Findlay Parkside development in Cincinnati's OTR neighborhood moves ahead

The Findlay Parkside development in Over-the-Rhine got the green light Monday from the city's budget and finance committee for about $2.3 million in tax increment financing.

The committee on Monday approved an ordinance without objection that would appropriate funds from the Downtown/OTR West TIF district to support the $31 million Parkside project.

The ordinance will go before City Council for a final vote on Wednesday.

The mixed-use development, primarily in the 1800 block of Vine Street near Findlay Market, would include 51 apartments in 12 vacant buildings with 16,456-square-feet of street-level commercial space, according to Over-the-Rhine-based developer, The Model Group.

About half of the apartments would be affordable at 80% area median income

Twenty-six of the units would be reserved for households earning at or below 80% of area median income for Hamilton County, which means households earning up to about $53,500 a year for a single resident, according to figures from the Cincinnati Department of Community and Economic Development.

The project, which has already been awarded $3.1 million in Ohio historic preservation tax credits, will help address affordability issues and revitalize a blighted section of town, "which has seen virtually no investment for decades,'' Model Group CEO Bobby Maly told committee members.

Parkside not meant for lowest-income residents

Maly said The Model Group, which is one of the most active residential developers in OTR, remains committed to even more affordable developments for people earning closer to 60% of the area median income, or about $40,000 a year for a single resident.

But "we couldn't solve all problems with this one project,'' he told the committee regarding Findlay Parkside.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Findlay Parkside in Cincinnati's OTR neighborhood moving ahead