Research & Innovations

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Colum­bus Met­ro­pol­itan Hous­ing Author­ity recently approved $125 mil­lion in com­bined invest­ments that will fund the acquis­i­tion, pre­ser­va­tion or new devel­op­ment of 451 afford­able hous­ing units, expec­ted to serve more than 900 cent­ral Ohioans.

The pub­lic hous­ing agency's board of com­mis­sion­ers announced approval of the invest­ment pack­age on July 28, provid­ing developers with access to money that can make it easier to deliver highqual­ity hous­ing at lower rents, accord­ing to a CMHA press release. The agency plans to invest the money into four sep­ar­ate projects, which together will bene­fit roughly 935 res­id­ents.

“Pre­serving and expand­ing afford­able hous­ing requires bold fin­an­cial innov­a­tion,” Scott Schar­lach, CMHA'S chief oper­at­ing officer, said in the release. “By devel­op­ing new fund­ing strategies, lever­aging cre­at­ive part­ner­ships, and unlock­ing untapped cap­ital, we can pro­tect exist­ing com­munit­ies while cre­at­ing last­ing oppor­tun­it­ies for gen­er­a­tions to come.”

The largest chunk of the money, almost $56 mil­lion, will be used to pur­chase and redevelop the former Garver YMCA site at 6767 Refugee Road in Canal Winchester, with plans to build a 216-unit, mixed-income and work­force hous­ing com­munity. Work­force hous­ing refers to hous­ing for people with incomes that are too high for tra­di­tional, sub­sid­ized afford­able hous­ing but too low to com­fort­ably afford mar­ket-rate hous­ing in their com­munit­ies.

The new devel­op­ment is slated to open in 2028 and bene­fit an estim­ated 540 res­id­ents.

CMHA referred to its invest­ments as a response to the region's afford­able hous­ing crisis, cit­ing Afford­able Hous­ing Alli­ance of Cent­ral Ohio data that shows there are only 29 units avail­able for every 100 extremely low-income house­holds. Cent­ral Ohio also faces a defi­cit of between 11,000 and 14,000 new hous­ing units every year to sup­port a healthy hous­ing mar­ket, accord­ing to data ref­er­enced in the release.

The other prop­er­ties in which CMHA plans to invest its recently approved funds are:

Com­mons at Liv­ing­ston, loc­ated at 3349 E. Liv­ing­ston Ave., will provide 50 afford­able hous­ing apart­ments to Frank­lin County vet­er­ans with dis­ab­il­it­ies. CMHA is alloc­at­ing $10.7 mil­lion to the project and will provide fed­er­ally fun­ded Project-based Vouch­ers for all 50 units for 15 years to ensure rents remain afford­able through 2040.

The hous­ing agency will spend $36 mil­lion to fin­ance a com­plete renov­a­tion of The Mead­ows, loc­ated at 4855 Pin­tail

Creek Drive in Canal Winchester. A full­s­cale refur­bish­ment of the 95-apart­ment home com­munity will provide 255 res­id­ents with qual­ity afford­able hous­ing.

Through a part­ner­ship with Lutheran Social Ser­vices and TFG Hous­ing Resources, CMHA will also provide $27 mil­lion to ren­ov­ate North Com­munity Place and Vil­lage Place, two senior hous­ing com­munit­ies at 120 Morse Road and 1489 Octo­ber Ridge Court, respect­ively.

"Together, the board actions approved [in July] rein­force CMHA'S dual com­mit­ment to expand­ing afford­able hous­ing oppor­tun­it­ies while pre­serving the his­tory and qual­ity of neigh­bor­hoods that have shaped Colum­bus for gen­er­a­tions," the release states.

From the Chicago Housing Authority's press release:

Two hundred fifteen Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) college-bound students representing 66 different schools across the country received dorm-room essentials and free laptops at the Springboard to Success (S2S)-hosted Take Flight College Send-Off Wednesday at Bridgeport Art Center.

The giant CHA trunk party was made possible thanks to S2S, CHA’s non-profit partner; the generous sponsorship support of Meijer and the Black McDonald’s Operators Association (BMOA), which provided dorm room merchandise; and Compudopt, which provided 215 laptops with two-year warranties. Additional sponsorship was provided by Molina Healthcare, Enterprise and UPS.

The schools represented Wednesday included Texas A&M, Louisiana State, American University, University of Wisconsin, and Grand Valley State. Schools with the highest number of students included Southern Illinois (26), Northern Illinois (26), Illinois State (23) and University of Illinois (21).

“We were delighted to have 215 incoming freshmen who are celebrating with us today who are getting dorm room essentials and laptops to help their studies in school,” said Amanda DeWitt, S2S Director of Development & Communications. “Often times we have students who are headed off to college for the first time and don’t think about those incidentals, the dorm room supplies they might need, the towels, the sheets, a laptop computer. We are here to fill that gap. We’re here to celebrate their journey and let them know they are not alone. This is a way to say, we’re all in this together.”

Danielle Walker picked up the essentials for her daughter, Tarriana, who left for University of Illinois on Sunday. Tarriana spent much of her time caring for her autistic sister while her mom worked long hours to provide for the family.

“There were many days my mother could not afford to take off work,” Tarriana wrote before she left for Champaign. “That’s when I would step in and stay home and take care of my sister. That challenge helped me to learn how to balance academic life and home life.”

