Tom Franzen, Springfield’s development director and assistant city manager, said that although it’s difficult to determine what the housing market will look like 10 years from now, the city will need a variety of living spaces.
Nationally, the population of renters is growing to outpace the homeowner population. Springfield in the last 10 years has also seen the ratio of renters to homeowners skew to renters being the primary dweller in the city, according to a 2019 housing analysis by the Greater Ohio Policy Center.
“People’s idea of the American dream used to be home ownership, and certainly that’s changing,” Franzen said.
Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said current townhome development proves there’s a market and interest among people to live in the downtown’s core. The Shawnee apartments were the only residential development downtown for the longest time, but then came Johnson Flats and Delcamp Loft condos.
Current development could encourage other developers to bring more market rate apartments to downtown, Heck said.
“I think you’re going to see some growth around residential development in our downtown, and I think that speaks to the revitalization that’s been going on for 10 plus years, drawing interest in adding new investment, both commercial and now residential,” Heck said.
A need for diverse housing types is seen in the city among an aging population: people are leaving their large homes and going into local condos in order to downsize, but also stay near family.
A housing development project expected to bring more than 1,200 housing units at the old Melody drive-in theater in Springfield Twp. will offer a mix of housing types over the next 10 years, according to Columbus-based developer Borror.
The development company is investing more than $400 million into the project, called Melody Parks, a nod to the former drive-in. Housing units in the Melody Parks community will vary from single-family homes to multi-family homes and patio-style homes. The patio and multi-family homes are expected to be rentable units, according to Borror.
Borror president Jeff Fontaine said the housing units can appeal to both first-time home buyers and also people looking to downsize to a Ranch style living space. A diversity of single adults, families and seniors are expected to live in the community.
“That’s what building a thriving community is really about,” he said. “It’s about jointly creating holistic communities, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The development will include landscaping and greenery in addition to future mixed-use development and land for retail, restaurants and other commercial uses. Contracts have not been signed yet with any business, but Fontaine said Borror has been “courting” numerous businesses for these spaces: regional restaurants looking to expand, national brands in Ohio’s “Big C’s,” grocers, consumer goods companies and quick service or fast casual restaurants are all negotiating within the company.
“We are looking to build out a diverse use there,” Fontaine said.
The development’s application to rezone the 378-acre property proposed for the housing community was approved by Springfield City Commission in June.
The appeal of housing in the city, too, can see gains given the move of many companies to develop flexible workplaces: a trend that developed quickly given the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Remote work is going to stay with us,” said Greater Springfield Partnership president and CEO Mike McDorman. “That is changing the landscape of many communities, and we want to be a community of choice, where if you are a remote worker, this is a cool downtown to live in.”
The city is already witnessing a migration from Columbus to Springfield, particularly among people in the 30 to 50 age group. Horton Hobbs , vice president of economic development for the Greater Springfield Partnership,said the partnership expects that this movement is where it will see its “biggest advantage.”
Former Columbus residents are being attracted to the area for the city’s proximity to Interstate 70 for quick commutes, the lower cost of living within Springfield compared to major Ohio cities and the lower housing prices. Homes at the Bridgewater development, for example, would sell for double their price here in Columbus, according to Hobbs and McDorman.
Nearly 50% of people looking at homes in the Springfield area in the past year, Hobbs said, were from the Columbus market.
“If we have that growth there, that becomes sustainable,” he said. “Those are your taxpayers. Those are the ones going to your schools. Those are the ones who are spending money in your community.”
Housing options, too, will extend past the county seat in the coming years, county leaders say.
Ethan Harris, Clark County’s development director, said that the county is constantly approached by developers seeking opportunities to create housing in Springfield and beyond.
Areas that have access to utilities — water, sewer, and internet service — are considered by developers. Housing developments have been primarily clustered in the Springfield area for this reason.
An upcoming “game changer,” as Harris said, is the project to extend broadband services to underserved parts of the county through American Rescue Plan Act dollars.
The Clark County Commission last year authorized a $3 million allocation of the federal relief to bring reliable internet access to underserved areas of Clark County, expected to impact more than 1,000 homes.
This is the second phase of the project, with the first phase bringing service to 415 homes in the county with $3 million in CARES Act funding.
Hobbs and McDorman also pointed to proposed housing opportunities in western Clark County, with a few in the works for New Carlisle.
With the push forward, city leaders are working not to leave people behind in the process.
McDorman and Hobbs said the partnership is working with community groups to address issues with the city’s older housing stock. The city’s housing consortium, too, is working with potential homeowners seeking to buy up older housing finance that investment.
“I think one thing you need to be careful with for any housing strategy that is urban in nature with an older community with historic value is gentrification,” Hobbs said.
Heck said the city knows housing is needed “across all spectrums” and as new housing developments are proposed, the city continues to focus on revitalizing the city’s existing housing units.
“We can’t just core out our community by building these new housing developments on the outside,” he said. “We have to also focus on the interior.”
The city is partnering with area organizations to revitalize what they call “legacy neighborhoods” in the city’s south side. Springfield is investing $12 million toward the effort, with work beginning in late 2019. Focus areas span from Pleasant Street to Perrin Avenue, Limestone to Center Street and Center Street to Yellow Springs Street. Two phases are addressing neighborhoods that make up those streets, and work is ongoing, the city said.
“The idea is that we can keep going around the community, focusing on the strengths, weaknesses and assets that exist within each of those neighborhoods,” Heck said.
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