Columbus Breaks Ground on 23 Affordable East Side Condos

Columbus and the Central Ohio Community Land Trust broke ground August 27 on 23 income-restricted condos at East Broad Street and South Gould Road. They'll sell for roughly $199,000 to buyers earning up to 120 percent of the area median income.

The city broke ground on the project August 27, a Thursday, at the corner of East Broad Street and South Gould Road, where a vacant lot will become 23 two- and three-bedroom condominiums. The developers plan to welcome homebuyers in fall 2027.

What 'permanently affordable' means here

The Broad and Gould Condominiums use a community land trust structure. Under the Central Ohio Community Land Trust model, the buyer owns the home while the land trust keeps ownership of the land. Buyers hold a 99-year ground lease on the underlying land rather than owning it outright.

When a homeowner sells, the next buyer must also be income-qualified rather than purchasing the home at an unrestricted market price. That's the resale structure Curtiss Williams, president and CEO of the land trust's parent organization, told ABC6 makes the homes permanently affordable.

The bond funding

Columbus voters approved a $500 million Affordable Housing Bond in November 2025, the largest local housing investment in city history, as part of a broader $1.9 billion bond package, WOSU Public Media reported.

Mayor Andrew Ginther's administration laid out how the money would be spent at a February 2026 event: $125 million for shelter-system improvements and preserving existing affordable housing, $175 million for acquiring land and building denser housing, $150 million for building and preserving affordable rental units, and $50 million for reducing development costs through public-private partnerships, according to WOSU's reporting on the event.

The Broad and Gould project draws on that bond through direct city funding: the city's putting $3 million in Affordable Housing Bond money toward construction and another $1.1 million toward homebuyer assistance, according to CW Columbus and ABC6 On Your Side.

Finance Fund is a third partner in the project, alongside the City of Columbus and COCLT.

Who qualifies, and what buyers get

To purchase a Broad and Gould condo, buyers must earn no more than 120 percent of the Columbus area median income and complete COCLT's homebuyer orientation requirements. Williams told ABC6 that a single person typically needs to earn up to about $79,000 to qualify, and a family of four needs about $110,000.

At roughly $199,000, the condos price below the broader Columbus market: the July 2026 Columbus REALTORS report put the regional median sale price at $350,000, up 2.3 percent year-over-year. That comparison doesn't include homeowners association fees, property taxes, insurance, or the land trust's resale restrictions, all of which buyers would need to weigh.

What the project changes on the East Side

The project replaces the vacant lot with income-restricted homes for individual ownership. The public funding lowers the initial purchase price, while the land trust structure limits future resale to another income-qualified buyer.

What to watch next

The immediate milestone is construction progress toward the fall 2027 completion date. COCLT lists The Flats on Broad and Gould among its current development queues and says interested homebuyers must attend an orientation class before returning its homebuyer questionnaire.

For more on East Side development, see CREN's development coverage.

Sources: CW Columbus · ABC6 On Your Side · City of Columbus Affordable Housing Bond page · COCLT website · WOSU Public Media