CINCINNATI — Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation (NEST) and Pennrose have opened John Arthur Flats, Cincinnati’s first LGBTQ-friendly affordable seniors housing community.
Located in the Northside neighborhood, the development adds 57 affordable units for residents age 55 or older.
The three-story, elevator-serviced building includes studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments available for residents earning 30 percent to 60 percent of the area media income (AMI), with rents ranging from $444 to $1,212 per month.
The new community helps meet the demand for inclusive, affordable housing in the region, where the National Low-Income Housing Coalition reports only 43 available rental homes per every 100 low-income renters in Ohio. Studies also show that LGBTQ seniors experience higher rates of housing discrimination and poverty, making them especially at risk of housing vulnerability.
The community is named in recognition of the late John Montgomery Arthur, a Cincinnati native and husband of the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States.
This $13 million redevelopment was financed through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, equity syndicated by CREA, HOME funding from the City of Cincinnati, an award from the Affordable Housing Program of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati and debt underwritten by Fifth Third Bank.