CLEVELAND — A ribbon cutting marked the grand unveiling of a new development on Cleveland’s southeast side. The collection of homes scattered throughout the Larchmere and Buckeye-Shaker neighborhoods is part of an effort to address Northeast Ohio’s shortage of affordable housing.
“This type of development is a game-changer,” said Cleveland 4th Ward City Councilwoman Deborah Gray.
City leaders joined CHN Housing Partners, several other community organizations and neighbors in the Buckeye-Shaker area for a celebration of the new Larchmere Homes development. Thirty single-family houses were built in formerly vacant lots throughout the southeast side.
“In this big old world, I’ve finally got a place that’s a safe space for me,” said Sequita Hagood-Powers.
The Cleveland grandmother is living in one of the newly built homes in the Larchmere neighborhood. She and others in the Lease Purchase program will begin by renting the properties. They’ll receive coaching to build skills and savings, with the goal of taking over ownership of their homes within 15 years.
“By having more stability of people within homes and as homeowners, you see better results within neighborhoods,” said Kevin Nowak, president and CEO of CHN Housing Partners.
Families in the CHN program make 60% or less of the median area income. It’s a demographic that has struggled to find affordable housing in recent years.
According to a 2023 analysis by the National Affordable Low Income Coalition, there are about 70 affordable homes available per 100 low-income families in the Cleveland metropolitan area. For families in the lowest income bracket, there were only 38 affordable homes per 100 households.
“If we’re ever going to turn our trajectory around in this city, housing instability has to be addressed,” said Cleveland City Council President Blaine Griffin.
He told News 5 that programs like the Larchmere Homes development are a start, but the city is pushing for more investment in affordable housing in Cleveland neighborhoods.
Many of the homes in the development were built on formerly vacant lots. Griffin pointed to the city’s 20,000 other vacant and underutilized lots as untapped potential. He said the challenge is encouraging investment in the properties.
“We need to look at that as gold. Most of those lots are the East side where we know we need to have more population,” Griffin said.
Nowak said CHN hopes its investments help revitalize neighborhoods and contribute to their long-term success.
“When you begin to add in new construction within a neighborhood that maybe hasn’t seen much for some period of time, you see other owners and even some landlords in that neighborhood invest again,” he said.
Both said homeownership helps contribute to generational wealth. It’s something Hagood-Powers believes is a powerful legacy for her family.
“I wanted to be able to leave them something so this life won’t be in vain, leave something for the next generation, and they can build off of it,” she said.
CHN’s Loan Purchase program has helped 1,700 families achieve homeownership. The organization has developed several thousand homes since it began the program in 1987.
