Hamilton considers selling lots for new home construction pilot program

City council will consider in May selling 10 lots at $1 each next month to three organizations so they can construct eight homes.

Three of the parcels are in the 600 block of East Avenue, said Planning Director Laura Nelson.

“These three properties are being proposed to transfer to Neighborhood Housing Services for the construction of two new single-family homes,” she said. “Part of the process is that this all will be surveyed and replatted, so these parcels will become two before two new homes are constructed.”

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati will purchase four non-contiguous lots, three of them on Ludlow Street and one on Maple Avenue. The organization plans to build a new home on each of those lots, as well as a fifth home on a Ludlow lot the agency already owns.

Similar to the homes in the 600 block of East Avenue, Hamilton CORE plans to do the same with three lots in the 900 block of East Avenue. But they have to wait for an adjacent property to become available, Nelson said.

The city owns 936 and 938 East Ave.

“(The property at) 934, just to the north will also end up in CORE’s hands and that currently sits with the CIC (Community Improvement Corporation) so that’s not before you,” Nelson told city council on Wednesday. “Ultimately, CORE will be receiving three parcels that would be replatted to make two larger lots for the construction of two new single-family homes.”

The price points of the new homes are not yet known as building materials are purchased and a comparative market analysis is completed, city officials said. It’s expected these homes, which would be marketed to existing Jefferson neighborhood residents, to be under market value.

Bucheit told the Journal-News in February the city plans to expand this program across the city, but started in the greater Jefferson neighborhood as it’s one of Hamilton’s most economically challenged. There are hundreds of vacant lots with established supporting infrastructure, and the city manager has said the goal is to get these lots back into a productive use.

The pilot program will be conducted over the next three years. The first 30 new single-family homes built would be eligible to have utility and building permit fees waived, except for the utility meters installation fees, which is an $850 cost. Prospective homebuyers could save upwards of $9,200 in permit fees.