A four-building affordable apartment complex built almost entirely out of factory-made modules is taking shape on Columbus's Near East Side, and its second building is on track to be fully leased by the end of September. The Reserve at Maryland, located at 1728 Maryland Ave., is the second completed project to use the prefabricated apartment system developed by Connect Housing Blocks, with its first building already fully leased and the second building due to open on September 16, 2026.
The complex, once finished, will include 84 units spread across four buildings, offering one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, according to Columbus Underground. The second building is due to open September 16, 2026, and is expected to reach full occupancy by the end of the month, per the same report, while the third and fourth buildings are scheduled to open October 16. Commercial listings reviewed by Apartments.com show model sizes of 804, 1,135 and 1,409 square feet, with some layouts offering up to two full bathrooms.
Rents at the Reserve at Maryland run from $1,078 to $1,464 per month, with units reserved for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, the Columbus Underground report notes. The available material does not provide a fiscal year 2026 Columbus-area family AMI or a year-over-year comparison with 2025.
A Modular System Built From Scratch
Connect Housing Blocks developed the proprietary modular system behind the project, which the developer says was intended to lower construction costs and speed up delivery times compared to traditional building methods, according to the Columbus Underground report. Those claims track with broader figures on the company's approach: the prefabrication system can cut on-site construction waste by up to 70 to 90 percent, shorten development timelines by as much as 50 percent, and reduce per-unit building costs by roughly $90,000, according to Greater Columbus Region. That system relies on indoor steel-frame construction at the company's 630,000-square-foot factory on Westerville Road, a converted retail warehouse capable of producing roughly four completed modular units a day and up to 1,700 units a year, per the same source. According to HUD User, modular housing offers potential advantages over traditional stick-built and manufactured housing because construction occurs in a factory setting.
Reserve at Maryland uses prefabricated modules built at that factory, and the project was supported by the Franklin County Affordable Housing Magnet Fund and awarded Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, the Columbus Underground report states. State application filings reviewed by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency identify Buckeye Community Hope Foundation as the lead developer and put the project's total development cost at $29.01 million. The county's Magnet Fund, launched in 2019 by Franklin County commissioners, was designed specifically to pair with 4 percent federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to make subsidized rental projects financially viable, according to the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority, which noted the fund supported 802 rental units in its early rounds. The article also references a City of Columbus draft application for public comment.
Developer Points To Employee Leases As Sign Of Confidence
Brad DeHays, owner of Connect Real Estate and the Reserve at Maryland, said the leasing pace at the complex indicates real demand for quality housing, according to Columbus Underground. More than ten Connect Housing Blocks employees have signed leases at the Reserve at Maryland, per the same report, and DeHays said that fact shows people are excited to live there. He described Connect Housing Blocks as representing the future of residential development, the outlet reported.
DeHays purchased the former Schottenstein's store and warehouse near the Northern Lights shopping center in 2020 and began converting it into the modular housing factory that now anchors the company's production, according to Columbus Underground. That transformation was supported by $17.25 million in federal and state New Markets Tax Credits allocated by Finance Fund and Stonehenge Community Development in December 2022, credits specifically targeted at economically distressed areas.
From Historic Preservation To Industrial Manufacturing
Before turning to modular manufacturing, DeHays also worked in real estate through Connect Real Estate.
The company's first modular project, The Station at Trolley District, opened in 2025 across from the East Market. Connect Housing Blocks now plans to construct an additional apartment complex on the large parking lot in front of the Columbus factory, and it is also converting a historic downtown building known as The Civic into a project that will be filled with modular units, according to Columbus Underground.
The company's modular strategy is also expanding beyond Columbus. A nearly 300-unit mixed-use development in Marysville is under construction, a project Hoodline previously covered. Columbus Underground reporter Brent Warren, who covers urban development, transportation, city planning and neighborhoods, wrote the original report on the Reserve at Maryland, with accompanying photos taken August 26.
