City official outlines how $500 million in voter-authorized housing bonds will be used to produce and protect affordable units
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Summary
Erin Prosser of the Department of Development told the Columbus Advisory Commission on Disability Issues that voters approved $500 million for affordable housing and that the city has deployed roughly $200 million so far to create income-restricted rental units, homeownership opportunities and supportive housing while funding programmatic supports for the most vulnerable.
Erin Prosser, a housing leader in the City of Columbus Department of Development, told the commission that "Columbus voters in the fall authorized us to to spend $500,000,000 on affordable housing," and walked commissioners through how the city plans to use those funds.
Prosser said the city has invested about $200 million of previously authorized bond dollars to date, producing roughly 6,000 income-restricted rental units, about 300 permanently affordable homeownership opportunities and nearly 700 permanent supportive-housing units created with nonprofit partners. "When we put dollars into a project, they don't just get cheaper," she said. "They get income qualified and protected," describing affordability periods that typically range from 15 to 30 years when projects are paired with state or federal funding.
Why it matters: Prosser framed the work as both a supply and programmatic challenge. Census-based slides in her presentation showed the population groups unable to afford median rent expanded substantially between 2010 and 2024, and she warned that building more units alone will not solve near-term crises for households already at risk of eviction or homelessness.
Prosser explained how bond funding is used: by contributing to construction costs the city can lower the debt burden on a project so rents can be set at income-qualified levels and protected for a specified timeframe. She said public investment is typically paired with federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits or HUD funds, which create compliance requirements and monitoring: "They have annual compliance. They have to demonstrate that the family living in the unit at the time of lease had the income that we require," she said.
On homeowners and repairs, Prosser said the department runs critical- and emergency-repair programs and a roof-repair option funded in part with bond dollars. "Of the bond dollars spent to date, we've spent about $7,000,000 making those investments in those homes," she said, describing lead remediation and repair programs targeted at low-income homeowners.
Partnerships and leverage: Prosser emphasized partnerships with nonprofit and institutional partners, citing work with the Central Ohio Community Land Trust and Nationwide Children's Hospital's Healthy Homes, Healthy Families initiative on neighborhood investments. She said the $200 million already deployed has leveraged roughly $1.4 billion in additional public and private funds.
Program-level supports and the near-term crisis: To address people currently in crisis, Prosser described the Division of Housing Stability's resilient-housing initiative and a small rental-assistance program, and said the city is standing up a Columbus outreach and resource engagement team to improve outreach to people living outdoors. She acknowledged the city lacks the budget to deliver long-term rental subsidies at scale and pointed to the voucher system as a federal responsibility: "Housing vouchers is the only entitlement out of the federal government that you don't automatically get if you qualify," she said, noting long waitlists.
Commissioners pressed on unit mix and family-sized units. Prosser said market incentives favor studios and one-bedrooms and that the department is testing incentives to encourage more two-, three- and four-bedroom units to better serve families.
What happens next: Prosser said the department will continue to deploy bond dollars with partners, publish a map showing investments and opportunities, and engage the commission as plans for the larger $500 million deployment move forward. She offered to return for follow-up and provided staff contact information for commissioners with additional questions.
Sources and provenance: This article draws on the Department of Development presentation and commissioner Q&A during the CACD meeting (presentation and Q&A entries). The transcript records Prosser's statements including the $500 million figure and the unit counts and program descriptions.
