News
Athens affordable housing project is still in the works, but has hit some delays
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — The city of Athens still plans to build a cluster of affordable housing in the near east neighborhood, but there have been some unexpected delays.
It was initially anticipated that at least some of the eight homes planned for the end of Hudson Avenue would be available for purchase by this fall.
It’s now looking like the homes won’t be completed until at least next summer, said Meghan Jennings, the city’s planner.
But in the meantime, people interested in buying one of the homes, which will be priced at $180,000, can begin the prequalification process by going to welcomehomeathens.com.
Buyers must occupy the home as their primary residence for at least five years and cannot rent any portion of it during that period. They also must agree that if they sell the house within 20 years, the new buyer must have a household income of no more than 80% of the area median income.
These requirements and others are all part of the state’s Welcome Home Ohio program, which provides grant funding for communities to build affordable housing. The city of Athens received $2 million.
The challenges that have delayed the project involve design, infrastructure and access.
The two-story homes will be 1,450 square feet with three bedrooms and two and half bathrooms. They will be built in a factory near Dayton, then trucked to Athens and lifted by crane onto a platform under which will be a two-car garage.
Columbus-based developer Praxia Partners is overseeing development of the site, construction of the platforms and installation of the homes. Praxia CEO Joe Recchie told the Athens Planning Commission last week that some of the delay involved getting final design plans from the homebuilder.
The platforms must be built to perfectly match the footprint of the homes, so knowing the precise design upfront matters. Also, the homes will be closer together than allowed under the zoning code, so the final design will also determine what zoning exceptions the city has to grant to allow the development.
The homes will be arranged in two rows of four, with the rows facing each other. This design made sense for the space, but it created some access challenges, Jennings said. Ultimately, it was decided trying to provide access to all the homes from Hudson Avenue did not make sense, and instead one row of homes will be accessed through Hudson and the other through an extension off Morris Avenue. This will also help reduce the traffic impact on Hudson created by the new housing, Jennings said.
Another complication is the water line where Hudson currently dead ends. It’s too small to service the additional housing and will need to be upsized, Jennings said.
The Planning Commission signed off on the project last week, sending it on to the City Council for approval. If there are no hiccups and the project goes through the usual three readings before the council, it could have final approval by the start of November.
Reechie said site development could begin then, including construction of the house platforms, which will be raised 9 feet above ground level to keep them out of the flood plain. This is higher than required, Recchie said, but the extra height allows for a garage under the homes.
Because the homes will be elevated so high, they will not have a traditional front porch, which disappointed some Planning Commission members. The homes will have a balcony off the first floor.