Key Facts
Location: Springfield, OH
Partners: City of Springfield, Clark County, local and regional financial institutions, local realtors, community leaders within the housing industries, Springfield residents, and other public and private sector stakeholders
Summary: Established through multi-sector collaboration, the Springfield Housing Solutions Consortium is a multi-sector group of community leaders that are addressing the City’s current market-rate and affordable housing needs.
About
The Springfield Housing Solutions Consortium is a group of leaders from the public, private, philanthropic, and financial sectors who are working together to address the City’s housing needs – an issue area recognized by leaders in many industries as the crucial missing piece for Springfield. To retain and attract residents and businesses, Springfield leaders have strategically made housing a top priority through the creation of the Springfield Housing Solutions Consortium – which unifies community leaders around shared housing goals.
In 2019, the City of Springfield commissioned two independent studies to guide its housing policies, with the assistance of the Housing Consortium. One analysis focused on Springfield’s southside neighborhoods; the process included resident engagement and the development of recommendations for revitalization. The second study was a comprehensive, community-wide housing analysis that looked at the City’s existing housing stock, highlighted key strengths, and offered recommendations to guide city leaders and community stakeholders in their decision-making. This analysis was titled “Housing in the Champion City – The Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis for Springfield, Ohio.”
The Housing Solutions Consortium played a crucial role in the procurement and engagement for both studies, and a group of private sector entities involved in the Consortium assisted the City in funding the studies. The Consortium guided the two reports throughout their drafting stages and will be included in implementing the recommendations provided to community leaders and the City. The final community-wide housing analysis, written by GOPC, was the result of more than three dozen community leaders’ collaboration, who helped ensure that the study considered all aspects of housing as well as that the resulting policy recommendations were actionable and well-positioned for implementation.
Springfield’s latest housing policies and the convening of community leaders have begun to help the City encourage a mix of housing options, and GOPC expects the Consortium’s involvement will have the long-term outcome of stabilizing key neighborhoods. The group’s future efforts will continue to be vital in influencing policy decisions that address Springfield’s housing needs, which community leaders recognize as a crucial component to aspects of growth and development in the City.