COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — America’s 13th largest city finds itself in a housing crunch, and now Columbus is turning to its original neighborhood for a solution.  

Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said the city has a housing supply problem, especially for affordable housing options.  

“We need 200,000 more units in the region over the next ten years,” he said. “Columbus is committed to building half of those, but we need the rest of our neighbors to step up and help as well. We have a supply crisis. You go back to Econ 101 — If supply is flat and demand continues to grow, your rents and home prices are growing much faster than people’s incomes right now.” 

The city aims to grow its downtown population to 40,000 residents by 2040, leading to major renovations and building projects spurred by the city’s Zone In plan to add density to housing throughout the city. To make those goals happen, Columbus is now aggressively investing in a once-overlooked neighborhood.  

Before there was Columbus, there was Franklinton. The neighborhood was founded in 1797 by land surveyor Lucas Sullivant; this led to the founding of Columbus, based just on the other side of the Scioto River, in 1812.   

“The original intent was that Franklinton was going to be the capital of Ohio,” said Trent Smith from the Franklinton Board of Trade.  “And then they realized that flooding was a real thing.”  

Massive floods devastated the neighborhood in 1897, 1913 and 1959. Those led to steady departures from Franklinton.   

“People pretty much who could afford it left and went up to the hilltop or went to higher ground,” Bruce Warner of the Franklinton Historical Society said.

Warner has lived in Franklinton most of his life, including during the 1959 flood. 

“Things went to hell in a handbasket,” he said. “It just kept going down and down and down.” 

“Crime elements started to come in,” Smith said. “The deterioration of the neighborhood was taking place — it just kind of stifled development and it sort of froze the neighborhood in time for like 25 years.” 

Homeowners and businesses were charged for additional flood insurance, making Franklinton undesirable for new construction or renovation.   

Essentially, Franklinton was left to deteriorate.

“It used to be a neighborhood where nobody would walk anywhere,” Franklinton resident and former director of the Franklinton Development Association Jim Sweeney said. “We wouldn’t leave the house because it was just too dangerous. We still lived with the stigma of the bottoms.” 

That started to change in 2004 with the completion of the Franklinton Floodwall. That change was slow to arrive.   

Land Grant Brewing was among the first businesses to invest heavily in the neighborhood when it opened in 2014.  

“The neighborhood has gone through a complete transformation from when we first got here,” Land Grand owner Adam Benner said.  

And with renovation always comes frustration. 

“Walking around the neighborhood now from a sights and sounds perspective has everything to do with construction,” Sweeney said.   

Apartment complexes are rising, many homes are under renovation and pipes and utilities are being modernized throughout the neighborhood. 

“Especially in a place as old as Downtown, there’s going to be a significant amount of roadway improvements, utilities, realignment,” Ginther said. “There’s a significant amount of work that has to be done beneath ground in order for us to enjoy and connect all the amenities above ground.” 

Sweeney is among those who staged a renovation project in Franklinton. He converted his home into a local bar on Walnut Street. He said he’s noticed an evolution in the neighborhood. 

“You see things that you didn’t used to see,” he said. “You see moms pushing strollers down the street, people jogging. There’s such a strong sense of space here, and that used to be a problem. The sense of space used to be a scary one; ‘I need to get out of here,’ and now people come over here and they can feel something truly special about the place, an undiscovered area.”

Those renovations also led to some concerns about pushing out current residents.  

“We want to make sure that folks can age in place and that they have a variety of housing options,” Ginther said. “We believe everybody that works in this region should be able to afford to live here, too, and it’s certainly important in our original neighborhood.”