Cincinnati City Council voted Wednesday to extend four commercial tax abatements in exchange for preserving 56 housing units as affordable.
The projects are all affiliated with developer Model Group. Bobby Maly is CEO. He says keeping the units affordable would not be possible without the abatement extensions.
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"We pushed as hard as we could to do this, both at the level and the total number of units," he said. "It was difficult to get to this point."
Maly says the units are already affordable to households making 80% of the area median income (AMI). Because of the abatement extensions, they will be income-restricted, meaning tenants will have to verify their income before moving in.
The measures passed unanimously, but a couple of Council members say it’s not necessarily something to celebrate. Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney says 80% AMI is not affordable enough.
"Our need is really in that 60% or lower, and this doesn't address that," she said. "So we can't pat ourselves on the back and say great job, because we're still leaving out the people with the most need."
Maly says with how expensive it is to build and operate affordable housing, this is the best they could do.
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"I don't disagree with any of them," he told WVXU. "We were trying to solve a small problem in this effort, not the larger macro problem."
Most of the units are in Over-the-Rhine, with a few in Walnut Hills. Three of the four abatements were set to expire in 2028; the fourth would have expired in 2033. The extensions add 10 years to end of each abatement, which will have new expiration dates of 2038 and 2043.
The buildings are eligible for an abatement extension under state law because they are of historic significance.
