A new 51-unit apartment complex for seniors held an open house at 65 E. First St. in The Plains, Ohio, with six units currently occupied and applications open for the rest. The Lofts on First, built by Woda Cooper Companies, serves adults aged 55 and older earning between 50% and 80% of the area median income — a range that works out to roughly $29,844 to $47,750 a year based on U.S. Census figures.
That income window matters in a county where the need is especially acute. Athens County holds the highest poverty rate in Ohio at 25%, according to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency's FY 2026 Housing Needs Assessment; the county's median household income is $56,001, according to 2024 Census data. Jonathan D. McKay, vice president of development at Woda Cooper, said the project was built to meet demand for high-quality, affordable senior housing in the county, pointing to a waitlist at the company's existing Beaumont Greene property as evidence of that need, as reported by The Athens Messenger.
One-bedroom units rent for $620 to $800 a month, while two-bedroom apartments run $700 to $900, per the same account. The building includes a community room with a kitchenette, a media room and a fitness room, and construction took about a year to complete. It's Woda Cooper's third affordable housing development in Athens County, joining the company's Kershaw Greene and Beaumont Greene properties.
A Fight Over Ancient Earthworks Delayed Construction
Before the building ever broke ground, the project ran into a significant obstacle. Construction was delayed in 2025 after community members raised concerns that building near the historic Dorr Mounds 1 and 2 could disturb ancient Adena earthworks, prompting a state-required archaeological review, according to the Athens County Independent. Engineering firms submitted reports, and the Ohio Historic Preservation Office concluded in March that the properties did not contain archaeologically significant artifacts, clearing the way for building to proceed.
The concern wasn't abstract. The Plains is home to the Wolf Plains Group, a late Adena culture archaeological complex of roughly 30 earthworks and burial mounds that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the Athens County Independent notes. For local preservationists, any ground disturbance near that complex carries real weight, which is part of why the review became a prerequisite for construction to move forward.
Neighbors Pushed Back on Scale and Parking
Separately from the archaeological concerns, some East First Street residents raised objections about the development's scale and its potential impact on neighborhood traffic, per the Athens Messenger. Initial plans called for a three-story, 280-foot-long building, and local zoning mandates required more than 100 parking spaces, according to the Athens Messenger's earlier reporting.
In response, Woda Cooper added greenspace to reduce the building's frontage and fit it into the surrounding neighborhood. “Whenever we go into a community, we first look to see how the building fits the natural fabric of the community,” McKay said. “It's pressed back from the front part of the road because we're trying to be mindful of our neighbors here as you come down East First Street,” he added.
State Financing
The project drew on multiple layers of state support. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency approved a $2.5 million housing development loan, $9.4 million in Ohio Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and $4 million from the Ohio Housing Trust Fund for Woda Cooper in May 2025. The agency's board separately gave conditional approval that July for up to $10.1 million in Multifamily Housing Bonds to help finance construction alongside those earlier allocations.
A Woda Cooper executive told the Athens Affordable Housing Commission last year that the company's local construction costs average roughly $150,000 per unit, or $183 per square foot, across its regional developments.
East First Street is quickly becoming a corridor for subsidized housing construction. Directly across the street, Fairfield Homes Inc. is building Cornerstone at Eclipse Run, a separate $19.8 million, 58-unit affordable housing development for families, according to the Athens County Independent.
Support Services Come Built In
Hocking-Athens-Perry Community Action, known locally as HAPCAP, is providing on-site services at the Lofts on First and will link tenants to its broader resources. Glen Crippen, HAPCAP's director of housing and community development, said the organization informs residents about transportation, energy assistance and commodity supplemental food programs.
HAPCAP served as the local liaison with community members and government officials during the project's inception, and Woda Cooper has partnered with the organization for years. McKay described HAPCAP's local role and supportive services as complementing Woda Cooper's housing expertise.
The affordability gap driving demand for projects like this one extends well beyond Athens County. A September report by the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio found that full-time workers statewide must earn at least $23.82 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment, compared with the statewide average renter wage of just $19.59 an hour. For now, Woda Cooper is accepting applications from qualifying residents for the Lofts on First's remaining units.
