In 1909, the Taft family helped Cincinnati Union Bethel (CUB) build the Anna Louise Inn to provide low-income housing for women coming to the city to work. Today, 101 years later, the Inn serves the same mission: to provide safe and affordable housing for women.
At the press conference, CUB President & CEO Stephen MacConnell announced that last month, Cincinnati Union Bethel was awarded tax credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to renovate and upgrade the housing at the Inn. In fact, the Anna Louise Inn secured the top ranking in the state in its project category.
Over the Rhine Community Housing and Greater Cincinnati Behavorial Health Services are partners.
CUB Executive Vice-President and Project Manager Mary Carol Melton said this will allow the agency to provide a complete renovation, while staying in compliance with historic preservation requirements. The building will look the same on the outside.
Melton said, “Since the rooms will be made larger during the renovation and provide each woman with her own bathroom and kitchens which they do not currently have, the total occupancy of the building will be less than what it is today and no floors will be added to the structure.”
Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls shared the importance of the Inn to the city and talked about her connection to the Inn — through Women Helping Women, the Family Living Center, and as a neighbor — and how valuable the Inn has been all these years. Qualls also said, “[Mayor Mark Mallory] wanted me to make it clear to everybody that this renovation project has his absolute, 100% full support.”
Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher, Jr. talked about the importance of the Anna Louise Inn to the Off the Streets program, a program the Cincinnati Police Department has supported since its inception as a partner.
Three other councilmembers, Laure Quinlivan, Cecil Thomas, and Wendell Young, told the crowd how much the Anna Louise Inn meant to the community.
Other speakers included CUB Board Chair Charley Milton, Executive Director of Over the Rhine Community Housing Mary Burke Rivers, and two residents from the Inn, Francie and Bev.
