A representative from Columbus-based affordable housing developer Woda Cooper presented the above site plan to the public at a community meeting Thursday, Feb. 6. If awarded $15 million in federal tax credits, Woda Cooper would build a 71-unit apartment — tentatively dubbed "Enon Greene" apartments — on 3.6 acres at the corner of Dayton-Yellow Springs and East Enon roads. (Map data courtesy of Woda Cooper Companies, LLC)
Woda Cooper proposes 71 low-income units for LIHTC project
- Published: February 17, 2025
Yellow Springs could see more low-income housing than previously expected.
At a community meeting Thursday, Feb. 6, Columbus-based affordable housing developer Woda Cooper Companies spoke before a few dozen village residents and presented a site plan for the proposed low-income housing tax credit, or LIHTC, project.
Jared Miller, Woda Cooper’s vice president of development, told attendees that the company aims to develop a three-story, low-income housing complex of 71 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Monthly rents, excluding utilities, would range from $345 to $1,150. Local stakeholders in the LIHTC project had previously estimated 30 to 50 units.
The site of such a development, as the News has reported in past issues, would be 3.6 acres at the corner of Dayton-Yellow Springs and East Enon roads, just north of McKinney Middle and Yellow Springs High schools, as well as the Greene County Educational Service Center, or ESC.
Presently, those 3.6-acres, known locally as Morgan Fields, are home to a number of recreational and school soccer programs — most of which would be relocated to replacement soccer fields to be built on donated land just south of the schools. Of the $680,000 available to the district to create these new soccer fields, Woda Cooper pledged $200,000.
All this — the construction of the low-income housing development and the relocation of the soccer fields — is contingent on the Ohio Housing Finance Agency awarding Woda Cooper $15 million in federal low-income tax credits, the application for which is due Feb. 27.
Should Woda Cooper be awarded those subsidies, Miller said construction on the development — tentatively dubbed “Enon Greene” — would begin in the summer of 2026, with a completion time of fall 2027. Ahead of that construction are two more community meetings in May and June of this year, giving villagers other opportunities to weigh in on the LIHTC project.
A representative from Columbus-based affordable housing developer Woda Cooper presented the above site plan to the public at a community meeting Thursday, Feb. 6. If awarded $15 million in federal tax credits, Woda Cooper would build a 71-unit apartment — tentatively dubbed “Enon Greene” apartments — on 3.6 acres at the corner of Dayton-Yellow Springs and East Enon roads. (Map data courtesy of Woda Cooper Companies, LLC)
More about ‘Enon Greene’ apartments
Before addressing public comments and questions at last Thursday’s community meeting, Miller began his presentation by detailing the scope of the proposed development, as well its features, amenities and other details — some of which, Miller indicated, could change before Woda Cooper’s LIHTC application later this month and before eventual construction.
Of the 71 units, 13 are currently slated to be one-bedroom, with rents ranging from $345 to $900 per month; 43 are to be two-bedroom units, with monthly rents between $350 and $1,025; and 15 are planned as three-bedroom units, with rents between $355 and $1,150.
Those rents, Miller explained, are determined by a tenant’s personal income in relation to the area median income, or AMI. According to the Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae, the AMI for Yellow Springs is an annual income of $92,900.
Nineteen units will be priced at or below 30% of that AMI, seven units at or below 50%, 16 units at or below 60% and 29 units at or below 80%.
Ten of those units will be designed with accessibility in mind — eight of which can accommodate mobility impaired residents, and two of which are for sensory impaired residents.
The proposed design and orientation of the building is an “L” shape, fronting Dayton-Yellow Springs Road. The parking lot will be composed of 124 spaces, or 1.75 spaces per unit; 10 of those parking spaces would be accessible.
The parking lot will extend southward from the right angle of the building, where the main entrance would be — the sole point of entry and exit for residents, aside from two emergency doors at the wings of the building.
“When we first began our initial talks with the Village, we came away with certain objects that we’re trying to keep in mind during our preliminary design process,” Miller said. “Maximize two- and three-bedroom units, maintain a three-story building height, have elevators for accessibility, design with the ESC in mind and to ensure sufficient parking.”
