Columbus-based for-profit developer Woda Cooper Companies Inc. submitted the above site plan for the proposed low-income housing tax credit, or LIHTC, project, in response to the Village’s request for proposals. (Map data courtesy of Woda Cooper Companies, Inc.)
Village Council selects low-income housing developer
- Published: December 23, 2024
At the most recent Village Council meeting, Monday, Dec. 16, Council members took a critical step toward the potential construction of a large-scale, low-income housing development in the western reaches of Yellow Springs.
By a unanimous vote, Council members agreed to authorize Village Manager Johnnie Burns to enter into a development agreement with Columbus-based Woda Cooper Development, Inc. — one of the four applicants that responded to the Village’s recent request for proposals.
After finalizing the development agreement with the Village, Woda Cooper will apply to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, or OHFA, for $15 million in federal low-income housing tax credits — an amount that would allow Woda Cooper to build an affordable housing development comprising 30 to 50 one-, two- and three-bedroom units.
Woda Cooper must submit a pre-application to OHFA for the tax credits by Jan. 3, 2025, followed by a final submission on Feb. 27. OHFA will announce the statewide recipients of the millions in tax credits in May.
Should Woda Cooper receive the $15 million, the development company will erect the housing complex on a 3.6-acre parcel — known locally as the Morgan soccer fields — currently owned by the Yellow Springs school district, but which is expected to be sold to the Village for $339,000. Recently the Village entered into a “purchase option agreement” with the district that stipulates the transfer of that land is contingent upon the awarding of the tax credits.
According to Woda Cooper’s proposal to the Village, construction would begin in 2026 and would be completed the following year.
As Planning and Zoning Administrator Meg Leatherman told the News in a phone call following Monday’s Council meeting, a selection committee — composed of her, Burns, Council members Gavin DeVore Leonard and Trish Gustafson, former Zoning Administrator Denise Swinger and Community Foundation Director Jeannamarie Cox — chose Woda Cooper because of the company’s “ability to work quickly and efficiently.”
“As a large for-profit developer, Woda Cooper just has more resources — the willingness to put in a lot of time and money on this project,” Leatherman said.
In the selection process, Woda Cooper won the Village’s favor over Springfield-based Pennrose Management, Columbus-based Wallick Communities and Dayton-based St. Mary Development Corporation — the latter of which was the only nonprofit and community housing development organization of the four.
Burns told the News that the six committee members scored each company’s proposal individually based on a rubric, then came together last week as a group to compare scores. Woda Cooper, Burns said, emerged as a clear victor.
As Leatherman said: “We are a small Village staff, and we know our capacity, and [Woda Cooper] has a large, established staff that can really help us since we haven’t done anything like this before. In their application, it was clear they were very familiar with our code and what’s possible.”
Founded in 1990, Woda Cooper specializes in developing affordable housing, largely utilizing the federal low-income housing tax credit, or LIHTC, program, according to the company’s website. Woda Cooper owns and operates more than 350 properties and 16,000 housing units, and the firm operates in 16 states, including Ohio.
The nearest Woda Cooper-built affordable housing development to Yellow Springs is a senior living facility, the “Hayden House” in Springfield, which currently has available one-bedroom apartments starting at $426 per month; the most expensive two-bedroom floor plan currently available is $958 . Not dissimilarly, at Woda Cooper’s Audubon Crossing complex in Dayton, which currently has one-bedroom units available starting at $479 per month, and two-bedroom units no more expensive than $817 per month.
In addition to meeting the Village’s affordable housing needs and their capacity as a large-scale, for-profit development company, Burns told the News that he was also impressed by some of the amenities that Woda Cooper included in its proposal, such as a playground, community rooms, on-site exercise facilities, ample handicapped parking spaces, a pavilion and more.
However, as Leatherman noted, Woda Cooper’s site plans could — and likely will — change ahead of their applications to OHFA in the next two months.
“Some of the specifics still need to be figured out,” Leatherman told Council members on Monday. “We want to talk [with Woda Cooper] about reorienting some of the buildings, incorporating a universal design for greater accessibility, keeping rent rates as low as possible and what financial expectations they have for the Village.”
Leatherman also pointed out that including more one-bedroom units in the site plan would make the OHFA application more competitive. Seventy-five percent of the units, she said, would still be two- and three-bedrooms.
According to the OHFA website, Woda Cooper has a positive track record for successfully receiving low-income housing tax credits to build affordable housing developments. In 2024 alone, Woda Cooper was awarded $12 million to build Granville Woods Lofts and $11.2 million for Granville Woods Lofts II — both in Columbus — as well as $8.1 million for a development in Lancaster, Ohio.
As for Yellow Springs affordable housing nonprofit YS Home, Inc., Executive Director Emily Seibel told Council members that she hopes Home, Inc. can continue to play a “critical role as a local partner.”
Moving forward with Woda Cooper as the chosen developer, Seibel said, “We want to alleviate any burden on Village staff, so we can still be a champion for local values — facilitating the public input process, setting up listening sessions, conducting surveys and more.”
In a follow-up email to the News, Seibel elaborated further on her intent for Home, Inc. to have a hand in Woda Cooper’s development plans.
“Home, Inc. will seek to have an independent partnership agreement with them,” Seibel said. “One that addresses our role in the predevelopment and application process, how the community will be engaged and responded to, the developer fee, services coordination provision in years one–30, what happens in year 15 after the tax credits are exhausted, and how to ensure that the project remains affordable after the initial 30-year compliance period to preserve the public investment and purpose.”
Seibel’s latter point — the 30-year compliance period — refers to the deed restriction that requires the proposed development to remain “affordable” and “rent-restricted” as defined by OHFA, for at least three decades upon the completion of construction.
“We are happy to support the LIHTC application process moving forward to help make it as competitive as possible,” she said. “We appreciate the Village’s commitment to and leadership of affordable family rental housing development.”
The next Village Council meeting will be Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, in the John Bryan Community Center. Among the agenda items are several ordinances pertaining to the potential repealing of the Gateway Overlay District — a part of the Village Zoning Code that impacts the LIHTC project. For more details on the Gateway Overlay District, see last week’s issue of the News.
Columbus-based for-profit developer Woda Cooper Companies Inc. submitted the above site plan for the proposed low-income housing tax credit, or LIHTC, project, in response to the Village’s request for proposals. Village Council agreed on Monday, Dec. 16, to select Woda Cooper as the official developer for the LIHTC project, should the company successfully clinch $15 million in available tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency in the coming months.
Village Planning and Zoning Administrator Meg Leatherman noted that the above site plan — which depicts two three-story, low-income housing apartment buildings, over 100 parking spaces, a playground, picnic area, community room and more — will likely be modified over the course of future Village discussions with Woda Cooper. (Map courtesy of Woda Cooper Companies Inc.)
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