“The ability to find a rental property for less than $1,500 a month is nearly impossible now, but it’s not because of immigration,” she said.
“Some of it is because Ohio is the new ‘Silicon Valley’ with Intel building here,” Meadows said. “Because property values in Columbus have gone up, we have people coming here after selling their Columbus homes and waiting till their new house is constructed.”
Intel is investing more than $20 billion toward construction of two leading-edge semi-conductor chip facilities in Licking County. The investment is anticipated to create 7,000 jobs during construction and 3,000 Intel jobs once complete. There is also a potential for expansion in chip production and thousands of additional long-term jobs with suppliers and partners.
Meadows also said the city has had a shortfall in new housing development over many years that also drives demand.
“It’s critical that families have access to affordable housing. The city is partnering with neighborhoods and developers to address the need.”
She cited plans for the Rose Commons apartment complex on the west side as an example.
“We haven’t seen new development in the west end in decades,” she said. “I’m not willing to work with just any developer projects like this. This development is a project of the Hope Foundation and Woda Cooper. They have a history of working with the city.”
She said the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation developed the affordable homes for seniors on the former Community Hospital property. Woda built the Hayden House Senior Living complex on South Wittenberg.
“Their property management and model works,” Meadows said.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Rose Commons will have 40 apartments, dedicated green space and a family playground. It will be located on the site of the former Clark Junior High School. Family units will offer up to three bedrooms, and children will attend Fulton Elementary School. Current plans call for the development to break ground early next spring, and officials anticipate completion and opening about 13 months later.
Eight of the apartment units will be designated as permanent supportive housing and others may or may not qualify for rental subsidy depending upon whether residents qualify for the Housing Choice Voucher.
“Housing Choice Vouchers are a good thing for neighborhoods because they require a background check for residents and require annual inspections to ensure the property is properly maintained. Both of those things are good for neighbors,” Meadows said.
In response to a question about whether people are coming from out of our region and using local resources such as shelters, Meadows was adamant in saying data does not support that charge.
“People are not being turned away from shelters because of immigrants,” she said. “Haitians in our community are not using local shelters, and suggestions that they are being sheltered while veterans are being turned away — that’s not happening,”
She predicted the number of homeless will decline as the weather gets colder.
“When the weather gets colder, numbers typically go down until about April … the people we do see that are homeless in winter may have behavioral health problems or addiction concerns that prevent them from qualifying for shelter support,” Meadows said. “When weather becomes life-threatening, we have emergency weather shelters and partnerships through the Nehemiah Foundation to serve those who are endangered.”
She also shared her surprise to discover that social media may also be playing a role in the homeless crisis.
“I didn’t believe it, but people are posting videos of themselves living in their cars and they’re gaining a lot of social media attention,” she said.
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