How much money Columbus has budgeted to tackle affordable housing crisis

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Central Ohio is in the middle of an affordable housing crisis. To help combat this, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther wants to allocate more than $100 million toward it in the $1.23 billion proposed city budget for 2025.

Housing is expensive in central Ohio, and Columbus is a fast-growing city. That’s why Ginther said more money is needed to build more homes. Affordable housing is something many are struggling with right now.

“I see a lot of homeless people that really they just can’t afford to pay rent at a lot of places,” said Darrell Beyrom, a Columbus resident.

“You know, you can work your butt off and still not afford one of the basic kind of needs for life. It’s kind of really upsetting,” said local homeowner Seretha Ransom.

Of the $100 million dollars, $83 million would go toward bonds and federal grants to bring more affordable housing units to the city. Rachel Lustig, the CEO of Lutheran Social Services, said that could put in a dent in the housing crisis.

“We could bring another 2,500 units of affordable housing into our community and that is important. It makes a significant difference,” said Lustig.

Another $10 million of the proposed budget would go to nonprofits working with the city’s most vulnerable. In a previous city budget, Lustig said millions of dollars were used to build 3,500 units in Columbus. She said people should expect to see new homes and apartment buildings being constructed in the near future.

“I hope and believe so that they’ll continue to see significant projects across our community that are helping to stabilize our affordable housing stock,” said Lustig.

Lustig said she wants the money to be used for affordable housing for the most vulnerable and for the people who are not living in poverty but are spending a lot of their salary on housing. That’s something local homeowner Seretha Ransom said she wants to see as well. “I hope it gets better. I hope that the everyday, average person is being considered when they make their decisions about affordable housing,” said Ransom.

Lustig said housing is a right, not a privilege, and more work needs to continue if the city wants to get out of this crisis. Columbus City Council will discuss the proposed 2025 city budget during their upcoming meetings and are expected to approve an amended budget in early 2025.