Northside apartment complex to get incentives, renamed for key figure in landmark court case
Northside apartment complex to get incentives, renamed for key figure in landmark court case: Cincinnati Business Courier, June 3, 2021
A $12 million Northside apartment complex being marketed to elderly LGBTQ people received tax incentives from the Cincinnati City Council today on a unanimous vote.
The John Arthur Flats, 4145 Apple St., will receive a 67% property tax abatement.
The project, formerly known as Apple Street Senior, is being named after John Arthur, the late husband of the Cincinnatian who brought the historic case to the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States. Philadelphia-based Pennrose development and Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation will co-own the project.
Arthur was married to Jim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges U.S. Supreme Court case in 2015. Obergefell, who married Arthur in Maryland, brought suit after the state of Ohio would not recognize their marriage on Hodges death certificate.
“John had dreams of doing something grand to benefit Cincinnati but was never able to do that because of his ALS diagnosis,” Obergefell said in a prepared statement. “NEST has made John’s dream come true, and I’m confident he would be honored to be remembered in this way, especially when this project benefits the oft-overlooked community of LGBTQ+ elders."
John Arthur Flats will have 57 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments for seniors at 30% to 60% of the area median income. Residents will have access to a fitness center, community space, outdoor terrace, on-site laundry and parking. The development will also include on-site supportive services provided by Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio, Pennrose Management Company and Caracole, the Greater Cincinnati region’s nonprofit AIDS Service Organization.
The building at the site, formerly a Save-a-Lot grocery store, will be demolished. Construction is expected to start this year.
In addition to the tax abatement, which will save the project nearly $1.1 million over the next 15 years, also received $1 million in federal HOME funds via the city. It will not pay into a fund to support affordable housing because it is affordable housing, said the city’s economic director, Markiea Carter. It will pay $539,455 to the Cincinnati Public Schools.
“I want to say how incredibly impressive and exciting this project is,” said Councilman Chris Seelbach. “It’s almost the epitome of how far we’ve come (on LGBTQ rights).”
A community room will be named after Maureen Wood, a longtime LGBTQ Northside resident who died in 2017. Wood owned Crazy Ladies Bookstore and taught home repair and improvement classes to single women and mothers.
“We celebrate the opportunity to honor meaningful people like John Arthur and Maureen Wood who are no longer with us but have surely left profound impacts throughout their lives,” said Sarah Thomas, NEST’s executive director.
