COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A $5 million grant could help keep families in affordable rental housing and help those being booted out if their homes due to foreclosure.
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency, Ohio Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, and the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing received the grant at the end of last week and will use it to loan money to landlords that own properties that provide federally subsidized and reduced cost rental properties.
Given the state of the economy, many rental properties have been affected by landlords in foreclosure.
The hope is that the grant will preserve properties that families can live in without fear of getting kicked out.
According to Donna Russell, Bending Brook apartments on the city's southwest side has been through a change.
"This place was horrible. It was dangerous. The shootings, the fights, the muggings -- you couldn't go to the laundry room without getting jumped and attacked or something like that. Now, it's heaven. It really is," Russell said.
The complex is also changing for the community, including clothing donations and a childhood education room.
The complex benefitted from federal funding years ago and according to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, $5 million will be available in loans to rehab more properties like Bending Brook.
"It's important to definitely maintain our affordable housing stock and especially with the job losses and the economy going south," said Sean Thomas, of OHFA.
The grant will go toward federally subsidizing properties like Bending Brook.
There are 67 potentially eligible projects in Columbus.
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