CLEVELAND, June 24, 2020 -The NRP Group, a vertically integrated, best-in-class developer, builder and manager of multifamily housing, has been awarded housing credits in a competitive application process administered by the Ohio Finance Housing Agency (OHFA). The credits will be used to build affordable housing in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio.
To be developed at East 105th and Churchill Road – on the site of the former Harry E. Davis Elementary School, which has been vacant since 2006 – the project is the first phase of a multi-phase development known as Churchill Gateway, and will consist of a four-story 48-unit apartment building and four townhomes, for a total of 52 units. The one-, two-, and three-bedroom units will be affordable to residents at or below 60 percent of area median income (AMI).
Churchill Gateway will be an anchor development along the East 105th corridor, creating a connection between the Glenville neighborhood to the north and the job center at University Circle to the south. In addition to delivering much-needed new affordable housing to the neighborhood, NRP is collaborating with the City of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District ("CMSD"), and University Hospitals ("U-H") to develop a 2,500-square-foot Community Outreach Center, which will focus on health education and workforce training.
According to Kelan Craig, OHFA Director of Multifamily Housing: "The NRP Group continues to be a leader in partnering with healthcare institutions to develop high quality, affordable, and health-focused housing. Good health depends on having safe and affordable homes. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency supports and is excited to work with NRP to promote good health and better health outcomes through housing. As COVID-19 compounds the affordable housing crisis, the intersection of housing and healthcare has never been more important. OHFA is proud to support Churchill Gateway and the partnership between The NRP Group and University Hospitals."
The development partner in the project, University Hospitals, employs more than 28,000 physicians and employees and is located one mile away from the Churchill Gateway project. University Hospitals continues with this collaboration to actively engage with the local neighborhoods by reaching beyond its four walls to address key social determinants of health in disinvested neighborhoods. The Churchill Gateway project provides just such an opportunity.
"University Hospitals is thrilled to collaborate with The NRP Group in the neighborhoods adjacent to the UH Cleveland Medical Center, its UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital and UH Seidman Hospital as NRP develops much needed affordable housing in the Glenville neighborhood," says Dr. Daniel Simon, President, Medical Centers, University Hospitals Health System. "Safe, affordable, and high-quality housing plays a critical role in addressing social determinants of health and can lead to a lifetime of improved community health outcomes. Now more than ever, it is vital that healthcare providers engage communities in health education and preventative healthcare where our neighbors live. This project will help UH continue to best understand and care for the health needs of the community and to provide comprehensive community-based care – the kind of healthcare people need the most."
This development provides several other positive outcomes for stakeholders in this previously underserved community. First, through University Hospitals' involvement in this project, Churchill Gateway provides an opportunity for a major local employer to directly connect with and access local residents to focus on wellness, health education and to recruit potential employees. Additionally, because of Churchill Gateway's proximity to University Circle, it will also provide an opportunity for residents to enhance their connections to the many cultural, health, educational and civic assets of University Circle and participate in the revitalization of the neighborhood. Finally, there has been relatively few multifamily developments directly outside of University Circle proper, and Churchill Gateway stands to change all that by acting as a catalyst for continued new development in the Circle North neighborhood.
U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) believes this project could not be better timed: "This is great news for the Glenville neighborhood in Cleveland as these federal tax credits will be used to help provide safe, affordable housing through the Churchill Gateway Project. Safe housing can lead to improved health outcomes for lower-income communities, and the partnership between The NRP Group, which will build this new affordable housing community, and University Hospitals, which will partner with them to conduct health education outreach is a strong example of the types of cross-sector collaboration needed to enhance social determinants of health in Ohio and across the country.Churchill Gateway is expected to be complete in the fall of 2022.
ABOUT THE NRP GROUP
The NRP Group is a vertically integrated developer, owner, builder, and manager of best-in-class multifamily housing. Since its founding in 1994, NRP has developed more than 43,000 apartment homes, and currently manages over 23,000 residential units. The company utilizes the entire breadth of its in-house capabilities to fulfill its mission: creating exceptional rental housing opportunities for individuals and families, regardless of income. Through its disciplined approach to vetting opportunities, NRP has established a track record of delivering impressive returns for investors. The company's formidable size and depth of talent provides the experience and infrastructure necessary to execute developments of varying degrees of complexity and scope in both urban-infill and suburban locations, including market rate, affordable, and senior housing. The NRP Group has been named the 2020 NMHC #6 Top Multifamily Builder in the U.S. and #7 Top Multifamily Developer, and Affordable Housing Finance has named The NRP Group #4 Top Affordable Housing Developer. The NRP Group is a three-time recipient of the National Association of Builders Multifamily (NAHB) Pillars of the Industry award for national "Development Firm of the Year." NRP is leveraging its decades of practice by also providing construction and property management services to outside owners and developers. For additional information, visit https://www.nrpgroup.com/.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS / CLEVELAND, OHIO
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 40 outpatient health centers and 200 physician offices in 15 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system's flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located on a 35-acre campus in Cleveland's University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including "America's Best Hospitals" from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with 27,000 employees. Follow UH on Facebook @UniversityHospitals and Twitter @UHhospitals. For more information, go to UHhospitals.org.