The orientation of the L-shaped building, Miller added, is presently laid out in such a way to give the ESC a greater buffer.
Traffic would enter the property from an ingress on East Enon Road — just north of the entrance into the neighboring school parking lot. Around the property would be newly planted foliage, a playground, picnic area and covered patio.
Stormwater drainage from the parking lot — which would take up the majority of the 3.6-acre lot — would flow into manholes embedded in the pavement. Village Manager Johnnie Burns assured attendees of Thursday’s meeting that the capacity of the municipal water system would have no problem absorbing the added flow.
Miller said that OHFA requires LIHTC developers to build energy-efficient, green-certified properties, and that Woda Cooper will likely pursue certification from either the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system or the Enterprise Green Communities Plus system.
“The crux of the development,” Miller continued, “is going to be the amenities we provide — in-unit and community amenities.”
Within each of the 71 units will be Energy Star-certified dishwashers, washers and dryers, as well as individual water heater and HVAC systems. To be shared among the residents are an exercise room, a community room and a mailroom.
Miller noted that Woda Cooper will play the “myriad roles” of the apartment complex’s lead developer, part owner, general contractor, architect and property manager. The company will employ a full-time, on-site maintenance technician and property manager, as well as a tenant services coordinator.
“We do the full suite of services,” Miller said, adding that Woda Cooper is employee-owned.
The company was founded in 1990, and now owns more than 350 properties and 16,000 housing units throughout 16 states.
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.
Meeting local needs, OHFA preferences
Miller told villagers at last week’s meeting that much of the composition of the proposed “Enon Greene” apartment building — in particular the unit mix — has been set to optimize Woda Cooper’s chances at being awarded the $15 million from OHFA.
Whereas local stakeholders in the LIHTC project had previously envisioned 30 to 50 units in an eventual low-income housing development on the Morgan Fields, Miller said last week that Woda Cooper would have a more competitive chance at receiving the tax credits if their site plan included 71 units.
“OHFA wants projects that have sufficient capacity for family units,” Miller said. “If we can get up to 71, we can use the full federal funding available for us.”
He added that having 10 one-bedroom units specifically would appeal to OHFA’s preferences.
In the question-and-answer portion of the community meeting, some local residents spoke up and requested Woda Cooper change their unit mix ahead of their upcoming application to OHFA.
School board President Rebecca Potter, for example, requested that the developer increase the number of three-bedroom units to a third of the total unit mix in favor of attracting more families with children to the future complex. Miller responded that he had taken note of that recommendation.
Several attendees asked about the flora and foliage around the proposed site. Marianne MacQueen suggested Woda Cooper plant only native species around the property and work with the local Wildlife Habitat Community group to that end. Chris Bongorno pointed out that the Morgan Fields currently have a number of old-growth trees around the property. What comes of them, he asked.
“We’d love to preserve as many as we can,” Miller responded. “That’s in everyone’s benefit.”
Other concerns and questions raised by attendees ranged from traffic mitigation to sidewalk construction, hallway layout to exterior fencing, and more. One recurring question from several attendees, though, was essentially: “How long will this remain affordable housing?”
“I can guarantee they will be affordable in perpetuity,” Miller said, adding that, “at minimum,” the “Enon Greene” apartments would necessarily have to remain low-income housing for at least 30 years, per federal regulations.
In a forthcoming issue, the News will examine those federal regulations and what may occur when they expire, and will also introduce Woda Cooper’s development partner, Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield, and discuss what their role will be moving forward. Additionally, the News will consider what, if any, role Yellow Springs Home, Inc. will play in the future of Woda Cooper’s proposed LIHTC project.
A Village Board of Zoning Appeals meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12 — a meeting that overlaps with this week’s News deadline. By press time, BZA members will have considered a variance request by Woda Cooper, which is seeking relief from the code’s density and parking requirements. The News will cover that meeting in next week’s issue.
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