CMHA Selected to Advance

CPF Press Conference and Beechwood

Bennett Point above

Logan Commons below

CMHA Selected to Advance

Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority is Re-Imagining all of its housing stock. Public and private partnerships have funded the transformation and renovation of nearly 700 critically needed affordable homes to date. We are working diligently to get started with the transformation of over 400 more units across Hamilton County this calendar year. Among those is the Avondale high-rise, Beechwood. Substantial rehabilitation work will be done there as well as the creation of additional accessible units in the building.

We recently learned that Beechwood was nominated for Community Project Funding (CPF). Each year, Members of Congress can submit local, community-led projects to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration to received specialized federal funding through the appropriations bills. The CPF process allows Members of Congress to work closely with community partners to identify projects of importance in their regions. Congressman Greg Landsman selected CMHA to advance in the 2024 Community Project Funding process. Hearing that Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority was selected as one of the 15 projects for the 2024 Community Project Funding means the world. We have people in this community and at the Federal level who understand the need to sustain affordable housing is serious. If awarded, $5 million will be used towards the bold transformation of Beechwood. An award like this will be priceless because it comes with great partnerships, helps us preserve current housing, keeps families in need housed, and provides opportunities for businesses including small and minority enterprises. Thank you to Congressman Landsman and his team for recommending the Beechwood for this special funding.

Fair Housing is celebrated during the month of April because the Fair Housing Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on April 11, 1968. Some say it is the final great legislative achievement of the civil rights era. It protects everyone from discrimination whether renting or buying a home, seeking housing assistance or getting a mortgage. Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority provides affordable housing for all types of families including Veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities. We are working on ways to create more opportunities across Hamilton County. Currently under construction, Bennett Point is in the Pendleton neighborhood. It is a 56 unit mixed-income development that offers bedroom sizes one through three in two buildings. Logan Commons is on the horizon. The three story building will offer much needed high quality one-bedroom housing for seniors in Over-the-Rhine. By developing a variety of housing we are helping further the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. whose fight and death is the major force behind the Fair Housing Act. I always keep his words in mind, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

Kind regards,

Gregory D. Johnson, MS, EDEP, PHM

Chief Executive Officer

CMHA Beyond Housing

Award winning graphic novelist Johnnie Christmas made a virtual visit to Findlater Gardens and Winton Terrace to inspire young writers and artists as well as their parents. Christmas is the author and illustrator of Swim Team – a middle grade book about a young girl facing her fear of swimming head on. He recently won the 2023 Coretta Scott King Award Honor for Illustrator and Swim Team earned a spot on the National Book Awards longlist. The future authors who attended the visit learned that dreams do come true.

As a child, Christmas used to draw in every open space he could find in his notebooks, binders and more. He said he first started drawing at the age of three or four. Christmas shared his process for creating books, telling the attendees that it all begins with a script followed by the drawings which begin as thumbnails or rough sketches before they’re finalized with color. The inspiration for Swim Team came from a personal experience he had, as a child he nearly drowned. That let the kids know whatever they’re going through now could lead them to great things in the future. The virtual visit was presented in partnership between The National Book Foundation, Book Rich Environment and Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority. Children who attended received a free copy of Swim Team.

Historic Work

Have you seen the newest CMHA Community Report? It provides insights into the historic and life-altering work CMHA does to provide affordable housing as well as entrepreneurial opportunities for the individuals, families and businesses of Hamilton County. This year’s edition focuses on the housing transformations that were completed, future transformations, the importance of partnerships and the many ways the agency serves as a community resource in our area.

Click here to view it.

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