Happy Holidays from everyone at the Greater Ohio Policy Center!

2021 has been a year of challenges, but also a year of tremendous opportunity, and for many of the projects GOPC has been involved with, tremendous success. As be begin to look ahead to the new year, first we want to take a look back at the past 12 months and all that has happened to help create a Greater Ohio!

Historic Success at the Ohio Statehouse

A year after Ohio lawmakers unanimously passed House Bill 168, a bill that makes it easier and more economical to remediate lightly contaminated brownfields, GOPC prioritized advocacy for the establishment of a source of funding from the state to revitalize brownfield sites across the state. The final budget, which became law on July 1, 2021, including $350 million in one-time funding for the new Brownfield Remediation Fund, as well as a one-time contribution of $150 million for the demolition of vacant and abandoned commercial and residential sites around the state by county landbanks.

Since the enactment of these important new funding programs, GOPC has been hard as work, assisting in the drafting to recommendations for rules to govern the new Brownfield Remediation Fund, and educating the public about the few program. GOPC has created a new website, Revitalizing Ohio's Brownfields, and has published a new resource directory for communities across Ohio to access expertise on how to revitalize brownfields and access state funding for clean-up. We have also hosted two webinars to date focused on brownfield remediation, with additional programs planned for the new year.

Partnering for Community Improvement

In 2019, JPMorgan Chase awarded 2 Ohio initiatives $5 million grants to support neighborhood development projects and promote inclusive growth as part of its PRO Neighborhoods competition. Initiatives included Cleveland Development Advisors-Community Reinvestment Fund partnering with Finance Fund Capital Corporation on Opportunity CLE Neighborhoods to support development in Cleveland’s Buckeye/Kinsman, Clark-Fulton, and Glenville and the Ohio Capital Finance Corporation partnering with the Affordable Housing Trust of Columbus and Franklin County, Finance Fund, ECDI, and several other local partners on The 614 for Linden to help implement Columbus’ One Linden Plan. Since 2019, GOPC has served as a third-party evaluator for these 3-year long initiatives and published 2 annual white papers in 2021 related to their work: Opportunity CLE Neighborhoods 2018–2020 and The 614 for Linden 2018–2020.

In 2021, GOPC also supported a multi-sector partnership between the Ohio Capital Finance Corporation, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, called the Ohio Preservation Compact. GOPC helped the Compact report impacts related to a $1 million grant and $4 million program-related investment from the MacArthur Foundation’s Window of Opportunity: Preserving Affordable Rental Housing initiative. Over 10 years, the Compact retained 11,600 affordable housing units; the Ohio Preservation Compact Community Impact Report 2009–2020 shares quantitative metrics of its success, case studies, and lessons learned for others implementing similar affordable housing preservation strategies.

Leaders in the City of Portsmouth identified housing as an important component of city’s revitalization journey, launching a comprehensive housing analysis as a first step to understand housing conditions across the city. The Scioto Foundation, the Southern Ohio Medical Center (SOMC), the City of Portsmouth, and the Portsmouth Metropolitan Housing Authority (PMHA) engaged the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) to analyze market rate and affordable housing conditions within the municipality.

Redeveloping in the Comeback City: A Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis for Portsmouth, OH was published in October, presenting thoughtful policies to stabilize neighborhoods and preserve existing housing stock. The study presents 16 recommendations, organized into 5 priority areas, to enhance housing in the City of Portsmouth.

Elevating Smaller Legacy City Opportunities

Former industrial and manufacturing hubs like Dayton, Ohio, and Gary, Indiana—known as legacy cities—need not choose between economic growth and equity, as growth is most durable when it benefits everyone. Legacy cities can promote long-term growth while addressing racial and economic inequities laid bare by COVID-19 using seven proven strategies laid out in this Policy Brief.

In May, Greater Ohio, in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, published Equitably Developing America's Smaller Legacy Cities: Investing in Residents from South Bend to Worcester. Written by Erica Spaid Patras, Alison Goebel, and Lindsey Elam, the report builds on the Legacy Cities Initiative network of community leaders and government officials working to create shared prosperity for legacy cities.

Looking Ahead

2022 promises to be an exciting year both for Ohio and for GOPC. Entering an election year, we will be looking to reach out to candidates for statewide office in Ohio to educate them on the issues important to Ohio's cities, maintaining our focus on issues such as brownfields, transportation, legacy cities, and housing.

We will be hosting our 2022 public policy summit, Reflect & Refocus: Furthering Resilient Communities on June 9 in Columbus and look forward to seeing all our friends and partners who we missed connecting with in person this year. Keep an eye out for future announcements, including panels and keynote speakers, when registration opens early next year.

If you too believe in creating vibrant, sustainable cities and regions in Ohio, consider supporting GOPC with an end-of-year contribution. We thank you for your generous support.

All the best for 2022!

Pictured Above: The Other “Zoomers” of Greater Ohio Policy Center 1: Barry & Sylvie (Lindsey Elam) 2 + 3: Gracie & Ivan (Alison Goebel) 4 + 5: Henry & Harper (Aaron Clapper) 6: Pepper (Erica Spaid Patras) 7: Oakley (Meg Montgomery) 8: Pek (Maria Walliser-Wejebe) 9: Baker Mayfield (Jason Warner)