How Columbus plans to stem its housing shortage
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Columbus entered 2023 mired in a housing shortage and is on pace to end the year falling even further behind.
Why it matters: The region's population is growing rapidly, but home and apartment construction is not keeping up with rising demand.
Driving the news: Columbus is on track to add just 5,500 new housing units in 2023 — hundreds fewer than were built here in 2022, per data shared with us by Erin Prosser, the city's assistant director of housing strategy.
- To adequately meet this population growth and make up for years of under-building, Columbus needs to start adding 10,000-15,000 units per year, according to City Council data.
- Central Ohio needs at least 22,000 new units annually, Prosser says.
Yes, but: High interest rates and construction costs remain significant hurdles for developers, especially in affordable housing projects that yield less lucrative returns.
- In recent years, Columbus has offered tax abatements to developers who build in specific neighborhoods that may not have seen investments otherwise.
The latest: Council recently voted to expand this tax break to nearly the entire city.
- Developers will still need to set aside 20% of units for affordable housing to be eligible for an abatement.
What they're saying: "We are taking action now so that when we welcome another million neighbors to our region in the next 25 years, we are ready for it," Council President Shannon Hardin said before last week's vote.
- So that "as we get bigger, we also get better, more equitable, more dynamic, more open," he said.
- Carlie Boos, executive director of the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, championed the move as "welcoming affordability everywhere it's needed."
The other side: Joe Motil, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor this year, contends the tax break expansion will have a "negative impact" on social services and public education.
- "It's as if you guys have a designated private ATM machine for developers and corporations," he wrote in a statement on X.
What we're watching: This vote is part of the City Council's broader housing strategy.
- Council members say it will eventually include a zoning code rewrite, new regulations on wholesale purchases by real estate investors and a registry of vacant properties to help boost supply.