CINCINNATI — Residents at Victory Vistas Apartments in Paddock Hills are finding relief after the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) stepped in to help 11 seniors keep their affordable housing.
"We all have received vouchers. We no longer have that stress on us," one resident told us.
CMHA issued emergency vouchers to residents at the complex that we reported on in the fall when renters told us that, for some, the cost of rent was set to double.
The owner and developer, former Bengals safety Chinedum Ndukwe, said his company takes responsibility for how things played out.
"As an owner, I take ownership of that," Ndukwe said. "And so, fast forward to where we are today, you know, once that issue was brought to our attention, we made a commitment, as well as our partner with SO-ACT, that no one was going to get evicted ... we were very focused on finding a solution."
Residents said there are lessons learned on both sides of the dispute.
"I think it has made us more smarter ... what to expect, and how we even get involved more with things that are going on. Not just waiting for someone to do something for us," resident Carol Brown said.
WATCH: We sat down with Ndukwe to discuss his company's role in the incident
The building's developer, Kingsley and Company, built Victory Vistas using federal low-income housing tax credits. Those credits required 10 units to be affordable at about $600 per month for a single person.
But the developer said the building's former property manager rented out an extra 11 units at that low rate, impacting the bottom line.
Residents told me they remain cautiously optimistic about the new resolution.
"I'm not trying to hold grudges, but at the same time, I cannot forget about the lessons that I've learned. So, hopefully we will continue to have a working relationship whereby there will be peace, and we'll be able to work together," another resident said.
Ndukwe said he has either built or is in the process of building more affordable housing throughout Cincinnati.
Jay Shakur has been following this story for WCPO for months. If you have questions, you can contact him here:
"Our goal is to make sure that never happens again," Ndukwe said.
We asked Ndukwe how he feels his relationship with the city stands now. Ndukwe told us they recently closed on the Blair, a 49-unit apartment project that had significant investment from the City of Cincinnati.
"From our perspective, we have not heard anything otherwise that we have a good working relationship with the City of Cincinnati. They provided a tax abatement for that deal as well," Ndukwe said.
