MANSFIELD — A Wisconsin-based affordable housing developer has submitted an offer to purchase the site of the former Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center.
Völker presented its proposal Monday afternoon to the board of the Richland County Land Bank, which owns the site.
Völker also presented an offer to purchase the property contingent on receiving tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to help fund the project.
The land bank board chose to table that offer for further discussion after a near-hour long executive session.
About Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center
The Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center was named for Mansfield’s first Black resident to be elected to Mansfield City Council. Hill was also the longest serving individual on council in the history of Mansfield, serving from 1961 to 1991.
The building was located in the heart of Mansfield’s North End. Throughout the years, it was known as the Creveling School, the Mansfield Opportunities Industrial Center, the Human Resource Bureau and the Neighborhood Youth Corps.
The City of Mansfield purchased the building in 1988 and it was home to more than a dozen non-profit and government agencies. It also had a gymnasium used by children and hosted after school-programs like the Culliver Reading Center.
The city closed the building in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and it never reopened.
Mansfield City Council voted in 2021 to give the property to the Land Bank.
What’s being proposed?
The proposed facility would be an independent, senior housing complex with one- and two-bedroom units available to individuals 55 and older.
Greg Baron, Völker’s managing director of development, said units would be available to households earning between 30 and 80 percent of the average median income.
Baron said units would offer open concept layouts and amenities including a common laundry area, senior fitness center, outdoor walking path and covered patio.
Land bank executive director Amy Hamrick said “no decisions have been made” on Völker’s offer. Board chair Bart Hamilton said there will likely be public meetings to gather community input.
Mansfield mayor pushes for ‘request for proposal’ before sale
Prior to the executive session, Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry expressed concern about inconsistency with the board’s development approach for large properties.
Hamrick confirmed the board’s development committee had previously discussed the Ocie Hill property and its recommendation was to release an RFP.
“We said we wanted to do RFPs for large parcels of land — the Y, Ocie Hill and Westinghouse,” Perry said, citing conversations with the land bank board’s development committee.
“We’re either going through a process or we’re not,” the mayor said.
Perry said she’d like to give other developers the chance to submit ideas and include more community feedback.
“There’s nobody here from the North End. Nobody’s talked to NECIC (the North End Community Improvement Collaborative) about this,” Perry said.
“This is nothing against Völker,” Perry added. “I have spoken with Greg (Baron). I think they are very able developers. They’re people I would love to work with and we have talked about other parcels.”
After Perry asked about Völker’s knowledge of the the neighborhood, Baron said the team had read news articles about the area and believed it meets the guidelines for OHFA tax credits, but that working with local community stakeholders would be part of its development process.
Perry said, “It just seems maybe a little backwards to be making an offer when you don’t know the neighborhood that you’re trying to go into yet.”
Hamrick also shared the results from a survey conducted by NECIC in 2023 on the future of the Ocie Hill site.
More than one in five respondents said they’d like to see senior housing on the lot, while 16 percent said they’d like to see low-income housing. Other popular responses were a grocery store (14 percent), impact center (8 percent) community garden (7 percent) and market rate housing (6 percent.)
Land bank receives state funding to remove underground storage tanks from neighboring lot
Hamrick also announced the land bank will receive $269,730 in funding from the Ohio Department of Development. The land bank will use the funds to remove underground petroleum storage tanks at 474 Bowman St., the site of a former gas station.
Mansfield City Council voted in February to pay the required local match for the ODOD grant, $91,868.35, using PRIDE tax revenue.
According to Hamrick, the gas station operated from 1929 to 1972.
The board also approved a change order with R&D Excavating for the Broadway and Main street project in Shelby. The change order for $24,163 will ensure sidewalks are wide enough to conform to Shelby city ordinances.