BATAVIA, OHIO (Nov. 4, 2025) – Clermont County commissioners this week agreed to a new location for a planned residential housing development known as Veterans Village. The development is meant to help local veterans who face homelessness or housing instability.
Commissioners needed to approve the 15-acre location off State Route 125 in northern Monroe Township to maintain a portion of the project’s grant funding.
Construction of the $9.7 million project is expected to begin in spring 2026.
Clermont Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) will take ownership of the residential development after the environmental review process is completed. Cincinnati-based Model Group is the developer. Creative Housing Solutions, also based in Cincinnati, is the architect.
The county and CMHA initially announced the Veterans Village project in spring 2023 with the proposed location near Felicity in Franklin Township. Commissioners allocated $5.1 million of the county’s $400 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help cover the total construction cost.
CMHA found a new location after zoning officials in Franklin Township voted against the project this summer. The vote on Monday, Nov. 3, was a procedural step to amend the county’s agreement for federal ARPA funds due to the location change.
“This location is closer to more of the amenities veterans need, ” Commissioner Bonnie Batchler told her colleagues during the Board of County Commissioners meeting.
Batchler has long championed the project, helping to secure funding from a variety of sources that include county, state and federal dollars and private donations.
The project will feature 19 individual residential units grouped in triplex and quadplex configurations with shared walls. There will be 16 one-bedroom and three two-bedroom units for individuals or small families, ranging in size from 650 square feet to 950 square feet. Each unit will be fully furnished with a washer/dryer, internet access, patio area and parking.
In addition, the residential complex will include a gazebo, pickleball courts, a community center with social services for veterans, on-site management and office staff, a large gathering space, kitchenette and computer/media area.
The units will be subsidized, depending on income and utilizing project-based vouchers from U.S. Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH). HUD estimates that veterans account for more than 8 percent of all adults experiencing homelessness throughout the country. In Greater Cincinnati, there are an estimated 300 unhoused veterans and hundreds more living in places not meant for habitation.
Desmond Maaytah, Community Development Administrator for the county Department of Community and Economic Development, told the board that the site in Monroe Township is zoned appropriately as multifamily residential and includes existing water and sewer access. Construction is expected to begin by April 2026 and take an estimated 18 months to complete, he added.