Danielle Walker called her daughter the “backbone.”

“She’d get up in the middle of the night, make bottles, and provide the support I needed,” Danielle Walker said. “If (her sister) was sick, Tarriana just took over.”

Danielle Walker said she missed Tarriana – but she was beyond proud.

“I just want her to live her own life,” Danielle Walker said. “She’s done enough for me. I need to figure it out on my own. I want her to be happy.”

Donyae Whitehorn attended the event Wednesday and will be leaving for Louisiana State University in a few days.

“These events really help students who don’t have as much support as higher income students,” he said. “If you have to purchase supplies or other stuff, it leaves less money for you to have the necessities. So having an event like this where they give you most of the necessities, it makes it easier on the student than having to stress about other things.”

Miley Neely will be attending the University of Michigan, saying it is a big campus that will accommodate her big personality.

“I would have had to buy my own dorm supplies and computers and that would have taken a lot of money that I could have possibly used for my first semester in college.” Neely said. “That first year of college is pretty rough and I don’t have a lot of support that a lot of other people do. CHA has helped me a lot my senior year and now I’m really grateful to have this opportunity to have these supplies.”

From Fresno Housing's press release:

Fresno Housing is celebrating 85 years of service to Fresno County, marking a legacy that began in 1940 and today reaches nearly 50,000 residents through affordable housing, rental assistance and programs that support housing stability and opportunity.

Over eight decades, Fresno Housing has evolved from managing public housing to becoming one of the region’s leading affordable housing providers and developers. During 2024 and 2025 alone, the agency completed $253 million in housing developments, generating an estimated $379.5 million to $506 million in local economic impact. “For 85 years, Fresno Housing has worked to ensure that people in our community have access to safe and affordable places to live,” said Tyrone Roderick Williams, CEO of Fresno Housing. “Behind every front door we build or preserve is a person or family whose future becomes more stable and secure.”

Founded in 1940 amid the housing challenges that followed the Great Depression and Dust Bowl migration, Fresno Housing has continually evolved to meet the needs of the community. Today, its work reaches urban and rural communities throughout Fresno County and includes Housing Choice Vouchers, affordable housing development and preservation, permanent supportive housing, resident services and pathways to homeownership.

Fresno Housing's 85-year timeline reflects that evolution and decades of service, growth and transformation.

85 Years of Service. Impact That Continues Today.

Fresno Housing's 2024–2025 Community Report demonstrates how that legacy continues through investments in housing, residents and neighborhoods across Fresno County:

• 88 properties across Fresno County
• More than 50,000 residents served through Fresno Housing communities and programs
• More than 5,000 affordable housing units owned across the county
• 11,400+ households assisted annually through the Housing Choice Voucher program
• More than $140 million annually in Housing Assistance Payments to local property owners
• $253 million in housing developments completed during 2024–2025
• $379.5 million to $506 million in estimated local economic impact generated by those development investments
• 1,100+ youth supported through educational and enrichment opportunities
• 2,700+ households connected to Resident Empowerment services

“These numbers represent more than programs,” Williams said. “They represent families who have found stability, children who can focus on school, and seniors who can age with dignity in their communities.”

More about the agency's work, investments and resident outcomes is available through Fresno Housing's Community Impact page.

The Housing Choice Voucher program is Fresno Housing’s largest housing program, assisting more than 11,400 households each year. More than $140 million in Housing Assistance Payments flow annually to participating property owners, helping families afford housing throughout Fresno County while supporting the local rental housing market. For participating families, a voucher provides more than rental assistance—it provides housing stability and the ability to choose a home that meets their needs.

Fresno Housing's evolution has also expanded the ways families can pursue long-term housing stability. In addition to affordable rental housing and rental assistance, the agency creates pathways to homeownership through new construction, rehabilitation and resale, the Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program, homebuyer education and financial resources.

Heritage Estates, Fresno Housing's most recent subdivision of single-family homes developed specifically for mixed-income homebuyers, is one example. The Beyond Housing Foundation is also helping address barriers to homeownership through down payment assistance and financial preparation. Fresno Housing's broader work connects residents with education, workforce development, youth programs and other resources that support their goals.

That work is guided by Fresno Housing's Strategic Plan, shaped by resident, staff and community input and focused on housing insecurity, neighborhood investment, Housing Choice Voucher innovation and partnerships that support resident goals.

As Fresno Housing continues its 85th anniversary celebration, the agency will bring community and industry leaders together on September 18, 2026, for the return of the State of Affordable Housing at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District.

The event will convene local, state and federal leaders alongside housing professionals and community partners for a regional conversation about the challenges and opportunities shaping affordable housing. The gathering also reflects a lesson reinforced throughout Fresno Housing's 85-year history: addressing housing needs requires partnership.

“Eighty-five years represents generations of people who have called Fresno Housing communities home, families who have found stability through rental assistance, and partnerships that have helped us serve communities throughout Fresno County,” Williams said. “As we celebrate this milestone, we are grateful to the residents, staff, partners and community members who have been part of that history and continue to make this work possible.”

As Fresno Housing marks 85 years of service, the agency remains grounded in the people at the center of its work and its mission to create and sustain affordable housing and vibrant communities throughout Fresno County—because home is just the beginning.