Affordable housing planned for Ohio Democratic Party site

A Lancaster developer received approval Tuesday to build a four-story affordable housing complex on the site of the Ohio Democratic Party headquarters Downtown.

Fairfield Homes, in Lancaster, is proposing 66 apartments on the top three floors of the 105,000-square-foot building, above 65 ground-level parking spaces and commercial space.

The building would replace the two-story brick building at 340 E. Fulton St., which has housed the Ohio Democratic Party.

Fairfield bought the property from the party in September for $1.95 million. The party plans to move from the building later this year into a new space, said party spokesman Matt Keyes.

Fairfield is proposing a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments in a U shape around a terrace on the roof of the parking level. A lobby would occupy the corner of the ground floor and a 1,600-square-foot commercial space would front South Grant Avenue.

Of the 66 apartments, 55 would be priced to be affordable for tenants who make no more than 50% or 60% of the area median income, said Joseph Wickham, Fairfield's director of development. (Median household income in Columbus was $53,745 in 2019 while median individual income was $29,322, according to the U.S. Census.)

The 11 remaining apartments would be market priced.

The property would be accessed from both Fulton Street and South Grant Avenue.

Fairfield is applying for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) for the project, Wickham said. If that application is approved in the next round of funding, in May, Fairfield would start construction before the end of the year, he said.

"We are hopeful and excited our application will be approved," he said.

The Columbus Downtown Commission Tuesday unanimously approved Fairfield's proposal, pending approval of landscaping and lighting details.

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Democratic Party building could be replaced by affordable housing