CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The Woda Group Inc. has started renovations at the former Everts Middle School in Circleville, approximately 30 miles south of Columbus. The project will convert the school into 49 apartment units for “independent seniors on fixed incomes.”
The apartment community, developed in partnership with the nonprofit Pickaway Community Action Organization, will be called Everts Hill. The project will include a community garden and greenhouse and a café that’s open to the public.
Several organizations helped to fund the redevelopment. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency allocated $910,400 in state housing tax credits; the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing (OCCH) is investing $9.1 million in equity in exchange for those credits. OCCH is also investing $2.2 million in exchange for federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. The City of Circleville also donated $125,000 in kitchen equipment for the café.
The school, originally built in 1916, was scheduled for demolition in 2016 before Woda stepped in to propose the apartment project.