Ohio University partners to spend $220 million on housing, mixed-use spaces at The Ridges

After years of debate and discussion, the historic Athens Lunatic Asylum could soon be reimagined into a $220 million mixed-use development project under a new plan proposed by Ohio University.

Now known as The Ridges, a plan for the former mental health hospital would include spaces for housing, commercial, academic and recreational uses.

The project has been in the works for a while, and a finished development could take up to a decade to complete. But when finished, it would be the largest non-student housing development in Athens' history with more than 700 units.

What are The Ridges?

The Athens Lunatic Asylum first opened to patients in 1874 to meet a growing statewide demand for mental institutions.

In the 19th century, Ohio was considered a leader in educating and caring for people with mental illnesses and disabilities, and the Athens asylum was a vanguard in the treatment of mental health patients for its time.

The institution's creation was largely influenced by social reformer Dorthea Dix and Dr. Thomas Kirkbride, longtime superintendent of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane, who became a leader in the care and treatment of mentally ill patients. Kirkbride was an advocate of "moral treatment" concepts, a philosophy based on compassion, dignity and respect for patients, which became the basis for the asylum's design and construction.

Besides the Athens facility, two other state mental institutions were constructed based on the “Kirkbride Plan” in Dayton and Columbus, which has since been demolished.

The property, located just south of the university, was considered just as important in development of the facility as the building itself, according to Kirkbride's philosophy. He believed mental institutions should be located in the country around nature and that every hospital have room for activities like farming, gardening and exercising.

The result was a sprawling 730-acre campus with a massive 544-room Victorian-style main building, cottages, dining and amusement halls, as well as numerous additional buildings constructed over the years to accommodate new patients and treatments. It was later renamed the Athens State Hospital in the 1940s.

Treatment for mentally ill patients radically changed by the 1980s, moving away from institutionalization and toward outpatient and smaller residential group homes. These changes ultimately led to the hospital complex's closure and prompted discussions about demolition.

Instead, the state transferred the property to Ohio University in 1993, which now uses some of the complex for new uses, including the Kennedy Museum of Art and the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs.

Who is involved in The Ridges development plan?

Ohio University has two development partners for The Ridges project: Buckeye Hills Regional Council, a Marietta-based consortium of southeastern Ohio governments focused on economic development in Ohio's Appalachian region, and Community Building Partners, a program arm of Columbus-based nonprofit economic development consultants Praxia Partners.

The university's official internal advisory board for the project is the Ridges Advisory Committee, which has existed on and off since Ohio University first obtained the property.

Other stakeholders include the Ohio University Board of Trustees, the City of Athens, Athens County and state officials.

What is the proposal?

Together, these partners plan to create The Ridges Development Strategy, which would build upon and forward The Ridges Framework Plan, a previously approved plan from 2015.

Ohio University’s new development strategy for the complex could, if fully implemented, bring substantial investment to the university and Athens.

The overarching vision is for a "dynamic campus" of spaces for nature and outdoor education, a variety of housing types and a mixed-use center, according to the plan.

A major component of this new plan stems from an ongoing shortage of quality housing options in Athens.

More than 700 units of new housing units are included in this proposal, including age-restricted housing for seniors, live-work units for resident artists, affordable housing for graduate students and market-rate units.

At an Athens City Council meeting in November, Joe Recchie of Community Building Partners said that the project defines “affordable” housing as people spending 30% of their income on rent and utilities if they are making 60% or less of the area median income.

That translates to an average rent for a one-bedroom senior apartment at between $500 and $600 a month, he said. Other affordable units for artists and grad students may be priced higher. Condominiums could range from $100,000 to $130,000 a unit, and luxury condos could cost more than $500,000.

Commercial and university spaces would also be available as part of the renovation. Only a fraction of the more than 700-acre property would be developed, leaving the remaining land for hiking trails and ecological research. Previous community input found that Athens residents would want as many salvageable buildings to be restored as possible, and to open up views to The Ridges from campus.

How will it be funded?

In January, Ohio University's Board of Trustees endorsed a proposed plan for university leadership to work with its partners to establish a New Community Authority and define what portions of property at The Ridges would transfer to the New Community Authority.

New Community Authorities are public-private partnerships created by the state to undertake massive development projects. Ohio University, the city of Athens and the development partners would initially control the authority, and would eventually have an elected board of citizen representatives.

Trustees did not approve any funding for this project, and the proposed plan does not include any further investment of university dollars. Future investment in the property would be made by private developers.

The plan also calls for two additional programs to be created for development incentives. These programs would remove financial burdens from the university, city and county for the project.

It would also establish The Ridges as a Community Reinvestment Area, a designation that encourages developers and landowners to build or renovate buildings within the defined area in exchange for tax breaks.

The university has spent more than $28 million for upkeep and renovations at The Ridges since 2015.

How can I learn more?

Ohio University will host a livestream "Ask the Experts" conversation Thursday from 3-4 p.m. with Dominick Brook, director of real estate at Ohio University, and Shawna Wolfe, OU's associate vice president for planning, to discuss the project.

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio University endorses a $220 million to reimagine The Ridges