Cincinnati is hosting an open-call design competition to create pre-approved housing plans

As town of Cincinnati grapples with a housing scarcity, planning officers are advancing a program that can produce freely accessible pre-approved plans for two-, three-, and four-family residential buildings. The mission dubbed BuildReady is hosted by the Metropolis Supervisor’s Workplace, Division of Metropolis Planning and Engagement, Division of Group and Financial Growth, Division of Buildings and Inspections, and the Innovation Workforce. It’s being financed by a $2 million PRO Housing grant from the U.S. Division of Housing and City Growth.

There are three parameters designs ought to adhere to, town stated. Town is in search of designs which can be “contextual,” which means that they respect the context of Cincinnati’s neighborhoods; “attainable,” as in sensible and economical; and “scalable,” as in doable for builders of all sizes to construct the houses effectively.

This week town of Cincinnati opened a Request for Info (RFI) to begin off this system. Architects, builders, contractors, and engineers are invited to answer the RFI with:

Info associated to expertise and potential choices relating to improvement of a design competitors for center housing (2-,3-, and 4-family buildings)
Info relating to pre-approved plans for center housing
Info associated to boundaries to establishing center housing within the non-public housing market

This summer time town plans to launch the Open Name Design Competitors. Submissions might be inspired to incorporate conceptual plans, renderings, and narratives. Then, beginning in fall 2026 and thru winter 2027, town will solicit a professional group or agency of pros by an RFP to develop precise building paperwork based mostly on the plans. The development paperwork must be full, aside from particular website circumstances like a basis, town famous.

Later in 2027, town will award land and funds to certified entities and bodily assemble two demonstration tasks based mostly on the pre-approved plans.

A latest exhibition on view in Cincinnati, Block by Block: Decoding New American Desires of Housing, centered latest modifications to constructing codes that stand to remodel present single-family zoned blocks, addressing the necessity for housing. The exhibition was organized by De Peter Yi, founding father of Rebuild Collective; it featured fashions, drawings, and informational textual content and jumpstarted the BuildReady initiative.