Ashland, Ohio

apartment housing. I’m talking about affordable housing, as well as high-end apartment housing. Currently, we have a 148-unit workforce housing project being constructed within that entertainment corridor. They expect to open this year. We have a second project that is also considered workforce housing – market rate apartments – that is expected to include 60 additional units. We also have a local entrepreneur who is building a project - for the very first time of its kind in our city – a very high-end apartment housing complex. It is designed to cater to the executive individual and it will include apartments in the range of 1,100-1,400 square feet, floor-to-ceiling glass, in-house laundry service, and other amenities. It is one step we are taking to try to keep executives, managers, and supervisors of our local companies living here in our community, rather than travelling in from outside areas. “One of the reasons that is taking place is because the city council recently approved a new tax incentive for individuals to create new housing subdivisions and apartments here in our community. And here are the parameters: If you’re a developer and you want to build a new housing subdivision in the city of Ashland, and you are going to have 12 or more buildable lots in your subdivision, and you are not receiving any other tax incentive from the state, federal, or local government, the city will give you a 100-percent abatement on your property taxes for the first ten years. If you are building an apartment complex with 12 or more units, and you are not receiving any other tax credits from any other government entity, you will also qualify for a 100-percent abatement on your property tax for the first ten years. And we are already seeing those incentives generate interest and activity in the community.” BVM: A lot of municipalities that we talk to say that they are implementing strategies to attract the younger generation of workers to their communities. Is Ashland on the same page?