The housing crisis is not new to Athens County residents and businesses. Whether the onus is on supply chains’ impact on high construction costs coupled with high interest rates, or local zoning, code regulations and NIMBY-ism (Not In My Backyard), stagnant housing initiatives are affecting Athens County’s ability to compete.
The Athens County Economic Development Council is a public-private partnership committed to diversifying the local economy through site development, business retention and attraction efforts, and community revitalization. Over the last couple of years, we’ve found ourselves revisiting the question, “What is our role in the housing crisis?”
The challenging thing about economic development is that you can argue anything and everything falls under its purview: workforce and skills training, reliable Internet, outdoor recreation, housing, to name a few. Each of these to some degree affects the county’s ability to attract and retain high-wage jobs and support other economic opportunities.
The housing crisis is particularly burdensome on Athens’ economic development efforts because it affects a wide variety of middle-income workers — teachers, healthcare workers, skilled trade jobs. These are essential jobs that contribute to the quality of life in communities, and in Athens specifically, account for a large portion of available jobs.
From a business attraction standpoint, the number one question we receive from companies scouting locations for expansion projects is whether or not we can meet their demands for skilled workers. Athens has several outstanding education and training providers and many resources and programs for recruiting and upskilling workforce, but all the programmatic assistance in the world is futile if you cannot support said workforce with affordable and safe housing options.
Affordable is a controversial yet important key word too. In Athens County, 49.8% of renters and 27% of homeowners spend 35% or more on rent or mortgages. When folks must spend this much on housing, it inhibits local spending and makes it hard for local economies to thrive. Dollars invested in accessible housing — on all points of the housing market spectrum — help boost local economies. It results in higher household incomes, more local tax revenue, and more jobs created and retained.
To put this crisis into perspective, a 2022 study conducted by the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio estimates that 95 housing units must be built for every 100 new jobs created. Athens County also has 177 fewer housing units available today than it did in 2017, per the American Community Survey. These figures quantitatively show the severity of the housing issue and its impact on business attraction and retention efforts.
When the market fails, new policies must be enacted to fill the gap. This won’t happen in a silo and will require partnerships across private and public sectors. While it is not necessarily the role of economic development to lead the housing effort, we understand the critical role we play in convening essential leaders/partners, identifying marketable properties, recommending housing-related incentives, and bringing developers to the table. Each of these tactics supports our ability and competitiveness to attract and retain companies in our targeted industry sectors that provide living wage jobs, diversify our economy, and expand our tax base.
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