The Walton Apartments on Clark Avenue in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood is one of two local beneficiaries of the new Cleveland Housing Investment Fund created by a national nonprofit organization (RDL). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
$4M to aid $40M in new housing, 107 units
The local affiliate of a national nonprofit organization today announced the first of two financing commitments for the new Cleveland Housing Investment Fund (CHIF). Both commitments are long-planned affordable housing developments that will help address the city’s affordable housing crisis.
One is the Parkside Homes, a lease-purchase development of 55 homes that creates a path to homeownership for families on Cleveland’s East Side. The other is Walton Apartments, a new 52-unit community for residents 55 years and older, located in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood on the West Side.
The investments represent a major milestone in Cleveland’s strategy to expand long-term affordability, increase fair access to quality housing, and strengthen communities of opportunity across the city. CHIF was announced in March by national nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and key partners at a City Hall news conference of the major new private investment fund that aims to raise $100 million with the goal of creating thousands of affordable housing units to address the housing crisis.
“Today, CHIF moves from promise to progress,” Kandis Williams, executive director at LISC Cleveland said in a written statement. “With Parkside and Walton Apartments, we’re adding more than 100 homes and demonstrating how flexible capital can close financing gaps, remove barriers to opportunity, and accelerate housing solutions neighborhood by neighborhood.”
“This is how we build a Cleveland that works for everyone,” Bibb added. “CHIF is fueling a bold new chapter – meeting the housing shortage by investing in neighborhoods that have too often been overlooked. By combining city support with private and philanthropic dollars, we’re delivering more than $40 million in community-focused development, and this is just the beginning the impact we are making together.”
Site preparation is underway for the Walton Apartments on Clark Avenue near Fulton Road. The smokestack for the former Hildebrandt meat processing plant, now a family-run center to help support small businesses and artists, is seen at right (Iryna Tkachenko).
New tool to tackle city’s housing crisis
CHIF is a cornerstone of the Cleveland ERA, Bibb’s vision for economic resurgence that creates pathways for everyone to thrive. By unlocking critical capital for housing projects, the fund helps fuel vibrant, inclusive communities where residents can thrive.
Launched earlier this year with an $18 million grant from the City of Cleveland and a $20 million anchor investment from KeyBank, CHIF is a mission-driven, up-to-$100 million fund managed by LISC Fund Management, LLC, an affiliate of LISC, in collaboration with LISC Cleveland. CHIF provides flexible, gap-closing financing for affordable, workforce, and mixed-income housing—especially the small- to mid-sized projects that too often struggle to access capital.
Cleveland’s affordable housing crunch is being driven by fast-rising rents and a deep shortage of homes affordable to the lowest-income residents.
In recent years, Cleveland posted the largest year-over-year rent increase among major U.S. metros of up to 10.6 percent, squeezing households already on the edge, according to NEOtrans and other reports.
At the same time, the region has just 25 affordable and available homes for every 100 extremely low-income renter households — a deficit of about 58,000 units. And roughly 79 percent of these renters are severely cost-burdened, meaning they spend more than 50 percent of income on housing, noted the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Financing from the Cleveland Housing Investment Fund will help finance construction of 55 Parkside Homes on scattered lots throughout the city’s East Side (LISC Cleveland).
CHIF is designed to tackle persistent housing instability across Cleveland neighborhoods by expanding the supply of affordable homes and reducing cost burdens for residents. CHIF aims to create 2,500 to 3,000 homes citywide, including at least 100 for-sale homes, with a focus on serving residents earning below 80 percent of area median income (AMI). Typical CHIF investments range from $1 million to $5 million per project, using a mix of debt and equity-like tools tailored to each development’s needs.
The First Investments:
Walton Apartments — Affordable Homes for Older Adults (52 Apartments)
Developer: Völker Development Inc. of Wisconsin.
CHIF Role: $2 million construction and permanent loan.
Total development cost: about $19 Million.
Overview: A new-construction community offering 52 apartments for residents 55+ earning 30–70 percent of AMI, located in La Villa Hispana. La Villa Hispana is a cultural and economic district in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood, recognized as the heart of the city’s Latino community. The area celebrates Hispanic heritage while advancing inclusive economic development, entrepreneurship, and neighborhood revitalization.
Amenities include a fitness center with senior-specific equipment, community room with kitchenette, enhanced building and site security, and 18 off-street parking spaces.
Designed to help residents age in place with dignity, Walton Apartments offers long-term affordability, connects residents to health, wellness, and social services, and supports the continued revitalization of this culturally rich neighborhood.
“Walton Senior Living expands fair access to quality homes for older adults in La Villa Hispana,” said Greg Baron, managing director of fevelopment for Volker Development’s Midwest region. “This project is especially meaningful to me — I spent several years working for a nonprofit community development organization in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. To now see it come to life, with support from CHIF is deeply rewarding.”
Parkside Homes — Pathway to Homeownership (55 Homes)
Developer: CHN Housing Partners as developer and majority owner, with Famicos Foundation and Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc. as minority owners.
CHIF role: $2 million permanent loan at construction completion.
Total development cost: $22.2 million.
Overview: A 55-home, scattered-site, lease-purchase development across Buckeye, Glenville, and Hough, serving families at or below 60 percent AMI. The new construction development repurposes vacant City Land Bank lots, and includes 49 three-bedroom, two-story homes plus six single-story accessible homes, and positions residents for ownership at the end of the 15-year compliance period through the nationally recognized Lease Purchase Program operated by CHN Housing Partners. This project supports wealth-building through homeownership, and strengthens neighborhood stability with wrap-around resident services including financial coaching and youth programming.
“Parkside proves what’s possible when we match flexible capital with a proven lease-purchase model,” said Kevin Nowak, President & CEO, CHN Housing Partners. “Fifty-five families will move into brand new, high-quality homes in the coming months and begin their homeownership journey, which closes the wealth gap and strengthens neighborhoods..”
“Affordable housing is foundational to economic mobility and neighborhood stability,” said Celia Smoot, National Team Leader of Fund Investments and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) for KeyBank. “KeyBank is proud to be a founding investor in CHIF, helping to unlock long-term affordability and catalyze development that will benefit Cleveland residents for generations.”
LISC is one of the country’s largest community development organizations, helping forge vibrant, resilient communities across America. Since its founding in 1979, LISC has invested $32 billion to create more than 506,000 affordable homes and apartments, develop 82.5 million square feet of retail, community, and educational space, and help tens of thousands of people find employment and improve their finances.
To learn more about the Cleveland Housing Investment Fund, visit: https://www.liscfundmanagement.org/cleveland-housing-investment-fund
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