MANSFIELD — Greg Baron isn’t giving up on building an affordable senior housing development where the former Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center once stood.
Baron told members of the Richland County Land Bank this week that his employer, Wisconsin-based developer Volker, is working on a revised application for state tax credits designed to spur the creation of affordable housing.
Volker’s original agreement to purchase the land is contingent on it securing affordable housing funds from the state.
The land bank agreed to amend that purchase agreement, extending the date of closing until March 1, 2027.
The extension will give Volker time to apply for a nine percent tax credit through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
Volker previously applied for a four percent tax credit through OHFA, but was waitlisted.
Plans for Ocie Hill to be tweaked to include fewer units
Baron said Volker is planning to alter its plans for the site this time around, proposing a two-story development, rather than three-story, to better align with Mansfield zoning codes.
That change will reduce the number of units to 50. Volker’s previous plans were for a development of between 85 and 102 units.
Like the earlier proposal, the development would be an independent, senior housing complex with one- and two-bedroom units available to individuals 55 and older. The apartments would be restricted to those making between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income.
Baron said the development will likely still include open concept layouts, a common laundry area, an outdoor walking path, a covered patio and a senior fitness center.
“There could be some minor differences, for example, common area laundry vs. in-unit laundry for each unit,” he said in an email to Richland Source. “We are still hashing out these details.”
Baron said he was still working the project architect to finalize the plans, but would provide updates to the land bank board.
The preliminary tax credit application is due to OHFA on Feb. 26. Baron said the agency is scheduled to announce its “list of recipients” in May.
Baron said after that, applicants on that list will be invited to submit a final application in the fall.
Baron said Volker is working with the North End Community Improvement Collaborative on the application, drawing on the organization’s knowledge of community needs.
Matthew Benko-Scruggs, CEO of the NECIC, said the organization is “very much in support” of the proposal.
“We’re very excited,” he said during the board meeting. “We didn’t think it would happen so fast.”
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry also expressed her support for the plan.
“I actually like paring back the number of units a little bit anyways because I think we might have run into some zoning issues on the third floor,” she said. “I think this works better, keeps it more in line with the neighborhood.”
The Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center
The century-old building on the property was named for Ocie Hill, the 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.
Throughout the years, the structure had been 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.
At the time, then-Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker said he was not optimistic the building could be saved, saying estimates to replace the boiler, windows, doors and other required work could cost several million dollars.
Mansfield City Council voted in 2021 to give the property to the Land Bank, which demolished the building in 2023.
The Richland County Land Bank, which now owns the two parcels at 455 Bowman St., arranged the meeting at the North End Community Improvement Collaborative building on Springmill Street.
