Portage County is expected to receive nearly $800,000 in state funding to help increase the availability of affordable housing.
The Portage County Land Reutilization Corporation announced it has received $780,000 from the Ohio Department of Development’s Welcome Home Ohio program. This includes $720,000 to purchase and renovate four homes, and $60,000 to build two new homes. No matching funds are required.
“There is a shortage of housing on the market, and perhaps to a greater extent, of good quality affordable housing. The WHO program will help us fill this gap,” said Dan Morganti, executive director of the province’s land bank, in a news release.
In an email to the Record-Courier, Morganti said work is expected to begin in 2025, but the land bank is awaiting a financing agreement from the Ohio Department of Development. It contains further details, including a timeline. The homes to be renovated have not yet been identified and the homes to be built will be built on properties within the land bank’s existing inventory.
The money, he said, will be paid by the state on a “reimbursement” basis.
The land bank partners with two nonprofit organizations, Habitat for Humanity and Neighborhood Development Services, including site selection.
Once the homes become available, they will be sold to “income eligible buyers,” Morganti said.
Eligible homeowners are households with annual incomes up to 80% of the area median income, with adjustments for family size.
In Portage County, Morganti said, a household with four members would qualify for up to $76,300 in income.
Other requirements are that the initial buyers must use the home as their main residence for at least five years and that the home must remain an affordable and owner-occupied home for at least twenty years.
Buyers must also complete a year of financial literacy and housing counseling.
The funding is part of nearly $26 million recently awarded statewide, according to an Oct. 24 news release from Gov. Mike DeWine.
“Safe, affordable housing opens doors to better opportunities for families and strengthens the fabric of our communities,” DeWine said. “The Welcome Home Ohio program creates pathways to homeownership for more Ohioans while bringing new life to neighborhoods.”
It is the WHO’s third round of funding. The Ohio General Assembly approved $100 million in grants for land banks and $50 million in tax credits for land banks and eligible developers in the biennial budget bill. The current funding round includes more than $25.7 million in grants.
Currently, nearly $60 million in WHO funding has been allocated for the creation of 440 single-family homes in 24 provinces.
In his email, Morganti said the WHO program will expand the land bank’s already existing efforts to revitalize properties in Portage County. This includes the home purchase, renovation, resale and new construction revolving loan fund programs.
The latter program is a partnership with the private sector that provides the necessary land and short-term financing for new homes that are then sold on the open market. Construction of a fourth house is being completed under the RLF.
“The end result of each of the RLF projects is a new investment in a previously vacant and abandoned property and a homeownership opportunity that meets a tremendous need in the market,” Morganti said.
For more information about the Welcome Home Ohio program, visit development.ohio.gov/community/housing-and-homelessness/welcomehome. For more information about the Portage County Land Bank, visit www.pclandbank.org.
Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage delivers $780,000 to create new affordable housing
