Fifty-one new housing units are part of a 12-building mixed-use development near Findlay Market in Over-the-Rhine.
Cincinnati Council voted Wednesday to give $2.3 million to The Model Group to help fund the Parkside Findlay project.
The project includes four buildings adjacent to Findlay Market and eight buildings in the 1800 block of Vine Street. Model Group CEO Bobby Maly told Council's Budget and Finance Committee all the buildings are vacant, like many other buildings in the area.
"But the folks who have lived there do not have access to vibrant economic opportunities or services, certainly on their block, in terms of lack of commercial spaces open," Maly said. "And it's been this way predominantly for decades."
The project includes 51 new housing units, of which half will be affordable to households making 80% or less of the Area Median Income. In other words, affordable to a family of four making $76,400 a year or less.
RELATED: What does 'affordable' housing mean in Cincinnati?
Maly says they originally planned for a quarter of the housing units to be affordable at 80% AMI, but increased to half based on community feedback. He says they also added parking for future residents and added several two-bedroom units to the plan.
He says community engagement on this project has felt very different than other projects over the years.
"Our office is in this block; we work in this block. We are an employee-owned company and eight of my employee-owners live in the neighborhood," Maly said. "Our community engagement is a little bit different in this project because we are woven into this community in so many ways. We've had over 100 direct conversations with our neighbors and organizations."
Maly says they're still working on engagement, including planned presentations to the Downtown Residents Council and the Over-the-Rhine Community Council.
The Model Group requested an immediate vote to meet a May 2 deadline related to funding via New Markets Tax Credits. Parkside Findlay will also get funding from state and federal historic tax credits.
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The $2.3 million in city funding comes from the Downtown/OTR West TIF District, which holds property tax revenue to be spent on projects that benefit the public in the same area.
Learn more in this presentation below:
Parkside Findlay Presentation by WVXU News on Scribd
