Explanation
BACKGROUND
This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a grant agreement with Columbus Housing Partnership Inc. for an affordable housing development in an amount up to $2,500,000.00. Columbus Housing Partnership Inc. will enter into a grant agreement with the city for the bond funds as a pass-through entity. Easton Place Homes III, LLC is the ownership entity of the project with Columbus Housing Partnership Inc. being the majority owner of the managing member.
Easton Place Phase III will create 50 apartments for families and individuals, with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. The project consists of one four-story, new-construction building. The third phase’s completion will finish the shared vision of the City of Columbus, Columbus Housing Partnership, Inc. (dba Homeport) and The Georgetown Company to develop 200 affordable rental apartments at Easton Town Center, which has one of Central Ohio’s largest concentrations of jobs in the office, retail and hospitality sectors. The project will strengthen the nexus between affordable housing and jobs for employees at Easton Town Center.
Easton Place’s first phase finished construction in January 2024 and its second phase finished construction in May 2025 at adjacent sites. The third phase will share the following amenities with the development’s first two phases: access to public transit, access to jobs, access to groceries, community room, fitness center, on-site laundry, on-site management, package concierge, playground, and security cameras.
Easton Place Phase III will be certified under the LEED sustainability program and will include six fully accessible apartments, greater than the amount required by Section 504. The units developed in Phase III will be restricted to households whose annual income is at or 60% of Area Median Income (AMI).
The project will be financed by equity from 4% federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and sta...
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