords to register and pay a fee for their rental properties; streamlining the zoning process to encourage more "tiny homes" next to existing homes; and tracking vacant homes and penalizing homeowners who leave them neglected."

The proposal includes a rental property registry and requiring landlords to accept payments from third-party sources for tenants.

03/03/2023

Our latest newsletter is out today! 🙌 Take a look at our critique of Central Ohio's patchwork attempt to meet regional housing needs for our growing population, along with some commentary on a current proposal in Clintonville. 🔨 ⬆️ 🏘️

What part will you play in welcoming new neighbors? 🙋‍♀️

02/28/2023

"As our region has grown, we’ve built fences around the places of high opportunity and priced certain neighbors out from accessing those opportunities. We all need to look at how our zoning codes and the regulatory and permitting challenges we put on housing development is leading to underproduction of housing to serve our region.

If some of our communities continue to bring in new jobs while closing their doors to new residents, it will have consequences for all of us."

Municipalities that have been bringing in new jobs without allowing new residents must recognize the consequence of these policies and join us as part of a regional solution., Andrew J. Ginther write…

02/11/2023

"So we're talking duplexes, townhomes, small apartment buildings, what supporters call the missing middle - and these are buildings that had been banned for generations, right? And they were banned, in part, to keep out poor families, Black families, other families of color. So, you know, racial equity is also a very big goal in these changes. The idea is to create places that more people can afford to live."

Single-family homes define America's suburbs, and they've been mandated by law for generations. Now some states and cities are changing that to try and create more affordable housing.

11/28/2022

"The city can’t solve our regional challenge all by itself," Ginther said. The suburbs need to act, too, he said. Between 2009 and 2019, the region added more than 140,000 jobs and 300,000 residents, but built only 50,000 housing units.

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2022/11/28/suburbs-need-to-build-more-affordable-housing-columbus-mayor-says/69553100007/

Build 🔨 more ⬆️ housing 🏘

Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said a regional housing collaborative is in the works to pursue federal funding for affordable and other housing.

11/22/2022

"While sales have dropped for several months, Columbus-area home prices show no sign of declining. The median price of a central Ohio home in October was $284,945, up 9% from a year ago."

Columbus-area home sales continued to drop in October, giving buyers more options among homes left on the market.

11/20/2022

Intel’s announcement earlier this year of a $20 billion manufacturing operation bringing thousands of jobs to rural Ohio was greeted as an economic boon.

But behind that enthusiasm lurked a pressing question.

“Where are we putting everybody?” asked Melissa Humbert-Washington, vice president of programs and services at Homes for Families, which helps low-wage workers find housing in a region already suffering a major shortage.

Intel’s announcement of a $20 billion manufacturing operation bringing thousands of jobs to central Ohio has been greeted as an economic boon.

11/13/2022

"Voters in dozens of cities were asked to approve more spending for affordable housing, and in some places they did so overwhelmingly."

Skyrocketing rents and home prices have been a major part of voters' economic pain. New spending will go toward building and subsidizing more housing, and helping people avoid homelessness.

11/07/2022

A public agency in Cincinnati snapped up 194 single-family rental homes at auction for $14.5 million to prevent them from continuing to serve as cash-cows for investors. The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority outbid 12 other investors and has since paid $2 million more toward fixing them up with the goal of selling them to homebuyers of modest means in hopes of addressing the racial wealth gap. In Hamilton County, institutional investors own at least 4,000 houses.

Let's get these homes back into local hands and out of exploitative investment portfolios — City of Columbus - City Hall, Franklin County Board of Commissioners, City of Columbus - Land Bank Program

A Cincinnati agency says large investors are taking some of the most affordable homes off the market, exacerbating the racial wealth gap. It's now helping its new tenants buy the homes themselves.

08/02/2022

Apartments are part of our built heritage. It’s past time to rebuild and repopulate our urban neighborhoods. We stand for re-legalizing affordable, modest housing options like rowhouses and fourplexes. Do you?

Build 🔨 more ⬆️ housing 🏘