Elyria doesn't object to affordable housing project proposals

Three proposed affordable housing projects in Elyria will be eligible to compete for state tax credits after the city voted not to formally oppose any of the proposals. Elyria City Council voted last week not to object to any of the projects, all three of which include more than 100 units of affordable housing and are seeking to be a part of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency's 4 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC, program. The program grants developers a 4 percent federal tax credit to certain costs associated with the construction of affordable housing units. Under the program, only two projects per county will be granted funding in 2026, and the three Elyria projects will compete among themselves and with two additional projects located in Oberlin and Lorain. All of the projects have submitted applications to the Housing Finance Agency, and the cities in which they are located can choose to formally oppose projects, but none of the proposed projects in Elyria were objected to. City officials said the developers expect to learn whether they were accepted into the program in mid-October. The units in all three of the Elyria projects will be available only to those making less than or equal to 60 percent of the area median income, or AMI. Lorain County is located in the Elyria-Cleveland Housing Market Area, which also contains Cuyahoga, Medina, Geauga and Lake Counties. As of 2024, 60 percent of the area median income for that area was $40,860 for one person. For a household of four, 60 percent of the AMI was $58,320. Two of the projects in Elyria are general residency, meaning there will be no age restriction on residents, while one of them, McGregor Landing, will be available only to seniors aged 55 and older. McGregor Landing is also the smallest of the Elyria projects, as it is planned to have 115 one-bedroom, independent living units. The units will be in one three-story, 95,000-square-foot apartment building that will be constructed on Midway Boulevard/50th Street. The apartment will be built on the same campus as the McGregor Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, Center. The PACE Center, which is completed but has not yet opened, will serve to provide medical care and social services to seniors from across the county. The largest of the projects is Black River Landing, proposed by North Carolina-based South Creek Development LLC. The project would be built on West River Road North in Elyria and would include 122 units of affordable housing. The development will include 12 one-bedroom units, 74 two-bedroom units and 36 three-bedroom units with projected rents of roughly $968 for the one-bedroom units, $1,177 for the two-bedroom units and $1,422 for a three-bedroom. The total investment of the project is an expected $40.4 million. The third proposed project is located nearby at the intersection of Griswold Road and West River Road North and is called Griswold Grove. According to its OHFA application, Griswold Grove is a 120-unit project which will consist of one building to include all of the housing and the total development cost is a projected $31.9 million. Griswold Grove would have 60 one-bedroom units, 30 two-bedroom units and 30 three-bedroom units. Elyria Mayor Kevin Brubaker has said that the city is in need of more affordable housing, and the proposed projects would bring more residents and foot traffic to the area around Midway Mall, which is set to see a major overhaul when the former mall is redeveloped. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.