Cincinnati BuildReady Housing Competition Sets Aug. 14 Deadline

Cincinnati’s BuildReady design competition is entering its final week, with entries due at noon Eastern on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. The City of Cincinnati opened the competition May 27 to seek concepts for two-, three- and four-family homes in Cincinnati neighborhoods.

The competition is focused on small multifamily housing formats that can add homes at a neighborhood scale. It is not an approval to construct new housing. Instead, the city plans to use the winning designs and public feedback to prepare a future request for proposals, or RFP, for fully licensed, preapproved housing plans.

What happens next

The Cincinnati Planning Department lists an awards event for September 2026 in Cincinnati. The city has not announced winning designs or selected a developer. After the competition, the concepts and feedback are expected to help shape the later procurement process for the preapproved plans.

The immediate step for designers is submitting an eligible concept by the Aug. 14 deadline. The competition’s focus on two-, three- and four-family homes could influence how Cincinnati approaches smaller-scale housing development, but the city’s later RFP and any construction decisions will come after the design competition.