Lorain officials, nonprofit staff tour permanent supportive housing in Cleveland

CLEVELAND — Lorain city officials and nonprofit staff toured two permanent supportive housing properties on Cleveland's westside Monday afternoon. Emerald Commons, 1976 W. 79th St., and The Commons at West Village, 8301 Detroit Ave., hosted about a dozen people touring the properties to get a sense of what could be coming to Lorain's 5th Ward. The properties are joint ventures of CHN Housing Network and Emerald Development and Economic Network, or EDEN Inc., alongside several social services and community partners. Broadway Commons is the pair's latest proposal, and the second in Lorain County. The proposed 62-unit apartment complex is slated for Broadway and East 21st Street. Earlier this year it received the green light from the Ohio Housing Finance agency, with tax credits financing $9.7 million of the estimated $14 million project. That funding is site-specific. The proposed complex, like those in Cleveland, would serve the chronically homeless and homeless veterans. EDEN Executive Director Elaine Gimmel led the tour, starting with Emerald Commons — the oldest building in their portfolio. The property opened in 2006 and normally has at or close to 100 percent occupancy. The councilman at the time took a chance on the project, she said, after walking door-to-door to get resident buy-in in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. CHN Housing Partners took the lead on the development, she said, garnering funds from a number of different grants and programs to make up the $8 million facility — including Low-Income Housing Tax Credit funds. That facility includes 52 efficiency units. Intake is handled by FrontLine Services, which provides intake services for Cleveland's homeless shelters and crisis centers. The complex includes on-site laundry; community rooms for Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, movie nights, game nights, cooking classes and other programming; 24-hour front desk security; and on-site social and mental health services. She estimated that 10 percent to 15 percent of residents work part or full-time jobs, and all are under lease agreements and pay 30 percent of any income in rent including utilities. The program isn't perfect: There are growing pains when residents who lived on the streets or in shelters long-term come in. Its biggest challenge, Gimmel said, are individuals who refuse to take medications or do not maintain sobriety. Permanent supportive housing as part of the Housing First Initiative does not require an individual to be sober before moving into a unit but provides support for that individual to become sober from drugs or alcohol. All Tier III registered sex offenders, those convicted of methamphetamine production or arson are barred from living in the units, but those with felony records can be housed. EDEN estimates its Housing First model has reduced chronic homelessness in Cuyahoga County by 87 percent. Gimmel estimated 10 to 20 percent of residents move on from any of EDEN's complexes for various reasons, including successfully finding other housing, but some decide the environment isn't for them and move on to other options. Of the nine complexes in Cleveland, she estimated its eviction rate for lease violations is under 3 percent. Staff from EDEN and CHN all stressed the complexes aren't homeless shelters. From the outside, the buildings look like any other apartment building and have found their investment in Cleveland communities has spurred other developments over the years. The second building the group visited was built in 2016. In the 10-year span, EDEN and CHN traded efficiency units for one-bedrooms, and a darker color pallet for floor-to-ceiling windows and long, light blue hallways — which would be similar to the design for Broadway Commons. The Commons at West Village, which has 66 units, cost about $13 million, funded mainly through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. It also has 25 units set aside for veterans and staff from Veterans Affairs on site. 'We need to get busy' Councilmembers from central and South Lorain visited the two complexes, alongside staff from the Nord Center and A Place to Recover Training and Resource Center, discussing the complaints and concerns they've heard at the proposed Broadway facility. Those concerns included an increase in panhandling and police calls. Recent complaints about Catholic Charities' St. Elizabeth Center — including allegations the men there had been urinating in alleyways, alongside panhandling and vandalism in the area — have come up several times during City Council meetings. But Mayor Jack Bradley called some of those complaints "urban legends," as there is no police report to substantiate the claims. JoAnne Moon, D-5th Ward, said people need to do their homework before they judge Catholic Charities or other shelters — arguing many of the men housed there are veterans, some with untreated mental illness that is made to leave every day at 8 a.m. and not allowed back until 5 p.m. Bradley said shelter residents are allowed to stay in the facility's basement, but during the summer no one wants to stay in a basement. "If you don't take care of the least of your citizens, then you don't take care of anyone," Bradley said. Rey Carrion, D-6th Ward, said quite a few of his fellow council members are against the project and have questioned what it will do to neighboring businesses. Comparing it to Catholic Charities' original home on West Eighth Street and Broadway, he noted it's all about perception. Bradley said he spoke to the owners of Fligner's Market — who came out against the project this summer alongside the owners of Lake Screen Printing and Reidy Scanlan Giovannazzo Funeral Home. Bradley admits Fligner's has a problem with the project. "They're going to threaten to close and we have to deal with that," he said. Nord Executive Director Don Schiffbauer — which will provide on-site services at Broadway Commons if the project moves forward — stressed he's been to homeless shelters, and the proposed complex is not that. He added that there will be 52 refrigerators and 52 pantries in need of food, so there is an economic aspect that will benefit the area. Moon said she hasn't gotten any complaints from her ward — many of those who are against the project are outsiders. Ultimately, she was eager to see the project move forward. "We need to get busy and … we need to know what needs to be done," she said. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.