MANSFIELD — Richland County Land Bank Executive Director Amy Hamrick said she hasn’t given up on plans for an affordable senior housing complex on Mansfield’s north end.
Hamrick told land bank board members Wednesday she’d spoken with representatives from Volker, a Wisconsin-based affordable housing developer.
Volker has twice applied for state funds to build housing on the site of the former Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center at 445 Bowman St., property now owned by the land bank.
Both attempts failed to achieve state approval.
Nevertheless, Hamrick said, Volker seemingly reversed course after first signaling its intent to pull out of a purchase agreement with the land bank via email on May 26.
“I had called him the day I got the termination letter and we talked quite a bit about how important this was to the community,” Hamrick said.
“Late yesterday, (a Volker representative) called me and then sent me an email. They are going to commit to looking for other ways and funding sources to make this project move forward,” Hamrick said.
Hamrick said the board will need to vote on extending the original sales agreement at some point. It’s set to expire in July.
“They wanted some time to try to come up with different ideas before we enter into a new agreement, which may need to be a little bit longer,” Hamrick said. “I think a lot of us around this table are very happy that they’re going to stick with trying to figure out ways to fund it.”
Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry said she’s working to set up a meeting with the executive director of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, which administers state grants for low income housing development.
“The community is really supportive of this project, and it doesn’t seem to be scoring (high enough), and we’d really like to know why,” she said. “It has political support, neighborhood support (and) land bank support.”
Free WestingHOUSE Party celebrates historic site cleanup this weekend
The board also discussed the upcoming WestingHOUSE Party on Saturday at the former Westinghouse site at 200 E. Fifth St.
The festival’s purpose is celebrate the completed clean up efforts at the former industrial site, honor the contributions of Westinghouse to the community and celebrate its potential as a future driver of economic development in Mansfield.
The free event opens with a kids carnival at 10 a.m. and concludes with a fireworks show at dusk. Visitors can enjoy a volleyball tournament, live music, food trucks and a cash only beer garden.
One of the biggest attractions will be Elektro the Robot, the famous mechanical man introduced by Westinghouse during the 1939 World’s Fair.
Families will be able to participate in an “Elektro Experience,” featuring photo opportunities and a hands-on “Build-A-Robot” maker activity aimed at children and aspiring young inventors.
The event will be one of several free opportunities for fun this weekend. Mansfield’s Juneteenth celebration kicks off at 11 a.m. at Mansfield Senior High School, while Civil War Living History Days offers all-day entertainment at South Park on Saturday and Sunday.
