Former Garver YMCA Site Sold to CMHA for 216 Affordable Units

The YMCA of Central Ohio sold the 9-acre Garver YMCA site at 1827 Livingston Ave. to Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority after closing the 30-year facility on May 30. CMHA plans to build 216 income-restricted apartments in nine three-story walk-up buildings for households earning 70 to 76 percent of the Columbus area median income.

Thirty Years on Livingston Avenue

The Garver YMCA opened in 1996 as one of the few full-service community centers on Columbus's southeast side. Over three decades it provided fitness facilities, swim lessons, youth sports leagues, and after-school programs to the Driving Park corridor and surrounding neighborhoods — a stretch of the city that saw declining public investment through much of the 2000s and 2010s.

The facility had been struggling to sustain itself in recent years. The YMCA of Central Ohio's official closure FAQ cited "facility limitations, declining usage, and operational challenges," framing the decision as part of a 10-year organizational sustainability plan. The branch opened the same year as several other neighborhood YMCAs across the city, and had become one of the less-trafficked locations in the system.

The branch closed permanently on May 30, 2026.

The Sale: What Is Confirmed

The YMCA has confirmed in its Jerry L. Garver Closure FAQ that it has an agreement to sell the property to Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority "so the site can continue serving the community in a meaningful way." NBC4 WCMH-TV first reported CMHA's housing plans for the site.

As of this report, no deed transfer has been publicly filed at the Franklin County Recorder's office, and CMHA told NBC4 it was "too early to discuss plans" when asked about a development timeline. No formal site plan or zoning application has appeared in city records.

What is confirmed: a roughly nine-acre former institutional site in southeast Columbus is moving from a nonprofit community organization to the city's primary affordable housing authority.

Nine Walk-Up Buildings, 216 Units

CMHA's preliminary concept, as reported by NBC4, calls for nine three-story walk-up apartment buildings totaling 216 units, along with a clubhouse and pool. No unit-mix breakdown — studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms — has been publicly released.

At 216 units across nine acres, the project would land at roughly 24 units per acre. That puts it in the range of garden-apartment density — lower than a downtown tower, higher than scattered single-family construction. Walk-up buildings of that configuration fit the Livingston Avenue corridor, where two- and three-story residential structures are the norm.

The actual building footprint will depend on setbacks, parking, and the amenity space CMHA has described.

Who the Units Are For

This income band is workforce housing. It sits above the deepest-subsidy levels — where federal housing vouchers and the lowest-income tax-credit programs operate — but well below what Columbus's rising market-rate rents demand from applicants.

In practical terms, this tier typically covers working adults in jobs like healthcare support, retail management, and skilled trades, who earn a steady income but find their options in the Columbus rental market narrowing every year. These income-restricted rents are set by a federal formula, not by market demand, which is what makes them genuinely affordable rather than merely below-luxury.

One important distinction: CMHA has not said whether these units will carry project-based vouchers or rely solely on the income limit. The difference matters to potential residents — project-based vouchers can make the same apartment accessible to residents with deeper subsidy needs as well.

Southeast Columbus Is Underserved

Recent large affordable-housing investments in Columbus have concentrated in the Near East Side (Mercy on Main in Olde Towne East, scattered-site homes on the Near East Side), downtown (AspireCOLUMBUS), and suburban expansions like Grove City (Cobblestone Manor). The southeast side — particularly the Livingston Avenue corridor east of downtown — has seen fewer of these investments per square mile.

This cluster would represent one of the more substantial new affordable communities in this corridor in recent years.

For additional context on how income-restricted housing gets built in Columbus, see our coverage of the tax-credit-backed Mercy on Main project in Olde Towne East.

How This Fits CMHA's Larger Strategy

The Garver project is one piece of what the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority has called its most active development period in recent memory. Other projects already underway include AspireCOLUMBUS near Downtown, Cobblestone Manor in Grove City, The Falls in southeast Columbus, and scattered-site homes across the Near East Side, West Side, and Galena through Flores Development.

If Garver advances, it adds another sizable project to a southeast side portfolio that already includes The Falls on a different site, making CMHA one of the most active residential builders in this quadrant of the city.

What Comes Next

Three public milestones to watch: a Franklin County deed transfer confirming the sale price and closing date; a city zoning application (the site's institutional history means a rezoning to residential use is likely required before plans can proceed); and a financing announcement — CMHA typically layers Low Income Housing Tax Credits, City of Columbus bond funds, and other capital sources to fund projects of this scale.

No OHFA LIHTC application for this site has appeared in public records. OHFA has already announced its most recent statewide tax-credit allocations, so any Garver application would likely target a future competitive cycle.

From confirmed sale to occupied apartments, projects at this scale typically take two to four years. Southeast Columbus residents who used the Garver branch should expect a multi-year transition before new housing opens on the site.