New affordable housing is coming to Columbus' Near East Side, thanks to a partnership between Trinity Baptist Church and National Church Residences.
The Scarborough will be an 84-unit, income-restricted senior housing complex. It's Trinity Baptist Church's first housing project.
Rev. Victor Davis said National Church Residences will lease Trinity Baptist's parking lot across from the church building on St. Clair Avenue. Davis expects construction on the housing complex to begin in mid-January.
"Everyone knows that Columbus is in a major housing crisis. Not just housing, but affordable housing," Davis said. "The church has the vision, based upon our biblical belief that we are to seek to meet the needs of the least of them — to provide housing that is affordable, housing that is safe, and housing that is dignified."
Davis said in the past, Trinity Baptist has helped those in need with mortgage payments, rent and home repairs. The project with National Church Residences has been in the works since 2018.
"Our job is to ensure that we represent our faith by our service to others. So it's not that we're doing [this] now, it's that we are doing what we've been doing and it looks different now," Davis said.
The Scarborough will have one and two-bedroom apartments for seniors with incomes ranging from 30% to 80% of the area median income.
Trinity Baptist chose the name for the project in honor of former Trinity Baptist Church Pastor Rev. N. L. Scarborough.
Scarborough was mayor of the Bronzeville neighborhood in the late 1930s and bolstered the voice of the African American community living there.
National Church Residences received HUD Section 202 Housing for Elderly funding for the project, as well as a state low-income housing tax credit.
Construction is expected to take about 18 months, wrapping up in early 2027.
