COLUMBUS, Ohio — Affordable housing is a growing crisis across the country and in central Ohio. The cost of purchasing or renting a home continues to climb, eating up more and more of a family’s income.
A grand opening of a new apartment complex on Columbus’ south side aims to address a little bit of the issue. Woda Cooper Companies opened Lockbourne Greene apartments on Lockbourne Road late last year. It features 60 units and is supposed to be “affordable.” The units are set aside for residents and families making 40 to 70% of the area median income.
The AMI for Franklin County is around $71,000 according the U.S. Census Bureau. Woda Cooper Companies said this breaks down to residents making between $39,680 to $69,440 per year. Units rent between $760 and $999.
One resident, Thomas Connor, works three jobs to make ends meet. He said affordable housing in Columbus is a big issue for a lot of people.
“I transport people back and forth to work, I also do janitorial at night and then I do home healthcare,” said Connor. “Things are going up, apartments are expensive. The need for this type of complex is very needed in the Columbus area.”
All the units at Lockbourne Greene have been rented out, showing the demand in the area. The three-story complex sits on vacant property from the Columbus Land Bank. Developers said various programs and grants were used to make the build possible.
“If you're at that income level and you're paying $1,500 or $1,600 per month in rent, that's pretty taxing on your budget,” said Jeffery Woda, founder of Woda Cooper Companies.
The Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio found that in 2023, about 52,000 Franklin County households were putting more than half their entire income into housing costs.
“Folks should not spend more than 30% of their total income on housing. That's frankly a disconnect we have here in our community and across the country,” said Zach Klein, Columbus City Attorney.
It’s a growing issue that is growing with the city of Columbus.
“We don't have nearly enough new units coming to market every year at all price points. Our goal is to dramatically increase the amount of units coming to market at every price point,” said Mayor Andrew Ginther.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition in 2021, Columbus needed to add about 90,000 more affordable housing units for people making 50% or less than the area median income.
“There's far more need than we can ever produce units. This won't solve all of the housing issues, not on the south side, or just this neighborhood, but it's making a difference and it helps,” Woda said.
Mayor Ginther said building needs to continue to happen in the Columbus metro area. He added that the council is looking to rework the city’s zoning laws for the first time in 70 years. This would allow new housing and different housing types in areas where it was previously prohibited by the current zoning laws.