6th and Washington – They want what!?

A developer has made a proposal to turn an area of green space in downtown Columbus into an apartment building with retail space on the first floor, and they’re asking the city to give them nearly 40% of the cost of the project. Seriously?

Grace Kestler, seeking re-election to city council this fall, has done a nice job breaking down the details for us all. I’ll paraphrase what she’s posted on her website and Facebook page here:

Property – Green space just north of Viewpoint Books and next to the Cummins parking garage between 6th and 7th streets along the west side of Washington Street.

Ownership – Cummins owns the property. About 10 years ago when the company built a parking garage on part of a vacant lot, it was asked to develop the rest of the property. For whatever reason, that never happened. In the meantime, the space became a green space, and the public grew to love it. It is zoned for residential and retail.

Proposed project – A developer (the same one that is building The Taylor – a 200-unit apartment complex on 2nd St.) wants to build a 57-unit apartment complex with the potential for retail or commercial on the first floor on the green space. Cummins would sell the land to the developer. These units will likely be market-rate, $1,500+ in rent.

Subsidy request – The developer is requesting that the city of Columbus give it $5.8 million toward the $15 million budget. That’s nearly 39.7% of the cost of the project. For comparison’s sake, the council gave the same developer for $11.8 million toward the $41 million Taylor project, a little less than 30% of the cost.

Housing crisis – We do have a housing crisis here, and this plot of land being developed in the way it’s proposed won’t solve the concerns of those who need the most support.

Grace’s concern – Why aren’t we asking more in return from developers, when in just a handful of years they will be turning a profit? When giving subsidies, many other communities require a number of things included in the projects, such as some affordable housing, green-certified, amazing top designs, aging in place, etc.

Grace’s wishes – We should be collaborating with property owners to ensure developments are beneficial to all community members. We should constantly be asking, “Does this make sense now?’” Even if it did before, in a post-Covid world maybe it doesn’t anymore. Maybe the community wants and needs something different. Subsidizing a for-profit developer at this level of funding is not the answer.

My take – I’ve always said that if you’re going to give a business money (whether that’s in the form of tax breaks or subsidies), you better be getting something in return that really adds needed value to your city. I love supporting local business. But I don’t see the logic in handing a company 40% of the cost of a housing project, when:

*We’re waiting to see how many of the 200 similarly priced apartments get rented a few blocks away and already have The Cole downtown.

*The city just commissioned a new housing study.

*We already know we lag in “affordable” housing options (housing that doesn’t cost more than 30% of your income).

If Cummins wishes to sell to a developer that’s going to put high-end apartments in, that’s their business. But in the housing climate we see ourselves in right now, I don’t think the residents of this city need to pay the developer 40 percent of the cost to do it. It would be different if we didn’t already have The Cole downtown and The Taylor on its way to satisfy that market.

TIF – There’s also a Tax Increment Financing deal with this property, too. It’s part of a TIF district now, but there’s a proposal to split it off on its own to reset the clock. This isn’t as big a deal to me as the subsidy request.

Important dates (subject to change)

Monday, August 21st at the Redevelopment Commission meeting (4PM) the project agreement will be discussed – aka the subsidy for financing.  If the agreement is approved at the August 21st Redevelopment Commission meeting, it will be on the September 5th City Council (6PM) agenda for consideration.

All meetings held at City Hall.

What can you do?

• Attend the next Redevelopment meeting – share your concerns about subsidizing high-end for-profit developers
• Reach out to Redevelopment and share your concerns about the subsidy or other pieces of the project
• Reach out to your city councilor – emails HERE

Please reach out to Grace at that link or to me if you have any questions or comments!