HURC announces that Robert LaMothe, Community Development and CRA Officer at Heritage Bank, and Sarah Thomas, Executive Director of Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation (NEST), have joined the organization’s board of directors. HURC, a nonprofit 501c3 managed by The Port, is dedicated to improving the quality of housing stock and increasing affordable homeownership, providing a quality product with minimal overhead throughout Hamilton County.
“I join the HURC Board members in welcoming Robert and Sarah to the organization,” shared Jeanne Golliher, HURC Board Chair and President & CEO, Cincinnati Development Fund. “Their expertise is extremely valuable; as the demand for affordable housing in Cincinnati is growing, HURC is playing an important role by rehabbing formerly blighted, vacant properties into safe, modern homes for first time and low- to moderate-income homebuyers.”
Through The Port’s holistic housing strategy, HURC often complements REACH, The Port’s market-rate housing program, in a focus neighborhood to provide a full range of housing options. In Evanston, for example, REACH has completed 29 market-rate homes, sales prices are rising and the community’s priority has shifted to ensuring that there are a range of homes and price points available. Six home rehabs are underway by HURC in Evanston in 2019. In 2018, HURC brought three homes to the market at affordable pricing and began construction on five homes.
HURC has a bold goal of bringing 14 affordably priced homes to the market in 2019 through its scattered site program in Hamilton County and its efforts in The Port’s seven focus neighborhoods.
Mr. LaMothe brings his experience at Heritage Bank overseeing the Bank’s various community and economic development engagement strategies for the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky markets to the HURC Board. Mr. LaMothe has held key commercial banking roles at various local financial institutions and served as a proud member of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber’s Minority Business Accelerator, for five years.
Ms. Thomas is a developer and independent consultant with a passion for neighborhood focused work and experience in project and property management, historic renovation and community development. As Executive Director at NEST (Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation), Northside’s community development corporation (CDC), Ms. Thomas is focused on the revitalization of residential and commercial real estate in Northside to provide well-rounded home ownership opportunities while simultaneously expanding into commercial and business development. Ms. Thomas also serves as a Housing and Development Consultant to Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses, the West End CDC, and is a co-founder of Grey Rock Development, a residential and commercial developer.
HURC’s Board of Directors include Dawn E. Grace, Vice President for Housing & Community Investment at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati, Dean Watkins, Economic Development Professional, Kathy Schwab, Executive Director of LISC Greater Cincinnati, Robie K. Suggs, Director of Community Development and Community Reinvestment Act Officer at First Financial Bank.
About HURC
The Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corporation (HURC) was organized and established in 1976 by the City of Cincinnati under the HUD 810 Urban Homesteading Program. HURC is a 501.c.3 Not For Profit Corporation that operates with a Volunteer Board of Directors. In May 2015, The Port (Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority) signed an operating agreement with the HURC Board of Directors to manage the organization going forward.
In the past 42 years, HURC has been responsible for the rehab of over 700 houses, including 17 since 2015 by acquiring inventory from the Hamilton County Land Reutilization Corporation (Landbank) and the National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST). More information is available at www.hurccincy.org.
About The Port
The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority (The Port) is a quasi-public agency that is the principal real estate development finance agency serving Hamilton County and the City of Cincinnati. The Port both initiates redevelopment and manages projects on behalf of local governments and private institutions to improve property value and promote job creation. Our goal is to be inclusive of race, income, and age in housing and business development. Visit https://www.cincinnatiport.org for more information.
