First 44 homes open in the rebuilding of Dayton's DeSoto Bass

Greater Dayton Premier Management has opened 44 affordable units in nine buildings, the first phase of a $15.3 million project at the DeSoto Bass public housing site in West Dayton, WYSO reported. The agency held an open house Oct. 2.

Tenants have 20-year project-based rental assistance, so rent is tied to income. Residents moved out of demolished buildings get first choice of the new units or the nearby Germantown Crossing development.

Financing for later phases is still being worked out with HUD, and no final unit count has been set. The agency is also seeking an Ohio Historical Marker for the site.

DeSoto Bass Courts opened in February 1940 with 200 families as Dayton's first public housing, named for the Rev. DeSoto E. Bass. For years it was the only Dayton public housing open to Black tenants, and it once had more than 1,000 units.