150-Year-Old Office Buildings Get New Life as Low-income Housing Community

After sitting vacant for 15 years, two historic Cincinnati office buildings are now the first low-income housing development to hit the central business district in decades.

Dubbed The Barrister, the community boasts 44 units, all reserved for residents making 30% to 60% of the area median income. It sits in a prime location in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, which has seen a run-up in rents in recent years, forcing lower-income workers to find housing far from the city’s major center of employment.

“The location is ideal,” says Mary Burke Rivers, executive director at Over-the-Rhine Community Housing. “It’s located near jobs, public transit, a grocery store, and the public library.”

The Barrister is the result of a full-scale rehabilitation of two historic office buildings built between 1865 and 1880. The initial purchase of the 150-year-old sites came in at $2.5 million—a high price for a low-income housing tax credit project—so developers had to get creative with financing further expenses. Local community foundations donated an additional $945,000 to the cause.

“We are particularly grateful for the immense private and philanthropic support we received,” Rivers says.

In addition to offering affordable housing and a work-adjacent location, the $16.8 million development offers complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi in every unit, a large community room, and commercial space on the first floor.