Local developers cut the ribbon Thursday on downtown Cincinnati's first affordable housing project in over three decades.
The Barrister includes 44 units between two historic buildings at 214 and 216 East 9th Street. There are six efficiencies, six one-bedrooms, 24 two-bedrooms, and eight three-bedroom units. All are income-restricted to households making 30%-60% of the Area Median Income, or AMI ($25,600 to $51,240 for a family of four).
Downtown Residents Council President Jackie Bryson says it's exciting to see more residents move into the urban core.
"We have been able to experience and watch with awe and wonder as we have taken one building after another that used to be manufacturing, that used to be office buildings, that used to be law firms, and turn them into amazing residential spaces," Bryson said. "We want and are looking for more of that."
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Affordable housing has become increasingly expensive to build. The developers Over-the-Rhine Community Housing and Urban Sites collaborated on The Barrister, combining several funding sources to make it work, including Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), federal and state historic tax credits, a Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) loan, and private fundraising. The Barrister was also the first project approved under a change made four years ago that requires 25% of tax increment financing funds go to affordable housing.
The Barrister is one of the last projects awarded both LIHTC and historic tax credits. State lawmakers passed a law last year that bans projects from receiving both.
"This type of project now has been made illegal, essentially, by our state legislature," said Tim Westrich, vice president of affordable housing at Urban Sites.
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The Ohio legislature later approved a state version of LIHTC, aiming to make up for the loss of historic tax credits.
"It was funded at a lower level than we would have liked to have seen. But we're excited to see that it could bring another maybe 12 projects across the state," Westrich said. "But the overall problem is that we have an affordability crisis in our state and in the city of Cincinnati. We really need a lot a lot more affordable housing and a lot more types of funding to be able to do projects like The Barrister."
The first floor of each building in The Barrister includes commercial space. It's located within a couple of blocks of the Kroger store on Court Street, the main library, and a few streetcar stops.
