Partnerships push Karam Senior Living towards its construction as a place where anyone can thrive
August 15, 2024
Bialosky Cleveland
Northwest Neighborhoods is celebrating its completed fundraising for Karam Senior Living, which will add affordable senior housing to the new Cleveland Public Library (CPL) Walz Campus to West 80th Street and Detroit Avenue. A new award by Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) of 51 housing vouchers both deepens the project's affordability for future residents and allows development to proceed towards construction in 2025 and opening in 2026.
“After months of working against the odds, we couldn’t be more thrilled that our vision of Karam Senior Living will become reality,” said Bridget Kent Márquez, NWN Executive Director. “We have so many community members and partners to thank now, at the groundbreaking and at the ribbon cutting, including Cleveland City Council, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Enterprise Community Partners, Cleveland Public Library, and my board and staff.”
NWN and CPL invite community members to celebrate this progress at an “Our Future is Building Pop-Up Party” on Tuesday, August 27, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at St. Luke’s Church, 7708 Lake Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44102. The celebration will include CPL’s On the Road to Reading early literacy van complete with free kids’ activities, snacks, books, and more.
"We are excited to reimagine the Walz Campus and reaffirm our commitment to this vibrant community," said Felton Thomas, Jr., Executive Director and CEO of Cleveland Public Library. "With enhanced resources, the Walz Campus will be a hub for learning and growth, allowing us to better serve our neighbors and ensuring that everyone who walks through our doors can thrive."
As a $23 million investment, Karam Senior Living will counteract displacement pressures affecting vulnerable, older residents by providing 51 residential units to seniors who earn less than 30% and 50% of the area median income (AMI). Developed in partnership with CPL, the energy-efficient, accessible building will include a new Walz Campus for intergenerational connections and wrap-around programming. The development reimagines the northeast corner of West 80th and Detroit, adjacent to bus transit and healthcare providers, to more equitably serve the surrounding Detroit Shoreway and Cudell neighborhoods.
CPL will anchor the facility with a new, five-star library to meet a wide range of community needs. The new Walz Campus will span two floors and provide meeting spaces, children and teen areas, enhanced technology, and after-hours book lockers. This investment is part CPL’s 10-year plan to reimagine all 27 campuses through renovation, expansion, and new library construction to fulfill its commitment to all Clevelanders.
Previous funding commitments were essential for NWN to overcome cost increases and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the voucher commitment by CMHA, key awards since 2020 have included $2 million in ARPA Funds from Cuyahoga County, $1 million in ARPA Transformative Neighborhood Project Funds from Cleveland City Council, $2 million in ARPA Gap Funds from the City of Cleveland, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
NWN’s development work for Karam Senior Living is fulfilling a core goal of its 2024-2028 Strategic Plan: “To maintain, provide, and increase housing affordability for residents with low incomes.” The Karam and Walz facility will manifest NWN’s vision of “A place where anyone can thrive” by creating shared spaces where young scholars, older residents, and all community members will grow together.