Mayor Andrew Ginther delivered his State of the City address this week, and he came in with big updates on the issues shaping Columbus right now, including housing, safety, and making this city more livable for everyone.
Some of the major takeaways from the speech:
🔑 Housing is still top priority. Ginther announced a proposed $500 million affordable housing bond that would go on the November ballot, without raising taxes. Columbus is committing to building 100,000 new homes in the city over the next 10 years, with 200,000 planned across the Central Ohio region. We’re also getting a vacant property registry and more protections for renters, including emergency relocation assistance and a new Division of Housing Stability.
🚔 Crime is down, and investment in safety is up. Homicides dropped by 17% last year, and they’re down another 37% in the first quarter of 2025. The city’s new Clean and Safe Corridor Initiative just launched on Parsons Avenue and is headed to Sullivant, Livingston, and High Street in the Short North next.
🏙️ Columbus wants to be the “Nation’s Capital for Women’s Sports.” Ginther announced a new partnership with the Greater Columbus Sports Commission to make that dream a reality. Between the Columbus Fury, the Women’s Final Four, and more national attention on women’s athletics, it’s already taking shape.
💡 Infrastructure upgrades are on deck. Columbus is converting all 59,000 streetlights to LED and linking them to a smart network. That means better lighting, fewer outages, and some real energy savings.
🧠 Mental health care is getting a major boost. A new 24/7 crisis center is opening next month in Franklinton, offering an alternative to jails and ERs for people experiencing mental health or addiction crises.
📈 A new regional housing coalition is forming, modeled after Columbus2020, but this time to tackle Central Ohio’s housing shortage head-on.
