affordable housing

In Cincinnati and in cities across the country, people living paycheck-to-paycheck are finding it ever-harder to afford increasing rents as demand for housing near urban cores heats up. Those who can't keep up with increased living expenses are often left with few options.

The Arts Apartments at Music Hall in Cincinnati's gentrifying West End is in for renovations and changes that will result in nearly 250 affordable and low-income housing for the next 20 years.

City Council unanimously approved a tax exemption last week to help finance the project.

An affordable housing project in Lower Price Hill appears to be moving forward. The social service agency Community Matters has been working on the project called Lower Price Hill Thrives for the past six years. The plan is to renovate 10 historic buildings, creating 47 affordable apartment units, and construct a new building. But the project faced a hurdle with the city.

The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) will pay Hamilton County property owners a signing bonus after they agree to lease to tenants who are voucher holders.

Hamilton County has at least a 40,000-unit shortage of affordable housing, according to multiple studies. Meanwhile, rent has increased in Cincinnati by 43.6% in the last decade, according to Zillow.

A Dayton task force will deliver recommendations in the first quarter of 2020 to address the city's high eviction rate, which ranks 26th in the country.

The wind is sharp while a yoga class does downward dog in Washington Park. The people working out are mostly white, although the neighborhood is nearly 90% black, according to census data.

Forty-thousand families in Hamilton County can't find a place to rent or own that is affordable. That's according to the Housing Affordability in Hamilton County study.

Housing advocates have been demanding public officials fund more affordable housing and stop displacement.

Families can now apply for affordable housing in Cincinnati but the window of opportunity is narrow. 

The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority reopened its waiting list for its Housing Choice Voucher Program on Monday, September 9. 

In late June, Cincinnati City Council approved a round of development incentives for several projects. Those included a conversion of the PNC Tower from office to residential and retail, and a mixed-use apartment building along the river called Artistry. Some of the tax incentive deals are for developments that include a certain percentage of units of affordable housing; others do not.

Representatives with FC Cincinnati are planning meetings either Friday or Monday with tenants who are being asked to move out of apartments now owned by the team on Wade Street and Central Avenue in the West End.

Updated: Wednesday, 9:37 a.m.

Two Cincinnati City Council members are offering a solution to make sure some West End residents don't lose their housing because of the new FC Cincinnati soccer stadium.  

According to a report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, nationwide, there are only 35 affordable homes available for every 100 renters who have incomes no greater than 30 percent of the median income in their area. This shortage of affordable housing exists in every state and major metropolitan area, including Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2011-2015 American Community Survey, 18.5 percent of people in Kentucky live below the poverty level. One of the challenges to reducing poverty is for communities to provide access to affordable housing.

Families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing and medical care. 

Summer may seem like a time for relaxation and fun, but it can be stressful for some parents. Most American schools have a 10- to 11- week summer vacation and only a quarter of American families have a parent at home during this time. 

Where you live can have a dramatic impact on how far your money will go and what type of lifestyle you lead. According to one online cost-of-living calculator, someone earning an annual salary of $50,000 in Cincinnati would need to make $80,000 to maintain the same standard of living in Boston. But just $47,000 in Cookeville, Tennessee.