Ted Karras Breaks Ground On New Housing Development Through Cincy Hat Charity

CINCINNATI — Bengals star center Ted Karras is expanding his Cincy Hat impact even more into the heart of the Tri-State region. The center's charitable organization is breaking ground on a new living facility for adults with disabilities in Madisonville, a neighborhood just outside downtown Cincinnati.

The Cincy Hat started with a monetary impact going to the Village of Merici adult living facility in Indiana, and it just continues to grow through Cincy Hat sales.

"The five-unit apartment building represents a significant step in addressing one of the region’s most urgent and underserved needs: safe, dignified, independent housing for adults with IDD," a press release stated. "Developed in partnership with The Port and the Hamilton County Landbank - a managed entity of The Port - the project transforms an underutilized property into a small-scale, neighborhood-integrated residential community rooted in independence and affordability."

Cincy Hat Groundbreaking Ceremony | Russ Heltman

Karras is thrilled to have made an impact on Cincinnati through this charity operation, and it's another substantial financial commitment.

The project is funded through the Cincy Hat sales and a personal $500,000 gift from Karras. Both investments work together to keep rents well below market rate, ranging from $700–$900 per bedroom.

“For many families, the biggest question is, ‘What happens next?’” said Karras in the release. “We want to build housing that answers that question with dignity, safety, and independence.”

Karras expanded more on the venture during Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony in Madisonville.

"Well, I live pretty close," Karras said about picking Madisonville. "I live right up the hill here. But really it was just the opportunity presented by The Port, and obviously they have an extensive land bank, and this made a lot of sense. It's a safe, commuter friendly, and up and coming neighborhood that could also just benefit from new development. So I think there was kind of a perfect storm of coming together and getting something done in Madisonville.

The veteran center is under contract with Cincinnati for one more season, but his impact will be felt in this region for decades to come, especially in the lives of these adults getting aid.

"That would be great," Karras said about wanting to keep expanding on projects like this in the coming years. "We want this to be a debt free asset kind of bulletproof that conglomerates on itself and is able to self sustain and produce more. So there's definitely a threshold we want to get to, donation wise, and we think we can get to a certain number of units that can then be self sustaining for new builds every single year."

Check out more on the Cincy Hat Project here.

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