SHELBY — The Richland County Land Bank plans to apply for $2.5 million in state funds to build affordable housing in Mansfield and Shelby.
Welcome Home Ohio is a state-funded program aimed at boosting the state’s owner-occupied housing stock. The program is administered by the Ohio Department of Development.
Land Bank Executive Director Amy Hamrick said the organization plans to apply for funds to build 25 units of affordable housing in Shelby and Mansfield — though the full list of locations hasn’t been determined.
Applications are due in January. However, the land bank doesn’t have to list the properties it will be build on as part of the process.
“The grant doesn’t need for us to specify the property at this time, just how many units we want to build and that we have property available,” Hamrick said.
Most of the land held by the Land Bank is in Mansfield, but its board voted Wednesday to accept the donation of five vacant parcels in Shelby.
They include 153, 155, 157, 159 and 161 Second Street. Each lot is about one-quarter of an acre.
The lots were donated to the Land Bank by RPF Limited Partnership, an LLC registered to Angela Phillips of Middletown, Ohio.
“She would like to donate them so that we can build Welcome Home Ohio housing on them,” Hamrick said.
Hamrick said the owner is current on property taxes, but will receive a tax break for donating the parcels to the Land Bank, a non-profit organization.
Joe Gies, a Land Bank board member and project coordinator for the city of Shelby, said he’s excited about the possibility of bolstering the city’s affordable housing stock.
“It’s a great program too because it’s going to give (the homebuyers) some financial literacy,” he said. “You’re putting them in a very good place to be successful in home ownership.”
Sale price for grant-funded housing would be capped at $220,000
WHO provides grants for the purchase of qualifying residential properties, the cost of construction or rehabilitation and nonrefundable tax credits for qualifying activities, according to the ODOD website.
Ohio lawmakers set aside more than $91 million over the course of four years for the program, as well as $20 million in tax credits.
The Land Bank will partner with housing developers to apply for funds next month.
There is $22 million up for grabs during the current round of funding, including grants of up to $100,000 per unit for new housing construction.
Hamrick said the funds would be used to offset construction costs so houses can be sold to qualified buyers at an affordable price.
But who qualifies? And what is considered affordable?
For the WHO program, qualified buyers are people who can obtain for a mortgage loan and make no more than 120 percent of the area median income at the time of purchase.
The AMI limits vary by household size. A two-person household would max out after $81,840. A four-person household would qualify with an annual income no greater than $102,240.
Qualifying homebuyers must commit to residing in the home for at least three years, as well as a 15-year deed restriction to keep the home affordable.
They’d also have to participate in a financial literacy course.
Hamrick said WHO requires new housing units to be at least 800 square feet. The new homes cannot be sold for more than $220,000.