Blair Lofts rising: the Avondale Development Corporation housing plan in action

In July, representatives from Avondale, the City of Cincinnati, Avondale Development Corporation and all manner of community partners gathered for the ceremonial groundbreaking for Blair Lofts. The official start of this $15.2 million housing development is the latest step in the implementation of ADC’s housing strategy, which is designed to ensure housing choices that respect and sustain a vibrant Avondale.

Blair Lofts will feature 64 low income units with a mix of one and two bedroom apartments. Ten three bedroom units will be reserved for residents at or below 30% and 60% of the area median income. It is being developed by Fairfield Homes and Kingsley + Co. The final pieces of the project came together in June, when Cincinnati City Council voted to allocate $300,000 from the Avondale tax-increment financing district to the project, which helped complete its capital stack, and a 15-year property tax abatement valued at $1.9 million.

Blair Lofts shows how collaboration can overcome the challenges of developing low income housing projects. Local Initiatives Support Corporation – Cincinnati served as the pre-development funder. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the City of Cincinnati provided gap financing. Uptown Consortium, Inc. is the project advisor. The Port has formal ownership of the property for tax purposes and will sell revenue bonds to build the project backed by tenants’ rents once the project is build. The project has a 25% MBE/WBE subcontractor goal, toward which ADC – which is serving as master developer – will work with WEB Ventures.