Columbus City leaders have announced a planned senior housing "village" in the Hilltop.
Instead of constructing an entirely new community or neighborhood, the concept acts as a co-op, where people pitch in to take care of one another, and pay for services like grocery shopping and home health care.
In the announcement on Tuesday, Columbus City Council president pro tem Michael Stinziano says it's a model that the city embraced after talking with seniors.
"Oftentimes, their number one priority is to stay in their neighborhood," he said. "But they recognize there's gaps. So if there's access to resources, access to doctor's visits, just getting someone to help take care flipping a bed."
There's already three such villages in the city: in Clintonville/Beechwold, German Village and the Short North. Stinziano says that the Hilltop is a natural next step.
"It was an area where we knew we had an aging population, that seniors wanted to stay in their homes but there were needs that weren't being met," he says. "They recognize there's gaps in terms of grocery stores and in terms of having medical providers."
Normally the village model is membership-based with a fee. Stinziano is saying that they're working with Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging to ensure the fee doesn't act as an impediment to people who would like to be part of the village but can't afford it.
The Council will vote next Monday on whether to approve an ordinance that would dedicate $10,000 to the project. It's still in its public-input phase, with no firm timeline for completion.
