23-05-2025
Plan to convert former Downtown YMCA into affordable housing OK'd by officials
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Plans to convert the former Downtown YMCA into affordable housing are moving forward after receiving approval from Columbus development officials.
The city's Downtown Commission greenlit real estate developer Woda Cooper's proposal on May 20 to revamp the currently vacant YMCA building at the northeast corner of North Front Street and West Long Street into 121 affordable housing apartments consisting of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.
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The renovation, which could take two years, will include the restoration and cleaning of the building's brick exterior, while the windows are replaced, old fire escapes are removed, and a new enclosed stairwell is constructed in the rear. Watch a previous NBC4 report on the YMCA's conversion in the video player above.
During the meeting, Jonathan McKay, vice president of Woda Cooper, said that 33 apartments will be rented to those earning 80% of the area median income, while the remaining units will be saved for those earning between 30% to 60%.
The approval comes after Woda Cooper won a bid in August 2023 to pursue the project. The real estate developer was selected by the private urban planning firm Columbus Downtown Development Corporation because of its recent affordable housing and historic restoration work, CDDC president Amy Taylor told NBC4 at the time.
The corporation bought the building for $1 million in March 2023, Franklin County auditor's records show. YMCA of Central Ohio relocated its Downtown services elsewhere in the 2010s when it could not afford to renovate the 100-year-old building, according to Columbus Landmarks. The building was listed as one of the city's most endangered sites in 2023.
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Taylor previously emphasized that the building's facade will look 'much the same,' but the interior will be modernized. She noted that when the YMCA was built in 1924, it featured traditional dormitory-style units that didn't have their own bathroom and kitchen.
'As we transition 100 years later, that's not what we're looking for in this particular site,' Taylor said.
Woda Cooper's previous development timeline called for construction to begin in early 2025, with units on the market by the end of the year and the project finished by late 2026. It's unclear how that timeline has adjusted.
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