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    Summer Start Eyed for Affordable Apartment Development at Easton

    Work is scheduled to start this summer on the first phase of a 200-unit affordable housing development at Easton.

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    The project, a partnership between Homeport and Easton co-developer Georgetown Company, will be built on vacant land at the corner of Easton Loop West and Easton Commons. That puts it directly to the south of the Easton Commons Apartments and Townhomes, a market-rate residential development that was built around 20 years ago.

    Leah Evans, Homeport’s President and CEO, said that the project is a significant one for the nonprofit developer both because of its size – many of the organization’s projects are closer to 50 units – and because of its location; within walking distance of a regional retail destination and a sprawling campus of office buildings.

    “Everyone that we’ve talked to about the project – the city, OHFA (Ohio Housing Finance Agency), our lenders – are really excited about the idea of a mixed-income development and being able to layer in affordable [housing] at such a premier destination and location,” she said, adding that the project is also close to a COTA bus line, “and there are so many jobs within a mile radius that will qualify income-wise.”

    The first phase of the project will be reserved for tenants making between 30% and 70% of the area median income (AMI), with rents set to ensure a tenant would not spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

    (Read more about AMI and how different levels of affordability translate into rents in Central Ohio)

    The development is divided up into three phases – the first one 50 units in size, followed by a 100-unit second phase and a 50-unit third phase.

    Financing has been secured for the first two phases – taking advantage of Low Income Housing Tax Credits and assistance from OHFA, the city of Columbus, and Franklin County, among others – and Homeport expects to hear this spring if the third phase will be awarded additional tax credits.

    “The opportunity was for us to be in an area that has a lot of resources, that we felt like our residents would be able to benefit from, and that was the most exciting piece,” Evans said. “Land is scarce in Central Ohio now, the competition for really strong sites that are well-situated is hard…so I think the access that this project gives us is tremendous and we’re very excited about that.”

    About one space per unit of off-street parking will be provided for residents, with the parking lots located in an interior courtyard not visible from the street. It’s a design meant to complement the existing townhomes next door and contribute to the area’s walkability, according to Evans.

    “We want to encourage people to come out onto the sidewalk and walk over to the Trader Joes, so it was very much designed that way, with the parking a little bit hidden,” she said. “It speaks to the aesthetic of Easton and the work that the Easton and Georgetown team has done; in co-developing this with them, we wanted something that was right in step with the design and aesthetic that already exists.”

    Homeport also just held a virtual groundbreaking ceremony for its Mulby Place development in Linden, and in Northland, the developer’s Maple Meadows complex is on track to be finished in the next few months.

    For more information, see homeportohio.org.

    The Easton Commons Apartments and Townhomes, which sit to the north of the planned development – photo by Brent Warren.
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    Brent Warren
    Brent Warrenhttps://columbusunderground.com/author/brent-warren
    Brent Warren is a staff reporter for Columbus Underground covering urban development, transportation, city planning, neighborhoods, and other related topics. He grew up in Grandview Heights, lives in the University District and studied City and Regional Planning at OSU.
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