On May 14th, the small neighborhood of South Cumminsville welcomed their newest neighbors and heralded the beginning of a project aimed at increasing home ownership in the community. Dawn and Sean Ringer, and three of their seven children moved into their newly-renovated home at 1817 Elmore Street. “We are so happy,” said Dawn. “We have been working on this since October.” The Ringers are moving from a rented home in Norwood to a turn of the century, 3-bedroom home. Before purchasing the home, the first-time home owners participated in homebuyer classes to educate themselves about how to shop for a mortgage and the responsibilities of homeownership. They also worked to clean up their credit.
The Ringers’ new home is part of $1.3 million , 24-home project to revitalize the Borden Street Corridor in South Cuminsville. While the neighborhood has a 54% homeownership rate, with homeownership rates as high as 78% on some streets, the Borden Street Corridor is plagued by 13 vacant homes. “We are thrilled to work with Working In Neighborhoods to bring our community up,” said Marilyn Evans, South Cumminsville Community Council President.
Working In Neighborhoods is working on the Borden Corridor Revitalization Project over the next five years to bring new homeowners to the community. The project includes renovating or building 24 homes, and educating at least 75 families about purchasing a home. The homes will have energy-saving features including replacement windows, energy-efficient furnaces, and LEED-recommended insulation.
Funders for the Borden Street Corridor Project are: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation; Duke Energy; Robert H. Reakirt Foundation, PNC Bank, Trustee; The City of Cincinnati; The SC Ministry Foundation
Funders for the Ringer’s home specifically are: The City of Cincinnati Cooper Electric; The Adrian Dominican Loan Fund
