Three homes are coming to the Sandfield community as part of a redevelopment plan to build affordable housing in the area, Antwann Richardson, president of Columbus-based construction company J5 GBL, told The Dispatch on Thursday.
The plan, dubbed “Building Back Sandfield,” was conceived by local developer Jabari Edwards, who previously told The Dispatch his goal is to revitalize the neighborhood where he once lived. Through one of his companies — BH Properties — Edwards purchased 24 duplexes in the area in 2018, procured permits to burn down the structures and began dirt work on the same site where he planned to build 12 affordable housing units.
Now, the company has received three building permits from the city to build houses at the corner of College and South 25th streets, across the street from Sandfield Cemetery. Each of the three 1,200-square-foot houses will have three bedrooms, two baths and a carport, Richardson told The Dispatch on Thursday. The houses will be priced between $100,000 and $120,000 and will be available for purchase instead of rent, he said.
The houses that were once there, Richardson said, were in poor shape.
“The prior homes on the property were known for high crime, poor conditions, and being uninhabitable,” Richardson told The Dispatch in a Thursday press release. “Those homes will be replaced with a modern designed home, equipped with energy efficient amenities, and security lighting.”
The construction of the three units — expected to reach completion by the end of the year — is the first part of Phase 1 of the redevelopment plan, which is to bring six such homes to the area, Richardson said. The other phases of the project are still in the works, and he is not sure how many affordable housing units the company will build there eventually, he said.
The company does not receive any tax incentives or grants from the state or local government for the construction of affordable housing, Richardson told The Dispatch. However, he said, the company will help homeowners through the buying process.
“We help them through credit counseling … in order to get them to the point where they can be homeowners,” Richardson told The Dispatch. “We hold their hand through the entire process, and we create a win-win for everyone. But the main goal for us is to provide great homes for people that typically wouldn’t have this opportunity to purchase a home.”
Yue Stella Yu was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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