Jun 30, 2025 _ news

Cutting the Ribbon on Affordable Senior Housing

The ribbon was recently cut on Logan Commons, a new development that will provide 42 units of dedicated affordable housing for seniors in the heart of Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.

“When we talk about ‘walkable cities,’” Ohio State Senator, Catherine Ingram observed at the groundbreaking ceremony in 2023, we have to ask, “walkable for whom.” By reserving space for seniors, Logan Commons strives to ensure that Cincinnati is walkable for everyone.

The building will allow seniors to age-in-place comfortably in Over-the-Rhine. The development is adjacent to Cincinnati’s historic Findlay Market, which is home to more than 50 full-time merchants selling meat, produce, dairy and other goods. Beyond connecting seniors to a walkable urban environment full of activity, the design of Logan Commons aimed to help mitigate isolation among its senior residents by connecting them to each other as well.  

Residents within Logan Commons benefit from amenities that promote interaction with one another and prevent isolation. Each floor has a common lounge space with views to Findlay Market, shared laundry facilities, and a shared south-facing balcony. The first floor has additional common spaces such as a fitness room, a library with three computer stations, a community room with a fireplace, and a spacious south-east facing courtyard, filled with green landscaping and a few raised beds for gardening.

Residents will also have direct access to community and nourishment through Meals on Wheels, which will occupy the first-floor tenant space, which includes a kitchen for meal preparation as well as a craft room, outdoor space, and a large community room that allows seniors from around the neighborhood to gather and socialize with residents through daily activities, and weekly and monthly events.

Sloped walkways are built throughout the first floor and courtyard to ease walkability for seniors. Wheelchair accessibility is integrated in the design of the trash collection and the raised garden beds. The building is set to achieve LEED Silver Certification and is designed with Fitwel standards in mind, including daylight in the stairwells.

From its location in Over-the-Rhine to a public-facing first floor that is visually connected to Findlay Market to its landscaped courtyard to communal spaces that overlook neighboring streets, Logan Commons helps connect its residents to each other and to seniors who live in the wider community. Says Stefan Cornelis, who led the Logan Commons design team, “the idea of connection is built into the structure of the design.”

Read more about this project in the Cincinnati Business Courier.