30-01-2025
Downtown demolition approved to make way for housing authority apartment complex
The former United Way headquarters Downtown will be demolished this spring to make way for a five-story mixed-income housing complex.
Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority plans to replace the three-story, 55-year-old building at 360 S. 3rd St. with the $29-million housing complex, called AspireColumbus.
AspireCOLUMBUS will include 82 apartments — 17 studios, 33 one bedrooms, 23 two bedrooms and nine three-bedrooms units — most of them aimed at middle- and low-wage families as well as people with disabilities, according to CMHA.
More: Columbus, Franklin County creating regional housing coalition to address affordability crisis
'Downtown Columbus is increasingly becoming a magnet for people of all income levels looking for a place to call home,' said CMHA Chief Operating Officer Scott Scharlach in a news release. 'CMHA is committed to ensuring affordable housing options will exist for residents to live, work and play Downtown.'
Of the 82 apartments, 70 will be reserved for tenants who make less than 80% of the area median income, which is $72,400 for an individual and $93,000 for a family of three.
Of those, 31 will be for tenants who make no more than 30% of the area median, which is $21,700 for an individual and $27,900 for a family of three. The remaining 12 apartments will be market rate.
In addition, at least 5% of the apartments will accommodate tenants with physical, visual and auditory challenges.
AspireColumbus is a scaled-down version of a plan CMHA originally proposed in 2022 that was 12 stories and included 135 apartments.
The Columbus Downtown Commission this week approved the demolition of the United Way building, allowing CMHA to move forward on the new plan.
'We are now going full steam ahead with this innovative and exciting development,' said Scharlach.
CMHA plans to demolish the former United Way building this spring and start construction this summer on the project, which is scheduled to open in 2026.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: United Way building to be razed to make way for CMHA affordable housing
