The Columbus City Council on Tuesday will consider rezoning property where Thrive Alliance plans to build a housing complex for low-income families and seniors.
The council will vote on the first reading of an ordinance to rezone the former Columbus Health & Rehabilitation facility site at 2100 Midway St. from Public & Semi-Public Facilities (P) to Residential: Multi-Family (RM).
Ordinances must be passed on two readings to be approved.
The meeting will be at 6 p.m. in the council chambers. The agenda and supporting documents can be found at www.columbus.in.gov/city-hall/documents/.
The development could potentially include up to 128 affordable housing units at a time when there is in dire need in Columbus and around the country.
Pew Research Center used the most recent census data from 2020 and found that 46% of American renters spent 30% or more of their income on housing, including 23% who spent at least 50% of their income. Additionally, according to a 2024 report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, asking rents remain above pre-pandemic levels and affordability conditions are the worst on record.
Housing Partnerships Inc., a non-profit that does business as Thrive Alliance, bought the 7.6-acre property for $1.5 million on March 22 and plans to apply for federal Low Income Housing Credits and accept Section 8 vouchers, The Republic previously reported.
The Columbus Plan Commission during their meeting on May 8 voted 10-0 to issue a favorable recommendation to rezone the property to allow for the development. The favorable recommendation included a commitment that there be a right-of-way dedication on Midway Street and that a sidewalk be included with the property’s redevelopment.
Kevin Johnson, executive director of Housing Partnerships at Thrive Alliance told The Republic they will also be awaiting the results of the city’s first housing study in over a decade to help decide what to do on the site, although he said their “dream” is to put a multifamily project there.
Currently, Thrive Alliance is hoping to build 64 units on the property for families that incorporates child care and would also be open to the community, Johnson said.
Additionally, the organization plans to build another 64 units for seniors with hopes of connecting the two areas and setting up an area for the seniors to connect with young people living in the family development to “help break down social isolation.”
Johnson said he hopes to break ground on the project by late spring or summer 2025, with construction tentatively expected to take around 18 months. That would mean residents likely would not be moving in until at least late 2026.
Johnson said Thrive Alliance is planning to “go after multiple streams of funding” for the project, which is estimated to cost about $14 million.
The proposed affordable housing development comes as city is poised to lose 99 affordable housing units after BHI Senior Care announced that it would close The Villas apartments, 4101 Waycross Drive, next year.
