A conceptual rendering of Cleveland Avenue from the city's One Linden plan.

The City of Columbus announced a new initiative yesterday that is designed to implement some of the ideas laid out in last year’s One Linden plan.

An initial donation of $5 million for the project will come from a national program run by JPMorgan Chase called Partnerships for Raising Opportunity in Neighborhoods.

An additional $20 million will be made available in a loan pool to be developed by the nonprofit Ohio Capital Finance Corporation, with support from three other community development financial institutions: the Affordable Housing Trust for Columbus and Franklin County, the Finance Fund Capital Corporation and the Economic Community Development Institute.

Dubbed ‘The 614 for Linden,’ the initiative will be developed in partnership with six local nonprofit organizations: Saint Stephen’s Community House; Community Development for All People; Healthy Neighborhoods Healthy Families; The Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio; Community Shelter Board and Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

There are four primary goals of the project, according to a fact sheet distributed by the city:

Preserve approximately 500 affordable housing units through acquisition, rehabilitation and/or financing. These units will be intended for individuals and families who earn less than 80% of the area median income.

Provide rapid rehousing services for up to 200 individuals and families currently experiencing or on the brink of homelessness.

Offer consulting and other assistance to small businesses, including microloans to local entrepreneurs seeking to start or expand an operation.

Focus on “wraparound” health services, particularly prenatal and maternal programs, and devote funds for the creation or attraction of a business to provide healthy food access.

In other news for the neighborhood, the city recently announced that the new Linden Community Center – currently under construction – will be outfitted with 200 rooftop solar panels, thanks to a donation from Dublin-based IGS Energy.

For more information on The 614 for Linden, see www.columbus.gov.