Choice neighborhood

Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority is pleased to be the recipient of a 7-year, $29.7 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) Implementation Grant awarded in June 2014 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grant, along with commitments of $225 million in funding and programming from more than 45 local organizations, will be used to redevelop the Poindexter Village public housing site as a catalyst for transformation of the Near East Side PACT neighborhood. The project is being undertaken with the help of many local and national organizations, neighborhood stakeholders, and residents, who have come together to affect real change and create opportunities within the Near East Side area. The PACT Blueprint for Community Investment serves as the basis for our CNI transformation plan.

The Choice initiative includes has three major components: 1) Housing--redevelopment of the Poindexter Village site; 2) People--supportive services and education, primarily focused on former Poindexter Village households; and 3) Neighborhood--physical and economic development projects within the Near East Side geography. The lead organizations for the Columbus CNI are:

• Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (Grantee and Housing Co-Lead)
• McCormack Baron Salazar (Housing Co-Lead)
• City of Columbus (Neighborhood Lead)
• Urban Strategies Inc. (People Lead)
• Columbus City Schools (Education Lead)
• Partners Achieving Community Transformation (PACT) (Sustaining Entity)

For background information about our Choice Neighborhoods grant go here;

Learn about Section 3 employment and contracting opportunities related to the implementation of CNI on our Section 3 page.

Contact Us

If you have questions about the Columbus Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, contact:

Robert Bitzenhofer, Vice President for Planning and Development
Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority
rbitzenhofer@cmhanet.com