NELSONVILLE, OHIO — Woda Group Inc. has completed the conversion of a historic school into a 33-unit affordable housing property in Nelsonville, 60 miles southeast of Columbus. A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Friday, March 2. The project, which included the restoration and renovation of two buildings into one facility, will be restricted to workforce families earning 60 percent of the area median income. Original chalkboards and classroom closets were incorporated into several of the units. Woda Group repurposed the school’s original auditorium into a large community room with a kitchen, property management office and fitness center.
Funding for the $9.6 million project came from Ohio historic preservation tax credits administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency; federal historic preservation tax incentives through the National Park Service; and competitive housing tax credits made available through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA). The Ohio Capital Corp. for Housing also served as an investor for the project, providing equity in exchange for tax credits. OHFA’s Home Development Loan Program provided a bridge loan. Summit Community Bank provided construction and permanent financing.