This week on the Beacon, I sat down with three people doing big work behind the scenes to put home ownership in reach for working families right here in Hilliard and across Central Ohio. I was joined by Hope Paxson and Curtiss Williams from the Central Ohio Community Land Trust and Improvement Corporation (COCLT, COCIC), and Hilliard’s Assistant City Manager Dan Ralley.
We’d been working to bring this interview together since first finding out about the project in 2024.
Housing Hilliard
At the October 28th City Council meeting, members took the latest steps in moving forward the sale of a 0.17-acre parcel at 3474 Bryant Street to the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation (COCIC). While only a single piece of property, this sale could represent a significant step toward addressing the growing need for affordable housing in Hill…
The topic? A smart, sturdy tool for long-term affordability: the Community Land Trust model—a quiet but mighty solution to the housing squeeze that’s gripping not just our suburbs but neighborhoods all across Franklin County.
The land stays in the trust.
The homeowner owns the structure.
A 99-year land lease keeps it affordable for the next family, and the one after that.
A firm foundation in a shifting market—keeping prices in reach without requiring a lottery ticket to get there.
In an expansion of their mission, since 2018, COCIC’s been transforming vacant and blighted properties (they’ve demolished over 1,200 neglected structures countywide over ten + years) into vibrant homes—some brand new, others restored—always with the long view in mind.
Why Hilliard? As I’m sure you’ve been following along it was no surprise when Dan Ralley reminded us that Hilliard’s community plan is in place, and housing is one of the “Big 8 Ideas.” With valuations rising fast, the missing middle—those homes between luxury new builds and older starter homes—is vanishing. So Hilliard partnered with the land trust to bring an affordability model to those levels. The first parcel? A city-owned remnant off Bryant Street near Beacon Elementary. A perfect place for a new kind of ownership.
Not just homes. COCIC’s also dabbled in neighborhood-scale commercial projects, offering small businesses a shot at revitalized properties in areas that used to be the heart of old neighborhoods. Think grocery stores, barbershops, even parks— going so far as to plan a move of their own offices into a restored building nearing completion, and looking to share space with a new business tenant.
Stewardship matters. Hope made a great point—owning the land is only half the story. They walk alongside homeowners, offering support and setting expectations. This isn’t flipping houses for profit—it’s planting seeds of abiding ownership.
We wrapped the conversation with some perspective: when you organize for mission instead of profit, you free yourself to respond to a community’s needs over time—not just what the market demands this month.
And yes, I’ll be putting together a welcome dozen donuts for whoever moves into that new Bryant Street home. ;-)
Listen to the full episode for all the insight from people working to build Central Ohio’s neighborhoods the right way—from the inside out.
We’ll see you around the block!
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