Cincinnati Housing Partners (CHP) has broken ground on phase two of the Lockland Revitalization Project at the corner of Elm and Mulberry streets.
Of the eight new homes, six will be built in the two-story "Lydia" style, while two of the homes will be traditional ranches, also known as the "Lorraine" style.
The homes will sell for around $135,000, providing affordable housing that helps stabilize the neighborhood.
Early last month, the dedication of Mayor Jim Brown Park, on Elm Street land that had once contained blighted, crime-ridden housing, helped set that tone of stability.
"This is one of those projects that people get into public service for," says Village of Lockland administrator David Krings. "Every small step we've taken is one step for a better community. You can see just by walking around Lockland how it really is a community on a rebound."
To aid the project, CHP received a $450,000
Ohio Housing Finance Agency grant and financial assistance from the Hamilton County Department of Community Development and National City Bank.
"With FHL bank loans and a soft second mortgage from Hamilton County, it's conceiveable that a homebuyer's mortgage could be between $75,000 and $80,000," says Bonnie Blankenship, president and CEO of CHP. "The subsidy is key to our houses moving as quickly as they do. And we're building the best quality home that can be provided - homes that we would want to live in ourselves."
Since 1999, Cincinnati Housing Partners has built 20 houses in Lockland.
CHP is also working on housing initiatives in St. Bernard, North College Hill, and in its home neighborhood of Carthage.
Writer:
Kevin LeMaster
Source: Bonnie Blankenship, president and CEO, Cincinnati Housing Partners
Photography provided by CHP
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