Model Group work expands to north OTR

After selling all of their units available south of Liberty Street in OTR, The Model Group has set its sights on renovating 14 buildings north of Liberty to provide affordable housing. 

 

The North Rhine Heights Project is scheduled to be completed by late summer and includes buildings on various streets. The renovated buildings will offer high-quality housing for low-income residents. Low-income housing is determined by calculating 60 percent of the neighborhood's household median income. 

 

"The existing affordable housing was in really bad shape," says Bobby Maly, COO and principal at The Model Group. "In a neighborhood like Over the Rhine, you want a good mix of market rate and affordable housing, but it all needs to be high-quality."

 

With continued renovations in the Gateway District, The Model Group looked for a new focus area. With much of the area north of Liberty Street still blighted, The Model Group went to work the build affordable housing that is indistinguishable from its market-rate neighbors. With the help of Federal Historic Tax Credits, The Model Group will open 65 newly renovated units this year. The Model Group sees the new rehabs as replicating the work they did south of Liberty. With all their completed condos sold out, the area north of Liberty was chosen because of its potential. 

 

"We went in with the same idea we had when working on our developments in other areas, and that is blight is blight, no matter where it is," Maly says. "Blight deters investment, and we want to turn that around."

 

The Model Group has spent more than $100,000 on police details in the neighborhood while completing the rehabs, which Maly hopes will also contribute to further revitalization. 
 

"We want to make the neighborhood safer for investment," Maly says. "We worked on making high-quality affordable housing a priority in other areas, so we're doing the same with this project."