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Cleveland

Ohio City Learns From History

Ohio City is one of Cleveland’s oldest neighborhoods, incorporated into the city in the mid-19th century and for many years home to industrial workers of German and Irish descent. As factories moved out of the city after World War II and residents followed close behind, riding the new I-71 and I-90 to the suburbs, Ohio City’s population plummeted. Fully one-third moved out in the 1970s alone, leaving the rest to contend with poverty, crime, and homelessness.

Late in the decade, a trickle of middle-income families began returning to Ohio City, attracted by its historic architecture. In the 1990s, nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs) like Ohio City Near West (OCNW) began major residential and commercial redevelopment that traded on that historic character. OCNW, for example, was one of the first CDCs in the country to work with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to find ways of renovating housing for lower-income populations.

Through support from the City of Cleveland’s Storefront Renovation Program, West 25th has seen many successful projects that are a good example of the revitalization of the neighborhood: a series of bustling new shops, ethnic restaurants, and night spots in antique storefronts. all which were rehabilitated with OCNW’s help. Additionally, Ohio City Near West collaborated with the city on the major renovation of historic Market Avenue, a beautiful birck-paved street lined with small flowering trees and twinkling white lights, which on warm nights is full of people sitting a sidewalk tables enjoying the local restaurants that line both sides of the block.

The results have been impressive. In 1990, the median home price in Ohio City was around $20,000. Today, in some parts of the neighborhood, homes sell for as much as $300,000. Median income has risen by 65%.

None of this would have been possible without strong partnership with government. OCNW is in the final stages of a full renovation of three historic apartment buildings that will provide several units of excellent, affordable housing for low-income families. Subsidies from the City of Cleveland, as well as, cooperation among a number of different agencies have made this renovation possible.

OCNW is one of several Cleveland CDCs that receive Living Cities funding and technical assistance from the Enterprise Foundation, and from the local Neighborhood Preservation, Inc.