KeyBank announced it is providing $9.6 million in low-income housing tax credit equity to help finance a permanent supportive housing development to serve chronically homeless individuals in Cleveland.
Emerald Alliance IX, which will be renamed Inez Killingsworth Place, will offer 66 rental homes plus supportive services to individuals making less than 30%, 50%, or 60% of the area median income.
Emerald Alliance IX is the ninth permanent supportive housing effort co-developed under the Cuyahoga County Housing First Initiative by the Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), Northeast Ohio’s largest community development organization, and Emerald Development and Economic Network (EDEN), an organization that advocates on behalf of low-income individuals with disabilities or special needs facing homelessness. The Housing First model prioritizes securing housing for homeless individuals as quickly as possible.
“We are thrilled to play a role in the development of Emerald Alliance IX,” said Robert Likes, national manager of KeyBank’s Community Development Lending and Investing group. “At KeyBank, we are dedicated to helping the communities where we live and work thrive. It is a good day when we can help tackle chronic homelessness alongside innovative partners dedicated to the Housing First model.”
Emerald Alliance IX will be an Enterprise Green Community project in Cleveland’s Union Miles neighborhood, an area with easy access to community amenities like public transportation. There will be secure vehicular and pedestrian access. EDEN will provide property management services, and there will be 24-hour front desk security staffing. FrontLine Service will coordinate supportive services to residents on-site.
“KeyBank is a dedicated partner in providing quality, affordable housing in low-income neighborhoods,” said Irene Collins, executive director at EDEN. “We are very excited to break ground on much-needed permanent supportive housing that will help this community grow and prosper.”
KeyBank has invested in six permanent supportive housing developments that follow the Housing First model with CHN and EDEN to date.
“We are fully dedicated to balancing mission and margin by prioritizing our investment in affordable housing development where KeyBank lives and works,” said Ryan Olman, the relationship manager who closed the deal. “We will continue to finance developments that identify housing as a community vehicle for growth and prosperity.”
