MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Land Bank, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, will use $2,460,000 to build workforce housing on Columbus Road.
The funding is part of the first round of the Welcome Home Ohio program, which invests $100 million in grants over two years to help land banks purchase, rehabilitate, or build qualifying residential properties for income-eligible Ohioans.
Once a property is sold, land banks and eligible developers can receive an additional $50 million in nonrefundable tax credits for rehab and new construction projects.
The state dollars enable Habitat for Humanity to build 12 homes on lots the Foundation Park Conservancy donated to the land bank.
Habitat Executive Director Terry Schulz said the money means “everything” to the organization.
“This opportunity to work with the land bank not only making a difference in one or two families’ lives this year but to be able to make an impact in six families lives through home ownership opportunities is huge,” he said.
“It’s the most construction our organization has done in a a calendar year cycle.”
Typically, the nonprofit builds two homes a year.
Habitat will build 12 homes on infill lots in South Vernon over a two-year period. Most of the workforce housing units will be on Columbus Road, but a few will be on side streets.
The land bank will use the grant money to buy the homes from Habitat and then sell the homes to qualified applicants. The maximum sale price is $180,000.
Because the program designates land banks as the receiving entity for the money, the state requires the land bank to sell the homes. The land bank will use sale proceeds to rehab other qualified homes.
Affordable workforce housing: Achieving the American Dream
“Home ownership has long been a fundamental part of the American Dream, but that dream is often too far out of reach for many people to achieve,” Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik said in a press release announcing the grants.
“With Welcome Home Ohio funding, we’re rewriting that narrative and creating real opportunities for all Ohioans, regardless of their income, to experience the joy of having a home they can call their own.”
Schulz said three families from Habitat’s Fall 2023 application period have signed agreements with the organization.
An application period in April garnered 20 applications.
“The application process is much more structured than a typical bank application,” Schulz said. “We’re looking at the ability to pay, but we’re also looking at the need and the willingness to partnership.”
Habitat board members select the applicants. If the board lacks qualified applicants, it will open another application cycle.
“We already have three approved, so we are actually ready to break ground for those three families,” Schulz said.
Construction timeline
Schulz expects to break ground on the first home at 47 Columbus Road within 30 days.
“We have to apply to Clinton Township to get the final permits,” he said. “We should have heavy equipment there in less than a month.”
Of the six homes planned for this year, Habitat will build two. Schulz is finalizing details for the other four.
“We were waiting to make sure that we had the grant before we signed on contractors,” he explained.
He also hopes to partner with a modular home builder in 2025.
Schulz said Habitat will recruit staff and volunteers and prepare for potential future grant funding.
“We still want to be able to get these homes done in the timeline. Having contractors and modular home construction is a way for us to accomplish that perfectly,” he said.
Energy-efficient workforce housing
The second home is slated for 61 Columbus Road. Habitat will partner with the Knox County Career Center, the National Concrete Association, and others on an insulating concrete form (ICF) build.
Schulz said the building method has been around for years. However, it is gaining popularity with increased lumber prices.
“There are numerous benefits to doing insulated concrete forms over lumber, one of them being that all of these homes on the south side of Columbus Road are in the 100-year flood plain. Having a concrete support for the structure is much more impervious to potential flood issues,” he explained.
Career center students already underwent ICF training last year.
The houses on lots 47 and 61 are similar, and Habitat will track the energy costs.
“We expect to see more cost savings with the ICF building than stick-build because of the natural insulating properties of concrete,” Schulz said.
About Welcome Home Ohio
The Ohio General Assembly created the Welcome Home Ohio program in the biennium budget bill, House Bill 33. The Department of Development administers the program.
The program will award $29,482,200 across 17 counties to support the creation of 263 owner-occupied, single-family workforce housing units.
“The need for safe and affordable housing is a national challenge that requires proactive solutions, meaningful investments, and strong collaboration across all levels of government,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in a press release.
“This program represents an innovative and forward-thinking approach that addresses the barriers many Ohioans face when trying to buy a home.”
“We’re not using this as something that we will do and then be done. This is a launching point to bigger things and other opportunities,” Schulz said of the grant money.
“We’re at the starting point with assistance from this grant, but we’re certainly not going to rest on our laurels.”