Construction workers this summer are expected to start transforming the former YMCA building in downtown Columbus into affordable housing.
Woda Cooper Development says the company will convert the 200,000-square-foot building at 40 W. Long St. from 400 dorm-like rooms into 121 apartments.
Jonathan McKay, the company's vice president of development, said the $60 million project balances livability and safety with historical preservation.
McKay said the property is on the National Register of Historic Places. The YMCA opened at the location in 1924.
"We care very much about preserving the history," McKay said. "So we want to make sure we're honoring that and basically refurbishing it, or refreshing, is what I like to call it, so that it can be updated to meet what people are looking for today in a project or in a development or in a housing unit."
He said the firm has experience doing this sort of work, and he believes that's why his firm was selected by the Downtown Development Corporation.
"The big thing that I think set us apart was our familiarity with historic projects in general, but also adapt every use or converting existing structures to modernize them into housing units, specifically affordable housing units. That was a main criteria, or priority of the RFP, or the request for proposals," McKay said.
The renovation will not include getting rid of the building's gym.
"Because that's a critical feature of the Y. When people hear YMCA, that's what they immediately think of, you know the recreation, play aspect. So we're keeping the gym," McKay said.
But, developers will make bigger corridors and elevators, which will require moving some of the utilities around.
"In order to modernize it, it does create a long construction timeline, which is pretty standard for a project of this magnitude when you're converting an existing structure because you're dealing with moving walls," he said.
McKay said he anticipates tenants moving in at the beginning of 2028.
McKay said most of the apartments will be between one and three bedrooms and there will be one studio apartment. Rents will be income based. A three-bedroom apartment could cost a family between $875 and $1,399 a month. A two-bedroom apartment could range from $790 to $1,299 per month. A one-bedroom could go for $675 to $1,099 a month. The studio apartment is expected to cost $445 per month.
McKay also said income restrictions for tenants will be between 30% and 80% of the area's median income, which is an annual income between $22,000 and $58,000 per year for a single person.
The redevelopment project is being financed with low-income housing tax credits. It will benefit from a real estate tax abatement because the building is located in the downtown Community Reinvestment Area.
McKay said the credits make the project more affordable.
"That is really crucial to making sure that every tool financially is used in order to bring this project to life. These types of things, like a real estate tax abatement, are very, very important to making a project work because at the end of the day, we're serving people that are on a fixed income," he said.
