Explanation
BACKGROUND
This legislation authorizes the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a Housing Development Agreement (HDA) with Erie Ohio Capital CDFI Fund LLC for The Columbus Renaissance Housing development.
The HDA would memorialize the City’s desired commitment to the project, pending City Council approval and future availability of funds. The Department of Development wishes to support this project by contributing $1,400,000.00 of bond funds from the a future Capital Budget. This legislation would authorize the Director of Development to first execute the HDA and when funding is available, the department will seek City Council’s approval to execute a grant agreement for the project.
The Columbus Renaissance Housing development is intended to be structured as a partnership organized strategically to pair a local place-based neighborhood nonprofit entities, Community Development for All People (“CD4AP”), with Woda Cooper Companies, Inc. ("Woda"), a highly experienced nationwide developer who will serve as general contractor and property manager.
Columbus Renaissance Housing is located at 33 West Morrill Avenue in Merion Village. The project is a single-phase development to occur on multi parcel former industrial manufacturing site that is bounded by existing housing on two adjacent sides, a church, and the Salvation Army, and is just a short distance outside of the central downtown core.
The property will feature affordable workforce housing with all units at 60% AMI. The project will be geared toward a variety of residents: young professionals, single-parent households, small families, and even seniors. The combined project will foster services to support families, aging-in-place, and workforce housing concepts. Amenities on-site will include management offices, a health and wellness center, community rooms, and more. The project is within steps of COTA bus stops, the Berliner Sports Park, several restaurants, houses of worship, Salvation Army, and the highly-rated Southwood Elementary School.
In addition to the myriad of supportive services and programming opportunities directly offered through Community Development For All People, the development will also engage with other local partners to expand future programming to be offered to all family households, single parents, seniors or anyone residing at the Columbus Renaissance Housing.
The building will include twelve (12) one-bedroom units, twenty-eight (28) two bedroom units and six (6) three-bedroom units. All apartments will have at least one (1) full bathroom; the three-bedroom units may have 1.5 bathrooms, pending final project design and budgeting. Over 10% of the project units will be fully accessible and at least three (3) additional units for hearing/vision impaired residents. All of the units will be “Visit-Able” with a zero-step entrance and widths/clearances acceptable to accommodating residents and visitors with wheelchairs, walkers and other mobility-assisting devices, as well as feature elements of Universal Design promoting “aging in place.
Emergency action is requested in order to maintain the project schedule.
FISCAL IMPACT: No funding is needed.
CONTRACT COMPLIANCE: the vendor number is 033062 and expires 06/22/2022.
Title
To authorize the Director of the Department of Development to enter into a Housing Development Agreement (HDA) with Erie Ohio Capital CDFI Fund LLC for The Columbus Renaissance Housing development; and to declare an emergency. ($0.00)
Body
WHEREAS, the Director of Development seeks to enter into a Housing Development Agreement (HDA) with Erie Ohio Capital CDFI Fund LLC for The Columbus Renaissance Housing development; and
WHEREAS, the HDA would memorialize the City’s desired commitment to the project, pending City Council approval and future availability of funds; and
WHEREAS, The Department of Development wishes to support this project by contributing $1,400,000.00 of bond funds from a future Capital Budget; and
WHEREAS, this legislation would authorize the Director of Development to first execute the HDA and pending the availability of funding in a future Capital Budget, the department will seek City Council’s approval to enter into a grant agreement; and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the Department of Development in that it is immediately necessary to authorize the Director to enter into a HDA for the Renaissance Housing Development in order to maintain the project schedule, thereby preserving the public health, peace, property, safety and welfare; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
SECTION 1. That Director of the Department of Development is authorized to enter into a Housing Development Agreement (HDA) with Erie Ohio Capital CDFI Fund LLC for The Columbus Renaissance Housing development.
SECTION 2. That for the reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this Ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in force from and after its approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.