CLEVELAND — A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the grand reopening of Carnegie Tower at Fairfax on Thursday. The 171-unit apartment building for low-income senior citizens had been undergoing a $35 million renovation over the past two years.
“We often come in and buy what I would call sorry stuff. It isn’t right, this isn’t what God intended. And our vision is to buy it and transform it into something that will last another 30 years,” said Mark Ricketts, the President and CEO of National Church Residences, during the Thursday afternoon celebration.
The senior housing nonprofit acquired the building in 2013 and has been making improvements to the complex.
“I lived on 36th Street in one place for 46 years. When I left there, I came here. So I’m hoping I can stay here,” said longtime resident Thelma Lewis, 99.
Many of the residents at Carnegie Tower said they felt fortunate for adequate, affordable housing. It’s not the case for many seniors and families in Northeast Ohio.
“When they call me, some of the places they’re in are not ideal and some of the conditions are not ideal,” said Diane Pride-Mays, the executive assistant for Ward 6 Cleveland City Councilman Blaine Griffin.
She explained there are efforts to expand affordable housing, but the city still suffers from a shortage of low-cost options for seniors and others.
“That population is enlarging. And as far as the possibility of having decent housing that they can afford - it’s becoming a problem,” Pride-Mays said.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Cleveland currently has about 10,000 multi-family affordable housing units. Cleveland Field Office Director Pamela Ashby said there are waiting lists for all of the units, some of which are several years long.
“It’s not enough. And it’s just been exacerbated during the pandemic,” Ashby said. “We have landlords that have been able to assess market rent and so they have other options. Whereas, folks that are impoverished don’t have many options.”
She explained there are efforts to encourage more landlords to accept housing vouchers, as well as new funds available from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for the development and rehabilitation of affordable housing.
“It’s high-demand and it’s a long time coming for new units to come online,” she said.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced it will allow state and local governments to use ARPA funding to finance long-term affordable housing loans toward building and rehabilitating low cost housing in their communities.
While seniors and others await more affordable housing options, many are also feeling the pinch of inflation.
“Everything is so high. You can hardly eat, let alone get a place to live. So I think it’s terrible,” said Mattie Rice, 87.
Pride-Mays added, “With a fixed income, they have a certain amount but everything else is going up, we all know food, gas, everything… that’s kind of a problem that seniors are dealing with.”
The annual inflation rate hit 9.1 percent in June 2022.
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