Facing an anemic rate of housing construction (~1,300 units per year) that is failing to keep pace with population growth, Cincinnati Councilmember Mark Jeffrey, as Chair of the Equitable Growth & Housing Committee, proposed—and the City Council adopted—a “Big Audacious Housing Goal” to build 40,000 units of housing in 10 years.
With a broad coalition of partners, including the city administration, developers, the Port, financial institutions, and community councils, a three-pronged plan was developed:
First, remove red tape that increases development costs and deters investment in the city. The administration is benchmarking all Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) against peer cities (e.g., permitting timelines, inspection processes, fees) and will release the results by September. These KPIs will then be publicly reported and measured monthly to ensure it does not cost more to develop in the city than elsewhere.
Second, streamline the community council approval process to speed up approvals and align expectations, ensuring that developers know exactly what to expect. While community input remains important, it should not come at the expense of needed housing or cause unnecessary delays. The process will be reformed to make it predictable and uniform.
Third, launch a “Big Bet” on incentives and subsidies. With housing costs up 45% in recent years, many projects no longer pencil out financially. Under this plan, the city will contribute $100 million (via bonding off Tax Increment Financing, or TIF) and seek an additional $300–$400 million from local and national foundations. The “theory of the case” is to measure the impact of this significant housing investment on jobs, health, education, and other quality-of-life metrics. Local foundations have already committed several hundred million dollars to housing over the next decade, creating strong momentum for the initiative.
In the context of national conversations like those sparked by the book Abundance, this plan is expected to draw significant attention and signal that “the city is open for building all the housing needed—a growing, thriving city!” Most importantly, producing this level of housing is expected to greatly improve residents’ lives through enhanced housing stability, which in turn positively influences employment, health, education, and more.
Impact or how it will be measured:
The primary goal is clear and measurable—40,000 units of housing in 10 years. Interim targets include achieving 4,000 units annually and tracking “in-process” metrics from KPI benchmarking to verify that red tape is being removed—for example, reductions in permitting and inspection times and parity with or improvement over peer cities. Additionally, the “theory of the case” will be evaluated by measuring the housing initiative’s broader impacts on jobs, health, education, and other factors. This research will be conducted in partnership with the LEO Center at Notre Dame and the University of Cincinnati.