LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- City Council President Daniel J. O'Malley has turned to social media lately to promote the need for Lakewood to maintain and grow affordable housing.
“Basically, we have a demand right now in Lakewood for high-end apartments,” O’Malley said. “Unfortunately, that demand is being met by kicking low-and-middle-income people out of their apartments -- in the Gold Coast and elsewhere -- and renovating them into luxury housing.
“I’d rather let those folks stay in their homes and build new high-end apartments on vacant car lots and any other places in the city.”
Acting as an impetus for such new construction is an ordinance Lakewood City Council recently passed last year that O'Malley described as a major component of the city’s affordable housing strategy.
Basically, the city is offering a 15-year tax abatement to any new construction that includes affordable housing.
“If somebody were to build an apartment building, they would get a 15-year tax abatement if 20 percent of the apartments were dedicated to being rented to low-or-moderate-income tenants,” O’Malley said.
“Also, the affordable housing has to be on par with the upgrades and amenities of every other unit.”
The notion of affordable housing was something O'Malley explored earlier this year while attending a four-day National League of Cities’ Congressional City Conference held in Washington D.C.
Part of that discussion involves the future need for Lakewood to conduct an in-depth inventory of affordable housing in the city.
“The idea is to find out what exactly we are working with,” O'Malley said. “We can’t really figure out where we want to go and what our challenges and opportunities are unless we really know the state of affordable housing in Lakewood.
“Whether we do that in house or bring in a university or some other vendor to take a look at that, that’s something we need to do.”
O'Malley, who said affordable housing is his top priority as council president, noted his peers on council have expressed their support in setting a standard in Lakewood.
“We have an opportunity to be a national example of how to grow your city, how to make sure investments are continuing to come in, but also while keeping the city affordable,” O'Malley said.
“Certainly nobody longs for the bad old days of declining home prices, but we I think have an obligation as home prices continue to rise to make sure that Lakewood remains the gateway to the middle class that it has been for generations.”
What remains to be seen is whether the city’s 15-year tax abatement offer promoting affordable housing is a big enough carrot for developers building new residential projects in Lakewood.
“We’ll see if that’s what it takes, but I think it’s worth the effort,” O'Malley said. “It’s certainly garnered a lot of interest. We’re having conversations with developers right now. In fact, this morning I had a developer who already planned to renovate an apartment building that’s been vacant for years.
“He just heard about us having this new ordinance. He’s very interested in it. We’ll have some talks with developers and see if this is what it takes.”
Read more news from the Sun Post Herald here.
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