STRUTHERS — The city is set to develop local property into eight new workforce housing units after securing a $2.75 million grant from the Ohio Department of Development.

Awarded under the Welcome Home Ohio Program — a statewide initiative designed to provide grants for the construction or redevelopment of affordable, owner-occupied single-family homes — the funding will facilitate the construction and sale of affordable homes to eligible buyers, addressing a critical need for housing in the community.

Struthers City Council passed an emergency ordinance Wednesday authorizing Mayor Catherine Cercone Miller to enter into an agreement with Pantheon Housing Development Group LLC (PHDG) for the development and construction of the units. The property, now owned by the City of Struthers Land Revitalization Corporation, will be transferred to PHDG for the project.

Once construction is complete, the Land Revitalization Corporation will reacquire the property for resale.

Miller expressed enthusiasm about the project.

“There is a housing crisis everywhere, and we are excited to start the process and begin putting homes on these empty lots,” she said.

This money is in addition to $300,000 the city was awarded in January from the Ohio Department of Development’s Community Housing Impact and Preservation (CHIP) program. That program is designed to support home renovations, repairs, rental assistance and other initiatives to improve access to safe and stable housing. The CHIP program has been in existence since 2013, and the CHIP program’s partnership with Campbell and Struthers has been going since 2019.

In addition to the housing initiative, city council on Wednesday also passed three more emergency ordinances to authorize the transfer of money from the general fund: $60,000 to the Police Pension Fund, $45,000 to the Fire Pension Fund and $5,000 to the Elderly Van Fund.