Hough neighborhood developments promise affordable housing, services to community

After the 1960s riots, a once-thriving Hough community was ravaged by looting and fires in a time of racial unrest. It took decades to rebuild, but it’s happening. That effort continues today with the sale of several properties, including an abandoned high-rise apartment building, to Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures in Washington, D.C. 

Dr. Gina Merritt, the principal of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV), says her company’s focus is on affordable housing development. This focus also includes an economic empowerment platform called Project Community Capital, for which the group has won 20 awards, including the Innovation Works, Baltimore, Mentor in 2020 and Leadership Baltimore, Greater Baltimore Committee in 2018,  Merritt said.

NREUV uses a  comprehensive and human-centered path to real estate development.  WFL Collective bought the apartment in 2021, it was foreclosed 15 years prior to purchase. The increase in interest rates reduced the amount of debt the project partners could borrow, causing a financing gap. The project went from $10 million to $7 million. The gap propelled the group to do a bit of creative financing, and the deal closed June 28. 

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“We went from $10 million to $7 million,” Merritt said. “With that gap, we had to figure out a creative way to close the project by seeking other sources to help us with the project. I was able to do that and close the project … on June 28th.”

According to a NREUV press release, WFL Collective is partnering with NREUV on the project with combined funding from The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, the State of Ohio, and Cleveland Development Advisors.

The apartment, located at 9410 Hough Ave. in Cleveland, is minutes from the bustling University Circle community and will have 116 affordable housing units. The one- and  two-bedroom units range from $951 to $1141.

The 10-story property opened initially with much anticipation back in 1973. Its owners condemned it in 2008. 

Merritt, some of her partners, and her contractor recently toured the building. Because of some concerns about the structure’s stability, she toured only the first floor. 

“The partners, who are contractors, went upstairs to the roof to look at plumbing,” she said. “The plan is to gut the whole building. The floors are sturdy. It’s an all-concrete building. The contractors are pulling all the framing and other parts of the structure. Later, each floor will be reframed.

Merritt said she is fascinated by the neighborhood.

“I loved that it was close to all the museums, hospitals, and entertainment around University Circle. Seeing how neglected the neighborhood was assured me that this development fits in our model,” she told The Land.

The deal, worth $47 million, has faced an array of upsets due to rising interest rates at the time of purchase. 

In 2022, the project was predicted to run around $37 million, but due to the after-effects of the pandemic, including the rising cost of supplies, the budget has grown to $47 million. According to the NREUV press release, some financial structuring was paramount to help close the project’s sizable gap and get it to a financial close. 

The property’s 116 apartments will be divided into 56 one-bedroom and 60 two-bedroom units. The goal is to serve households earning 60% of the area median income, or $35,880 to $46,680 annually, Merritt said. 

With a population of approximately 16,000 residents, the renovations won’t stop with the 9410 property. Nearby, the plan also includes a Community Amenity Center that will provide residents with mental and physical health services, education, training, financing literacy, entrepreneurship development, employment services, and arts and music programs.

NREUV is also redeveloping the longtime condemned Martin Luther King Plaza, about two miles away. In its heyday, the property boasted two- and three-bedroom apartments above an indoor and outdoor shopping mall that included a beverage store, barbershop and a full-service grocery store.  

The plan for MLK is to construct 149 multi-family units, along with 7,500 square feet of commercial space and 6,700 square feet of live-work space. Future phases of the Hough Project will include townhomes and multi-family housing, along with 50 units of family housing on a vacant lot across the street from 9410, Merritt said. 

George Dixon IV, 37, is a third-generation owner of Dixon’s Grocery, next door to the 9410 property. His father was George Dixon III, who served on the board of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority and once owned the legendary Lancer restaurant and Club Togo. 

“We’re happy about the news,” Dixon said. “My family has owned this store for quite a long time. I was in my third year of college in North Carolina when the apartment closed. It’s about time. Honestly, I thought the Cleveland Clinic or someone else would have purchased it long ago. This store has been here since the early 60s. It survived the Hough riots.” 

Dixon spoke about Cleveland Clinic’s expansion into the neighborhood, which caused a resurgence of new housing. Some premium dwellings are going as high as $1,500 a month. He became reflective when he spoke about how his dad may have responded to the changes. 

“He was active in many different things, such as school boards and transportation, but my dad loved technology upgrades and innovation,” he said. “So I know he would have been a big fan of seeing the community and our store profit with a renovated building (that’s) aesthetically pleasing. One where there’s an opportunity for people to have decent housing. A place to be happy to come home to. That’s all most people want at the end of the day.”

Construction on 9410 began back in late July. A starting date for the MLK project was not available.