CLEVELAND — Grand opening celebrations were held Monday at The Davis, an affordable housing community in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood that includes the latest University Hospitals Community Wellness Center.
"It's a very beautiful thing they did," said resident Kisha Norman. When she was looking for a new place to live, she couldn't pass up The Davis — not only for the new construction that the project affords to residents, but for the amenities that come with the 52 one, two and three-bedroom apartments there.
"I'd love to take advantage of the cooking class," said Norman. "I've been trying to get my daughter to challenge me with the recreation, so we can lose the weight and everything and stuff like that."
You heard her right — gym and cooking classes — some of the extras that come along with the UH partnership. The UH Wellness Center includes a Food for Life Market where members of the entire Glenville community can not only learn about making healthy meals, but through a collaboration with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, find the foods needed to make them.
"This is helping to kind of bridge that gap for our clients, our community members to improve, to have access to food if they're food insecure, but to make sure that they have healthy options and the education and the resources and knowledge to prepare healthy foods at their own homes," said UH's Chief Diversity, Equity & Belonging Officer Celina Cunanan.
The complex is located on the site of the old Harry E. Davis Middle School and is open to residents who make up to 60% of the area's median income. The Davis is already fully leased and about 50% occupied with most of the remaining units being occupied over the next month or so.
"And I think that just goes to show that in greater Cleveland, the demand for new, high quality, reliable, affordable housing is just really, really strong, and it's really important to continue to develop this kind of product for the folks in the neighborhood," said Scott Skinner, Vice President of Development for the NRP Group.
"The NRP Group is a national developer, contractor and property manager but we're based here in Cleveland. Our first development as a company was 30 years ago just about a mile from here," he said. "So this is a really full circle project for us."
