The Flats multifamily housing development planned for North 21st Street near Newark Walmart
NEWARK − Four years after a multifamily housing project near Walmart failed to get the needed tax credits, another developer seeks financial assistance to build apartments in the same location.
Newark City Council will consider creating a Community Reinvestment Area, providing a 15-year tax exemption on the increase in assessed value from property improvements, including new construction and remodeling, in an area bordered by Goosepond Road to the north, Jackson Boulevard to the south, North 21st Street to the east and Evans Boulevard to the west.
John Roush, CEO of Express Wash Concepts that operates Moo Moo Express Car Wash and other car wash companies and an owner of Big Kahuna Ozone Laundry, plans to break ground in April and complete the new housing development in about 18 months, if the CRA is in place.
Roush did not return phone messages from The Advocate about the proposed development.
The multifamily housing would be located on 3.4 acres, adjacent to the laundromat. Log Pond Investments LLC bought the property in January 2023 for $200,000. Log Pond Investments also bought 9.7 acres next to 3.6 acre-parcel in March 2022 for $365,000.
The housing development, called The Flats, would consist of 170 units, including an unknown mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, according to City Council member Michael Houser, R-1st Ward.
City Council member Doug Marmie, R-6th Ward, said the developer started moving dirt for the project, but “ran into (a) roadblock,” so the CRA was proposed to get the development back on track.
“Without this (CRA), it would be difficult for this project to move forward,” Marmie said at last week’s Newark City Council Economic Development Committee meeting. “We need additional housing in Newark. It’s pretty much structured for empty nesters, not necessarily families. It won’t affect schools too much.”
The committee approved the CRA, which provides The Flats project a 15-year, 75% property tax abatement on the improvements to the property. The full council will consider the legislation at its Feb. 5 and Feb. 20 meetings.
Marmie said the city is not required to negotiate with the school district on the CRA but notified them anyway.
The apartments will be priced at $1,050 for a one-bedroom unit, $1,185 for a two-bedroom unit and $1,650 for three bedrooms. It is not known how many buildings will be part of the development.
Newark resident Rochelle Volen-Smith told the committee, “We’ve got a lot of apartments at $1,000 and up. I’d love to see us address the issue of people who cannot afford that before we do this.”
In 2019, an affordable housing project at the same location did not receive the necessary housing tax credit program awards from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, and the developer did not move forward. The project would have consisted of 84 units in up to seven buildings, either two- or three-story.
Marmie said the current proposal has more community support.
“Before this, there were folks attracted to this area who wanted to develop low-income housing, subsidized,” Marmie said. “The neighbors are very much in support of this housing, in comparison to what they thought.
“The rumors were abundant they’re just going to bring in low-income housing, subsidized. No one wants that in their backyard. We know we have a need for that, but we will find an area for that somewhere in Newark. It’s going to be a beautiful facility, and I think it’s something Newark does need.”
City Council member Bill Cost, D-at large, said he supports the project, but the city needs more housing for every income level.
“We definitely have a need for low-income housing,” Cost said. “We have a need for medium-income housing. We have a need for upper-income housing. We’re just behind the eight ball on housing all the way across.
“I think it’s essential that we do find an area where we can build low- to medium-income homes or housing or apartments. There is definitely a need for it, and it needs to be addressed.”
A City of Newark Community Reinvestment Area Housing Survey, prepared by Taft Stettinius & Hollister legal counsel Chris Connelly in October, shows the housing and economic differences between Newark, the county and other cities in Licking County,
Newark's home values, household income and occupied housing rate are far below the county average, and its poverty level is well above Granville, Pataskala and Johnstown.
The survey includes the following conclusion: "Economic hardship and poor housing stock have affected the city more significantly than Licking County as a whole. This information … highlights the city's deficiencies sought to be alleviated by the creation of the CRA."
The survey points to a lack of new housing construction in the city but does not include the past couple years, when construction of new single-family and multifamily housing has occurred.
"The city's negative income and housing statistics compared to the county at large show that the current city housing cannot support the same healthy development that is expected countywide.
"The low owner-occupancy rate in the city coupled with the high poverty rate harm residents' ability to use disposable income to maintain, repair and improve their property."
The survey's conclusion is the proposed CRA will mitigate the blight and prevent it from spreading to surrounding areas by encouraging reinvestment.
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Newark Community Reinvestment Area Housing Survey
The following data came from American Fact Finder on Census.gov in the 2020 American Community Survey five-year estimates:
Total housing units: Newark 19,800; county 73,010
Owner-occupied housing rate: Newark 55.3%; county 76%
Median home value: Newark $139,900; county $214,700; Granville $380,700; $208,300; $175,000
Median household income: Newark $52,570; county $73,325; Granville $135,326; Pataskala $79,736; Johnstown $64,744
Individuals below poverty level: Newark 16.2%; county 12.2%; Granville 2.2%; Pataskala 6.7%; Johnstown 9.3%
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Multifamily housing again planned for North 21st near Newark Walmart
