A blighted, vacant lot at 5917 Piqua Avenue is now the site of a charming 3-bedroom, 3-bath home. Working In Neighborhoods (WIN) put the house on the market in October. It’s the twentieth home WIN has built or rehabbed in College Hill as part of its efforts to revitalize the area around Cedar Avenue.
The home’s modular construction and LEED certification reduce operating costs, cut energy usage, and lower carbon emissions. It will be sold to a first-time homeowner whose income is at or below 80% of the area median income (e.g., a family of four earning $80,900 or below would qualify). “We will soon see a family living in this house, which is very exciting to us,” said WIN executive director Sr. Barbara Busch.
Partners on the project include neighbors in College Hill, the City of Cincinnati, HomeBase, the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, The Port Authority, and the Ed Wells College Hill Housing Fund. Wells, who passed away in 2021, was a former College Hill resident who, with his family, established a fund to promote building affordable housing in that community. “We are grateful to all of our partners who work with WIN to make homeownership possible for low- to moderate-income families,” said Busch. “Homeownership offers families financial stability and a way to create generational wealth.”