Woodhill Station West marks a new beginning for Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood.
The 120-unit development is the first phase of an ambitious Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) plan to replace the area’s aging public housing projects and revitalize the surrounding community.
The effort is being propelled by a $35 million federal CNI implementation grant that was awarded to the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) and the city of Cleveland in 2021. They teamed with nonprofit developer The Community Builders (TCB) to convert an empty lot into new housing for the neighborhood.
Woodhill Station West has been selected as the overall winner in Affordable Housing Finance’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Magazine and newsletter subscribers also voted it as the top development in the public housing redevelopment category.
“On behalf of everyone at TCB and our partners, it is an honor to receive these awards for Woodhill Station West, the first phase of the revitalization of Woodhill Homes,” says Patricia Belden, executive vice president of real estate development at TCB. “We’d like to especially recognize residents of the Buckeye-Woodhill community, who have led this transformation to create a renewed neighborhood built on equity, transparency, and opportunity. The best part is there’s even more to come. This is a multiphase project that will ultimately create hundreds more modern, affordable, amenity-full apartments for the current and future residents of Woodhill.”
TCB credits its partners, including CMHA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the federal CNI grant, for making the development possible. Funding from the city of Cleveland, Ohio Housing Finance Agency, and Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing was also essential.
“As astounding as these awards are, the ultimate reward is knowing we along with our partners played a role in creating a brighter, stronger future for the Buckeye-Woodhill community by developing a neighborhood that is a safe place for families to live healthy, fulfilling lives where they can pursue their dreams and thrive,” Belden says.
Located near public transit, the $46.5 million development features 42 one-, 62 two-, and 16 three-bedroom affordable homes. Ninety apartments are replacement units for residents of the nearby Woodhill Homes public housing development that is being demolished. About 75% of the units serve residents earning no more than 50% of the area median income (AMI), while about 25% of the units serve residents earning no more than 60% AMI.
Beyond housing, Woodhill Station West is providing TCB’s Community Life services to residents and new opportunities to the neighborhood, including a construction training program that was completed by 12 area residents during the building of the new homes.
A key component of the community engagement strategy was to not only involve residents with the creation of the plan but to develop leaders known as “resident ambassadors.”
These ambassadors hosted numerous informal and formal events, including three separate door-knocking campaigns, to increase visibility and information sharing between Woodhill Homes residents. CMHA along with TCB and the ambassadors created three action teams that involved over 196 members and met over 20 times between June 2018 and July 2019.
“Woodhill Station West is an outstanding development that means so much to the community and so much to our city,” says Jeffery K. Patterson, CEO of CMHA. “It’s wonderful to see so many community organizations collaborate to make people’s lives better.”
The development’s many diverse partners, including housing organizations, educational institutions, and Woodhill residents, all came together to see the project succeed, according to Patterson.
With Woodhill Station West as a model, additional phases are underway that will bring additional housing to the community.
“The development means so much to people because it’s happening,” Patterson says. “Often you hear people talk about projects that are going to happen or might happen, and then you wait and wait and it doesn’t happen. This project did happen, and it continues to happen. People are believing that it’s going to continue. That’s very important.”
