Ground Breaks for Affordable Housing Property in Columbus
Ground has been broken for Franklin Station, a 100-unit affordable apartment property in Columbus that will serve elderly and special-needs homeless people.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Columbus, Ohio—Ground has been broken for Franklin Station, a 100-unit affordable apartment property in Columbus that will serve elderly and special-needs homeless people. R.W. Setterlin Building Co. is building the property for the developer, the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA).
The Franklin Station development will include a computer resource room, wellness center, food pantry, green space, elevator, library/lounge, community outreach classroom, and training center and meditation garden. The property will also apply for LEED certification.
Franklin Station is a replacement property for the deteriorating CMHA-owned public housing project Sunshine Terrace, which was part of the Community Shelter Board’s Rebuilding Lives Program, which addresses housing needs for people at risk for homelessness. In fact, Sunshine Terrace was one of the first properties to set aside some of its units for the Rebuilding Lives Initiative, and Franklin Station will continue that practice.
Franklin Station will also partner with the YMCA of Central Ohio to provide residents with a variety of services. Among other things, the program will provide access to medical and mental health services, employment training, case management, interpersonal skills development, transportation, food and other services.
The financing of Franklin Station, as is typical for this kind of development, was a complex business. The main sources of funds were low-income housing tax credits administered by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, an AHP award through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, $7.5 million tax-exempt bond financing through Red Capital Group, and funding by CMHA. Equity was provided by the Ohio Capital.
