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Taylor Koch from Hill Tide Partners gives a presentation on a proposed affordable housing complex in Athens. He's standing at the podium in front of a blue wall.
Hill Tide Partner’s Taylor Koch gives a presentation on the proposed affordable housing complex to the Planning Commission. [WOUB | Alison Patton]

A proposal for an affordable housing complex in Athens raises concerns from the city’s Planning Commission

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — Athens is a hotspot for subsidized affordable housing, but city officials and community members have some concerns about a new developer coming in. 

The Athens Planning Commission heard from the developer Wednesday about zoning changes and construction plans. 

Hill Tide Partners, based in South Carolina, is looking to buy about 18 acres off Hooper Road, across from the Monticello Village apartment complex. 

There's a wooded area across from Monticello Village apartment complex. After a shallow tree line, there's a decline in the ground. That's where Hill Tide Partners intends to build a new affordable housing complex.
Hill Tide intends to build a 50 to 80 unit apartment complex off Hooper Street in Athens. [Alison Patton | WOUB]
Fifty to 80 apartments that would be income restricted for affordability would go on about 5 acres. The other portion is outside city limits, and would have about five to 10 single-family homes. 

The portion that would have apartments is zoned for single-family homes and small multifamily homes like duplexes. 

Hill Tide Development Partner Taylor Koch said they plan to use housing tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. 

Athens Service-Safety Director Andy Stone has some concerns about the tax credits. 

“It seems like a good idea, but there’s some aspects of the program that make it awful complicated and dependent on future conditions that you may or may not know at the time,” Stone said. 

David Mott, an Athens attorney who is providing legal assistance to Hill Tide, said there are other ways to receive funding. 

He also said the source of the money shouldn’t matter as long as more housing is coming into the city. 

“This is just too much space and too good an area to not try on single-family housing,” Mott said.

Other affordable housing developers have noticed Athens because of the available tax credits, Koch said. 

“The state kind of controls where you develop, and we are in the highest-scoring census tract here,” he said. “That’s why you have developers, not just us, seeking projects in this area.” 

Commission members are also concerned about public transportation and the lack of existing sidewalks because of issues from other affordable housing complexes. 

“Just by the nature of that type of housing that it is, it kind of created unsafe conditions for folks walking up the roadway to access services and such,” Stone said. 

HAPCAP would be responsible for getting a bus stop on Hooper Street, and Hill Tide said it would try to get transportation in the area.

Ten percent of the housing units will also be disability friendly, Koch said. That includes wider doorways, kitchens accessible to people using wheelchairs and more. 

Koch said there are over 20 disability friendly aspects of the complex itself, like a wide hallway to access units and lower light switches. However, the building won’t have an elevator. 

Southeast Ohio is experiencing a housing shortage. Despite the opportunity for more housing, Stone said surrounding property owners might not like the new development, which City Council would take into account when considering the zoning change. 

“You have a competitor project that just came forward to this body a couple weeks ago, that is already now having opposition mobilized,” Stone said. “I would anticipate you’re going to have a similar situation.”

Editor’s Note (12/10/24): A previous version of this story misspelled Taylor Koch’s last name and misidentified Koch in the story’s featured image as David Mott. The story has been edited to reflect these mistakes.