(Cleveland, OH) September 16, 2009—The NRP Group and MiraCit Development Corporation announced Dan Tangherlini, Assistant Secretary of Treasury Management will be speaking at the North Central Village ground breaking ceremony, Friday, September 18, 2009 at 1843 E. Hudson Street, Columbus, OH beginning at 2:00 PM. State and Local dignitaries include Doug Garver, Executive Director, Ohio Housing Finance Agency; Gloria Zebbs Anderson, Argyle Park Civic Association; Hal Keller, President, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, Sharon Francis, MiraCit Development Corporation, Aaron Pechota, Vice President, Development NRP Group.
North Central Village is the first development to receive Tax Credit Exchange (TCE) housing funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in Ohio. The Ohio Finance Agency (OHFA) announced the $3.3 million allocation to North Central Village in Columbus, a 74-unit affordable senior community situated in 12 one-story buildings that replaces a blighted mobile park on the east side of Columbus.
"Our efforts to revitalize and strengthen Ohio's neighborhoods and communities have been bolstered by the stimulus funding created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We have utilized this opportunity to maximize the financial support necessary for the development of affordable housing," said Doug Garver, Executive Director of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. "We are working closely with the NRP Group to develop North Central Village and are pleased to have awarded them the first assistance through the Tax Credit Exchange program in the state. When the facility is completed, members of Columbus' senior community will have access to safe, quality affordable housing they can proudly call home."
NRP has joined forces with MiraCit Development Corporation, a neighborhood based nonprofit organization to develop North Central Village as part of an overall revitalization plan for the Mock Road neighborhood. The development will act as a cornerstone to the neighborhood's redevelopment activities which include 344 residential units built or rehabbed representing $50 million of investment in the neighborhood in the last 10 years.
"This project was truly an overall community plan. It is a milestone for everyone—those individuals who have been suffering from the blight, local neighborhood and community groups, the City of Columbus, MiraCit Development Corporation, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, US Bank, as well as The NRP Group," said Aaron Pechota, Vice President Development, The NRP Group LLC. "North Central Village is a critical component to the city and a local urban revitalization effort as it replaces blight with new, high quality, affordable senior housing."
Co-developer MiraCit Development Corporation has been driving much of the housing and commercial revitalization efforts in the neighborhood for more than 15 years. Under the leadership of Dr. Edgar Posey, the faith-based organization has developed over 275 units of affordable and market-rate housing, including the Green View Estates subdivision, hailed as the City's first "green" residential community. OHFA recently awarded the development its "Sustainable Homeownership Excellence Award." Other projects include the Hegemon Crest subdivision, site of the first "Urban Festival of Homes," as well as the Seniors at Hegemon elderly apartments. As a certified community housing development organization, MiraCit has been able to access funding through local, county, state, and federal sources, to ensure that units are affordable to residents.