Spring is in the air and construction on the third and final phase of Legacy Pointe at Poindexter is kicking into high gear. To view photos of the final phase of this development, click here. Legacy Pointe sits in the heart of Columbus' historic Near East Side Neighborhood. With our partners, McCormack Baron Salazar, HUD, City of Columbus, OCCH, OHFA, and many others, CMHA has transformed the former Poindexter Village public housing site. When complete, Legacy Pointe, Poindexter Place (senior housing), and the historic Ohio Day Nursery building, located at 162 N. Ohio Avenue, will offer 450 units of mixed-income housing. Smoot Construction is the general contractor on the project.

Today, CMHA is releasing its 2019 Public Policy Agenda. This document identifies CMHA’s top federal, state, and local public policy priorities for the year.

At the federal level, CMHA strongly supports full funding for the Section 8 Tenant-Based Rental Assistance account, which includes Housing Choice Voucher renewal funding and the Voucher Administrative Fee that helps support the staff necessary to administer the program. CMHA also supports commonsense reforms to the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program, including establishing a permanent 4% Housing Credit rate for LIHTC transactions financed with tax-exempt bonds. In addition, CMHA will continue to advocate for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to fund the National Housing Trust Fund, a resource that targets building, rehabilitating, preserving, and operating rental housing for extremely low-income families.

CMHA’s top state priority is the continued modernization of Ohio’s housing authority laws. These laws were originally written in the 1930s and need updating to reflect the lessons learned over 85 years of providing housing for low-income residents of our community. CMHA will also continue to support expanding the Ohio Housing Trust fund, a flexible funding source that provides affordable housing opportunities, expands housing services, and improves housing conditions for low-income Ohioans and families.

Local governments are an indispensable component of the solution to battle the affordable housing crisis in Central Ohio. Therefore, CMHA stands ready to support both the City of Columbus and Franklin County as they look to rollout new affordable housing initiatives this year.

To view the complete 2019 Public Policy Agenda, click here.

Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) is breathing new life into Franklin County’s first early education center for African American children.

First known as the Ohio Avenue Day Nursery, the property that sits at 162 North Ohio Avenue on the Near East Side of Columbus was constructed in 1917. where it was a staple of the community. The Ohio Avenue Day Nursery, and later the Columbus Early Learning Centers (CELC), served African American children in the neighborhood until 2014 when CELC moved to its current location at the Champion Intergenerational Center, just a stone’s throw away.

CMHA purchased the property from the CELC in 2017, a century after it opened its doors to the children of the Near East Side. Shortly thereafter, CMHA began working on a plan to save the building and repurpose it as housing.

Upon completion, this property will feature ten market rate apartments. The design will mesh classic and contemporary styles; highlighting its storied past while providing high quality amenities for those who will call this historic site home. Units will showcase some of the original exposed brick along with wood finishes, Shaker cabinets, and sleek quartz countertops. There will also be a large, outdoor community area at the rear of the property.

CMHA and Construction crews from Elford Inc. began working late in 2018.

CMHA will unveil the new name for the property as we get closer to completing the rehab work this fall.

This historic property sits at the southwest corner of Legacy Pointe at Poindexter. CMHA and our partner McCormack Baron Salazar developed Legacy Pointe as part of our $30-million Choice Neighborhood Implementation (CNI) grant. The CNI grant, awarded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has been a catalyst for transforming the Near East Side community, having leveraged over $225 million in public and private funding. When completed, we will have built 450 new, mixed-income units of housing at the site of the former Poindexter Village public housing property.