Where will Columbus seniors live?

We've written extensively about the need for more housing, especially more affordable housing, in central Ohio. More than 80,000 Columbus-area households struggle to put a roof over their head according to one estimate . Lost in the broader housing discussion is the specific need for senior housing, affordable and otherwise. The problem is rising as we are aging: Ohio's 60-plus population is growing at roughly four times the state's overall population and is expected to reach nearly 3 million by 2040.

Senior Living

National Church Residences helped fill the senior-housing gap this week when the Columbus-based developer, "the nation's largest not-for-profit provider of affordable senior housing," opened Brookwood Pointe on East Livingston Avenue in the Berwick neighborhood. Brookwood offers 103 apartments for independent seniors, 68 one-bedroom and 35 two-bedroom. Amenities include dining, a fitness center, community room, arts and crafts room, library and gardens. The complex is on the former site of Brookwood Presbyterian Church.

A billion here, a billion there

Intel has said the price for the two semiconductor chip factories it is building in New Albany has risen from $20 billion to $28 billion . As my colleague Mark Williams pointed out, Intel isn't footing the bill alone. Mark documented the tax breaks and incentives the tech giant is receiving for its development, ranging from local property tax breaks to federal tax credits worth up to $25 billion if Intel ultimately invests $100 billion in the site as it has suggested.

The disappearing office

Offices continue to vanish around central Ohio and that's probably a good thing. Several are being demolished or repurposed as the office market continues its post-COVID struggles. This week, Dublin City Schools announced that it has signed an agreement to buy, or at least explore the possibility of buying, one of Cardinal Health's main office buildings in Dublin. The district is considering using the building as a fourth high school while Cardinal's hybrid work model allows the company to shed the building. The deal closely follows the Noor Muslim Cultural Center's purchase of a 220,000-square-foot office building at 5550 Britton Parkway in Hilliard for possible use as a café, a day care, an arcade for kids, a salon, STEM lab and an events venue.

Two wild houses

We featured two distinctive homes on the market this week for very different reasons. A three-bedroom split-level home in Northland landed on Zillow Gone Wild not for its design but for its decorating: The home is full of collections, from old typewriters to vintage radios. The home is in contract after being listed for $294,900 . Another home, on Olentangy River Road in Delaware County, is distinguished for a different reason: It dates from 1807, making it one of central Ohio's oldest homes. The home, expanded to 5,700-square-feet, has been listed for $950,000 .

A Capital deal

Capital University has sold an apartment complex on East Main Street across from the campus for $7.5 million, one of the highlights of this week's property transfers .

And that's a wrap on this week's development.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Where will Columbus seniors live?