The Scioto Foundation, in partnership with the City of Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Metropolitan Housing Authority, releases a Housing Action Plan for Portsmouth, Ohio.
PORTSMOUTH, OH (May 2024) – Community leaders in Portsmouth have recently released the Portsmouth Housing Action Plan, which focuses on strategies to increase housing options in the city.
This Plan is a second phase of work by the Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC), which completed a housing market analysis for Portsmouth in 2021. For the 2024 Action Plan, GOPC conducted interviews and met with city staff, nonprofit directors, and residents, to learn about what is being done well. GOPC also identified areas of work that could use more attention and resources from housing organizations. [AG1] [CT2] [AG3]
The Portsmouth Housing Action Plan contains 16 recommendations to achieve 4 goals:
- Increase the stock of starter homes
- Create more quality affordable rentals
- Lower barriers to development and incentivize new development
- Geographically target resources for greatest impact
Implementation is the name of the game for the Action Plan. Each recommendation identifies responsible parties and timelines for carrying out the suggested action. Some of the strategies identified will be done by members of the existing Housing Consortium, a group facilitated by the Scioto Foundation that meets monthly. The Consortium is made up of housing agencies, nonprofits, and local government officials, all dedicated to improving housing options in Portsmouth.
The centerpiece of the Action Plan is a recommendation to create a new housing-focused nonprofit in Portsmouth. An organization tasked with creating affordably priced housing through rehabs of existing properties or new buildings would bring outsized benefit to Portsmouth and facilitate the implementation of other recommendations in the plan.
Kim Cutlip, Executive Director of the Scioto Foundation, said “We are excited by steps suggested by the Action Plan. We know that solving Portsmouth’s housing crisis will not occur overnight, but we believe change will come as we dig into these recommendations.” [AG4]
“The data and recommendations in this plan will help guide city leadership on development goals in Portsmouth” said Sam Sutherland, City Manager.
Peggy Rice, Executive Director of PMHA, said “Portsmouth, though it has its challenges, is full of opportunity. This plan offers strategies to unlock that potential and provide additional housing opportunities for residents.”
The Portsmouth Housing Action Plan can be found here:
www.greaterohio.org/publications/2024/5/14/portsmouth-housing-action-plan
About Scioto Foundation
The Scioto Foundation is a collection of hundreds of endowment funds created by people, businesses, families, and nonprofit organizations. These funds are linked together by our mission to improve the quality of life for the residents of the greater Scioto County area.
We identify current and emerging issues, stimulate resources to address those needs and help our community prepare for the future. We do this and more to ensure there is a permanent, philanthropic resource in our community. For good. Forever.
About Greater Ohio Policy Center
Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with a mission to improve Ohio’s communities through smart growth strategies and research. Our vision is a revitalized Ohio. We undertake original research and analysis, develop pragmatic policy recommendations and advocacy strategies, and deploy our convening power to meet the needs of Ohio’s local change-makers. We operate statewide.
I’m not loving this rewrite but I’m trying to make this accessible as possible and think “gaps in organizational capacity” is too consultant-speak. I’m trying to think about how I would explain to my mom what gaps in org capacity are and this i the best I could come up with… maybe you have ideas? [AG1]
[CT2]“attention and resources from housing organizations”?
much better! [AG3]
flagging this new addition. Can you ask Kim if she wants to be the one quoted or if we should attribute it to her board chair [AG4]
