About

The Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority was established in December 1933 under the provisions of the Ohio Housing Authority Law and is an asset to Hamilton County. For more than 93 years, the agency has provided quality, affordable rental housing opportunities for individuals and families throughout the county.

The agency operates or administers three separate programs.
  •  Asset Management (Low Income Public Housing) consists of approximately 4,000 units owned and managed by CMHA.
  • The Housing Choice Voucher Program administers Housing Assistance Payments for about 10,000 households.
  • Through Touchstone Properties, the agency also manages 1,600 units of other affordable rental housing, which includes new construction or recently renovated through Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD).
CMHA continues to re-imagine affordable housing through the RAD process to provide families, seniors, veterans, and individuals with quality, affordable homes. Evidence of the quality is visible in the newest construction of Logan Commons (2025) - see the pictures below- and renovations of Marquette Manor in English Woods (2026). 
 
CMHA has a Gold Performance Standard to ensure that the resources CMHA provides are meeting the needs of the residents of Hamilton County.

Mr. Gregory D. Johnson MS, PHM, EDEP serves as CMHA's Chief Executive Officer.

Logan Commons exterior
Marquette Manor kitchen
Marquette Manor bathroom

Board of Commissioners

Annual Reports

Cincinnati’s public housing efforts trace back to the early 1930s, when local housing reformers concluded that federally supported “slum clearance” was essential to expanding housing opportunities for low-income residents. In 1933, the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) was established. Just one week after its first meeting, the new agency submitted an ambitious proposal for slum clearance and large-scale redevelopment of Cincinnati’s West End. CMHA’s ability to secure federal funding stemmed from its comprehensive planning and detailed documentation of the city’s urgent need for safe, affordable housing. The organization also became a leading voice in highlighting substandard living conditions, providing data that would shape the growth of assisted housing for years to come.

Laurel Homes, Cincinnati’s first public housing development, was located between predominantly African American neighborhoods to the south and more integrated neighborhoods to the north. CMHA selected this site with the goal of preserving community connections, an aspiration emphasized by then CMHA chairperson Stanley M. Rowe. The new community was designed with a robust network of services and amenities, including prenatal classes, a cooking school, two kindergartens, recreational areas for adults and children, credit unions, and Boy Scout troops. At the same time, CMHA pursued funding for a neighboring development that would become Lincoln Court. Together, these neighborhoods would offer Cincinnati’s low-income families the city’s first opportunity for stable, well-supported housing in a community setting.

In 1938, Laurel Homes opened as the nation’s first fully integrated public housing community. Lincoln Court and additional developments soon followed, establishing a foundation for the continued growth of high-quality, affordable housing across Cincinnati. This milestone marked a significant step forward in expanding access to safe homes for the city’s diverse low-income population.