Interior rendering of a typical apartment in the new YWCA Cincinnati Domestic Violence Shelter.
Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) has allocated $5 million in Federal New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) to the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati as part of UCI’s NMTC Program. This is financing the renovation of a vacant apartment building in Uptown to provide 21 units of temporary housing and support services for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV). Construction on the project has started with the shelter opening in 2024.
“UCI’s NMTC investment in the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati will assist them in helping more women and children make a fresh start that’s safe, secure and empowering. This meaningful project fits with UCI’s NMTC program mission by increasing services to the community, contributing to community revitalization and creating jobs,” said Beth Robinson, President & CEO of UCI.
NMTC Allocation Means Offering Help for More Survivors
Comfortable, high-quality living spaces with survivors’ needs in mind.
The new YWCA shelter will provide temporary housing in more than 20 living units that are beautiful, safe, and most importantly secure, places for survivors to heal from trauma. It will serve approximately 600 adults and children each year of which most have income at or below the poverty line. It will be the second IPV shelter in Hamilton County, significantly adding to the YWCA’s services offered to survivors of IPV, and their children.
Shelter is critical for survivors to have access to as they transition into life away from abuse. This new shelter will provide a beautiful, safe, secure, and most importantly, a comfortable place for survivors to heal from trauma.
“This new domestic violence shelter will change the lives of hundreds of women and their children, allowing them to escape potentially lethal situations while providing them with comfort and safety that will empower them as they start over. The YWCA thanks UCI for allocating NMTCs to make this project possible,” said Rickell Howard Smith, Executive Director of the YWCA.
Space for connecting with others, programs to build independence and access to shared resources.
Renovation plans are centered around empowering women who have survived domestic violence in all aspects of their lives. For example, they will be able to adjust lighting with dimmer switches or change the temperature of their space via a thermostat or a ceiling fan, features that calm, sooth and support survivors of domestic violence.
The new shelter significantly adds to the YWCA’s services offered to survivors of IPV, and their children. It will be the second IPV shelter in Hamilton County and joins an IPV shelter in Clermont County also serving Adams and Brown counties.
UCI’s NMTC Program
In September 2023, UCI was awarded $20 million in NMTCs, one of three Ohio entities to receive them among 102 across the United States, and the only organization in Cincinnati to be awarded.
UCI received $45 million in NMTCs on October 28, 2022, and was one of five Ohio entities among 107 across the U.S., and the only organization in Cincinnati to be awarded. In April of 2023, UCI allocated $10 million in NMTCs to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Emergency Department Expansion Project, which funded a new flex intensive care unit and observation unit to serve up to 8,842 patient visits each year.
To date, UCI has been awarded $195 million in NMTCs since 2009. The NMTC tool has been of immense value to UCI in advancing its mission to revitalize Uptown Cincinnati. NMTCs are designed to incentivize investment in low-income communities by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate these areas.
“The NMTCs have helped create jobs, provide access to healthy and affordable foods, community facilities and healthcare centers, and bring renewed interest and development to the five Uptown neighborhoods (Avondale, Clifton, Corryville, CUF, and Mt. Auburn),” Robinson said. “UCI’s NMTCs projects have leveraged an estimated $2 billion of additional investment into the community.”
Future NMTC Projects
According to Robinson, UCI has a robust pipeline of unannounced projects that will move forward using NMTCs. The organization will choose the projects that can impact Uptown most and share more when plans are solidified.