Columbus City Council has signed off on a development deal that puts the next big phase of Steelton Village on the launching pad for the South Side, pairing hundreds of new apartments with a park and street upgrades designed to plug the project into the surrounding neighborhood.
The agreement, approved Monday, locks in terms with the residential-phase developer and clears the way for a run at lucrative state tax credits that supporters say could make the project’s larger financing puzzle finally snap into place.
According to the City of Columbus’ Legistar file, the ordinance authorizes the Department of Development to enter into a development agreement with Lotus Advantage Steelton I, LLC for the Steelton Village residential project. The first phase covers about 16.41 acres near 1981 S. High St. and calls for 455 multifamily units aimed at households earning 60% of the area median income, along with a new public park and a connector road to South High Street. The city documents state the developer is committing more than $200 million to this opening residential phase. City of Columbus Legistar
Developer Seeks State Tax Credits
As reported by Columbus Business First, the developer plans to chase Ohio’s Transformational Mixed-Use Development tax credits to help bankroll the broader residential buildout. The council vote was timed to land before the developer submits its application for those highly competitive state incentives.
How TMUD Works And Why It Matters
The TMUD program offers transferable tax credits meant to spark large, mixed-use projects that might otherwise stall, but the awards are capped and competition is stiff. Recent state budget changes shifted oversight of the program and bumped up its total funding cap for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, a tweak that turns TMUD into an even bigger lever for projects that can clear the program’s certification and construction hurdles. Ohio Legislative Service Commission
What’s In The Pipeline
City materials indicate the west side of South High Street could eventually hold as many as 1,200 market-rate and affordable units tied to Steelton Village, adding a major residential component to the Fort and other commercial anchors already up and running on the east side. City of Columbus Legistar
The project has been stacking up different financing tools for a while. An Ohio Housing Finance Agency planning list shows a Steelton Village LIHTC proposal on the invitation and waitlist, reflecting efforts to pair federal tax credits with other public and private incentives. Ohio Housing Finance Agency
Next up is mostly process. The developer is expected to file its TMUD application with the Ohio Department of Development and work through any remaining local approvals or commitments tied to the newly approved city agreement. If the state signs off on the tax credits, backers say construction could move faster and bring the first apartments and the park online sooner. If not, Steelton Village will lean harder on private financing and other public programs already in play.
Neighborhood watchers have not exactly lacked for material, as local coverage and updates have Steelton Village’s steady build-out over the past several years.
