Cincinnati Bengals’ Center Ted Karras has spent his NFL career protecting his ball carriers and guiding them forward.
Now Karras is looking out for a different community and helping to guide a path for the city to put a dent in the housing crisis.
Karras’ Cincy Hat Foundation broke ground on a five-unit apartment building for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, sometimes referred to as I/DD, on Thursday.
“That is the main goal of our foundation,” Karras said at the groundbreaking, “to provide affordable infrastructure in a climate where housing and the rental market are very high and inaccessible to a lot of people, and it’s even exacerbated in the I/DD community.”
Matt Renie, executive director of the foundation, said Ted has always been a protector.
Part of the reason is that Karras has a personal connection to this community.
“I have two cousins with nonverbal autism, so I’ve known about families and what families face since I was a child,” Karras said. “Colleen Renie, Matt’s mother, founded the Village of Merici back when we were in high school in Indianapolis. I think no one does better work than the Village of Merici, and we are just going to try to emulate that. Emulate that and provide the same type of independence to this community.”
The Village of Merici is a Medicaid service provider that offers independent living opportunities to adults with developmental disabilities. When Ted became an NFL athlete, he chose this organization as his charity of support from 2016 to 2022. In October 2024, the Cincy Hat Foundation was founded. Karas became the president of the organization and Colleen Renie serves as an advisor.
“It’s beyond my own comprehension how the Cincy hat has taken off, and that is because of the generosity and goodwill and spirit of the Cincinnati community, Whodey Nation, and everyone who’s donated and bought hats. It was really important for us to get something done in Cincinnati,” Karras said.
Working with the Port of Greater Cincinnati, the Cincy Hat Foundation purchased a plot of land in Madisonville. Renie said the project is about a $1.1 million endeavor.
The Madisonville development will include:
- Five total units
- Two 2-bedroom / 2-bathroom apartments
- Three 1-bedroom / 1-bathroom apartments
- Full kitchens
- In-unit laundry
- Fully functioning private living spaces
The move-in date is expected to be fall 2026.
“We’re aiming for fall 2026,” Karras said, “so this upcoming football season, we’d like to move our residents in.”
The project used the money provided by those who have purchased hats through The Cincy Hat Foundation. Additionally, the project is being funded by Ted Karras’ personal $500,000 gift. That investment allows rents to remain well below market rate, ranging from $700–$900 per bedroom.
Residents will bring their own service providers and retain full freedom of choice, an earlier press release said. The Foundation does not provide services — it creates housing that allows adults with disabilities to live autonomously while remaining close to family and community support systems.
A part-time, on-site community manager will also live in the building and serve as a resource and safety net to help integrate residents into the Madisonville neighborhood.
This, Karras said, is just the beginning.
“Hopefully, we’re getting everyone on the same page, and everyone works together to be the number one city in the country for these adults,” he said.