An aerial rendering illustrates how the Gateway66 mixed-income housing development would activate the intersection of East 66th Street and Linwood Avenue. CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Local developer begins next affordable housing development on East Side
Today, Cleveland-based Frontline Development Group and Woda Cooper Companies, Inc. formally broke ground on Gateway66, a two-building, 80-unit mixed-income housing development spanning both sides of East 66th Street just north of historic League Park in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood.
Frontline, a Black woman-owned development firm led by owners Sheila M. Wright and Angela Thi Bennett, was joined by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and other elected officials along with community leaders and project partners.
“Gateway66 is about more than creating quality housing. It is about advancing a larger vision for East 66th Street that builds on the neighborhood’s strengths and creates opportunities for its future,” said Wright. “We are deeply grateful to the public, institutional, and community partners whose investment, leadership, and confidence helped bring us to this moment.”
Gateway66 would fill vacant lots on either side of East 66th Street with mixed-income apartment buildings (PCI).
The $27.9 million development would consist of 76 units designated for various income brackets as well as four market-rate units, including 56 one-bedroom and 24 two-bedroom apartments.
The new apartments are a core component of Allen Estates, Frontline’s broader neighborhood development vision focused around the East 66th Street corridor.
The firm “began assembling the land, institutional relationships, public support and financial resources necessary to advance its Allen Estates vision years before Gateway66 reached construction,” according to a press release.
While Frontline broke ground in late 2020 on several infill homes at Allen Estates, work has been dormant for the last several years. However, a NEOtrans correspondent confirmed that construction had resumed on one of its homes earlier this summer.
Exterior work on one of Allen Estates’ first infill homes resumed this earlier this summer after several years of inactivity (Harrison Whittaker).
Gateway66’s current design was unveiled in 2025 — along with the announcement of a $3 million investment from University Hospitals. In July, the Port of Cleveland approved a capital lease and the issuance of up to $25 million in taxable revenue bonds, allowing it to move forward.
Co-developing the project is Woda Cooper, an experienced affordable housing developer based in Columbus. The firm previously joined Frontline in developing Gordon Crossing, a smaller mixed-income apartment building on the east edge of Hough which opened earlier this year.
“Through strong partnerships and a shared vision, we are creating quality affordable housing that will provide stability, opportunity, and a place residents will be proud to call home,” said Jeffrey Woda, the company’s founder and CEO in a written statement.
“We are proud to be part of a development that will strengthen the community and help meet Cleveland’s growing need for affordable housing,” Woda added.
The intersection of East 66th Street and Linwood Avenue on Monday, the day before Gateway66 broke ground (Harrison Whittaker).
Gateway66 builds on efforts to revitalize the East 66th Street corridor with street improvements and new development as well as broader initiatives to improve housing options across the city.
“The Cleveland ERA is about building a city where residents can find quality housing, good jobs and opportunity in every neighborhood,” said Mayor Bibb.
“Gateway66 puts that vision into action by bringing 80 mixed-income homes to Hough while building on the strength, history and potential already here,” Bibb continued.
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