Athens will receive a $2 million grant from the Welcome Home Ohio program, a state initiative signed into action by Gov. Mike Dewine in July 2023.
The $2 million grant comes from a third round of funding with the Welcome Home Ohio program, which was almost $25.9 million.
The state program is focused on offering Ohio counties the proper resources to build and establish housing options that are affordable for local communities, according to a press release from the Ohio Department of Development.
The program offers three main benefits: it helps Ohio counties purchase eligible residential property, covers the cost of rehabilitation and construction of said property and issues tax credits once the property is built and sold.
Athens County currently deals with poverty and a lack of housing options, with a poverty rate of 21.6%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The program has a competitive application process to determine recipients, according to Mason Waldvogel, deputy chief of media relations at the ODD. Athens applied in June 2024 and was notified of their approved grant money in October.
“Athens demonstrated a strong vision for impactful housing projects in their community, which was clearly outlined in their application,” Waldvogel wrote in an email. “They also documented their capacity to successfully complete these projects and provided the necessary ordinances to support their eligibility.”
Meghan Jennings, the Athens city planner, said the city originally submitted an application to receive $3.5 million to develop 14 housing units. The city will instead receive just over $2 million to build eight housing units.
Although Athens has not received the grant money yet, the city plans to purchase vacant lots in order to construct these new housing options.
Jennings could not disclose the location of the plots where the city plans to build the housing units, as the agreements have not been solidified.
“We’re looking at vacant lots throughout town, and working with those private property owners on agreements, ” Jennings said.
Each housing unit will be at least 1,000 square feet, house one family and cost between $150,000-180,000.
“The State of Ohio requires these housing units to be owner-occupied and affordable for 80% Area Medium Income (AMI) I for a minimum of 20 years,” Jennings wrote in an email. “Athens County's 80% AMI for the fiscal year 2024 is $46,100 for a 1-person family, and $65,850 for a 4-person family.”
Jennings explained that because the land would be purchased and owned by the city government, the revenue will be poured back into housing advancements.
“We get to keep the revenue from those initial sales, so that money will kind of actually go back into that funding,” Jennings said. “It's sort of like a revolving funding program.”
