Some affordable housing developments in Cincinnati will get an automatic property tax exemption under an ordinance passed by City Council Wednesday.
The change allows city administration to grant tax exemptions without council approval for any project awarded money through the Affordable Housing Leverage Fund or another city-funded process called NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability).
"This change [will] save time and money ... decrease our risk and increase confidence for our developers, and this change does reflect Council's development priorities which is truly reducing barriers to affordable housing," said Markiea Carter, director of the city's Department of Community and Economic Development.
Two years ago Council decided city administration could grant exemptions for projects that get Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the state. Carter says that streamlining process was very successful in 2022; no city projects were awarded LIHTC in 2023.
"These dollars will have lots of regulations around them in terms of monitoring, so we feel very comfortable in extending the LIHTC ordinance to those funding sources," said Council Member Reggie Harris, who introduced both measures.
Both NOFA and the Affordable Housing Leverage Fund require units to be income-restricted to ensure low-income households benefit.
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NOFA has funded the creation or preservation of about 2,300 affordable housing units since 2015. Last year's awards (listed below) total about $2.5 million for about 50 units. Applications for 2024 NOFA awards will be open soon.
Projects awarded NOFA funding in 2023:
Projects on this list will be eligible for an automatic exemption if they have not already applied for one, except that the project with nine single-family homes does not qualify for a commercial tax abatement.
West End: 1901 Baymiller
- Renovation of an existing building
- Number of units: 7
- Income target: 80% AMI
- NOFA Award: $400,000
Lower Price Hill: 700-702 State
- Renovation of two existing buildings
- Number of units: 12
- Income target: 60% AMI
- NOFA Award: $588,633
East Price Hill and West End: Affordable Homeownership by Habitat
- New construction of nine single-family homes with LEED Gold certification
- Number of units: 9
- Income target: 80% AMI
- NOFA Award: $450,000
Over-the-Rhine: CMHA Race Street
- Renovation of seven existing buildings, including some commercial space
- Number of units: 18
- Income target: 60% AMI
- NOFA Award: $825,000
Northside: Kirby and Hanfield
- Renovation of one existing building with some commercial space
- Number of units: 4
- Income target: 80% AMI
- NOFA Award: $300,000
