Since 2012, the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation, better known as COCIC, has worked tirelessly to create stable homes, reclaim commercial property, and restart real estate markets in Franklin County through direct programming and strategic partnerships.
An Impact Report by the Greater Ohio Policy Center, and accompanying video, tracks the astonishing results COCIC achieved in its first decade as the county’s land bank, and highlights how essential COCIC (with its affordable housing subsidiary, COCLT) will continue to be to the future success of catalytic redevelopment and affordable housing initiatives in Franklin County.
In the last 10 years, 65% of Franklin County’s townships and municipalities have directly benefited from at least one intervention by COCIC, such as the demolition of a blighted property, repair of an owner-occupied home, or construction of new affordably-priced housing.
Countywide, COCIC’s work has preserved or increased property values by at least $320 million in the last decade.
Other key findings from the report show from 2012 to 2022 COCIC has:
Demolished 3,349 blighted residential units
Reclaimed more than 205 acres of commercial property
Funded or financed over 350 units of affordable housing
Cleared the path for the private-market to produce 138 market-rate owner-occupied homes and 1,648 market-rate rental units
The report also indicates COCIC has yielded positive returns on their programs:
For every $1 COCIC has spent on demolition nearby home values increased by $4.30, which has led to $146 million in increased property values.
For every $1 COCIC has contributed to an affordable housing project, the developer has leveraged another $3.86 from other sources.
Forty-five percent of COCIC’s interventions have occurred in areas that were formerly redlined, providing much needed countermeasures that will allow residents to experience safer neighborhoods, improved housing quality, and rising property values, among other social and economic improvements.
As COCIC continues its work into the its next decade, it will continue to change neighborhoods and transform lives in Franklin County.
To access a 1-pager summary, Executive Summary, Full report or video, click here.