Friday, January 17, 2025 – Cleveland – Today, the City of Cleveland is pleased to announce the selection of Pennrose, LLC to lead the redevelopment of the McCafferty Health Center site. This redevelopment will help address a growing need for affordable housing in the Ohio City neighborhood.
The 19,000-square-foot McCafferty Health Center building, constructed in 1971, is largely underutilized, with approximately 25 percent of the space occupied by the Cleveland Department of Public Health. The relocation of the public health center services offers a unique opportunity for reinvestment in the 1.3-acre site on Lorain Avenue—a thriving commercial corridor in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood.
“Ohio City has seen a lot of market rate and ‘luxury rental’ development in recent years,” said Trudy Andrzejewski, Cleveland's Bureau Chief for Neighborhood Revitalization. “As rents rise, so does the need to increase the focus on affordable housing, especially for Clevelanders on fixed incomes. A thriving neighborhood balances growth with preservation and a big part of that is keeping longtime residents who built the community within the community.”
Pennrose, LLC’s project vision includes a proposed 72-unit senior affordable housing development with space for non-profit organizations on the ground floor. The project will pursue 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. Pennrose will partner with area community development corporation, Ohio City, Inc., to co-own and co-manage the new development.
“We’re excited to work alongside the City, project partners, and the local community to help achieve a shared vision of high-quality, affordable housing in the Ohio City neighborhood,” said Geoff Milz, Director of Development – Ohio, Pennrose. “The Lorain Avenue redevelopment will create a tremendous housing opportunity for local seniors, complete with easy access to public transportation, amenities, cultural institutions, and social services.”
Transforming this city-owned site to meet the neighborhood’s affordable housing needs has long been a part of Councilman Kerry McCormack’s vision and Ohio City’s Strategic Plan. This initiative is further supported by the Cleveland 2030 Housing Equity Plan, as well as local, state, and national studies that validate the need for affordable housing due to the rising number of households that pay high percentages of their income toward housing costs.
To ensure this redevelopment is place-based and rooted in community voice, Pennrose, Ohio City, Inc., and the City of Cleveland have continued the model of community engagement laid forth prior to and during the RFQ process last year.
On December 18, 2024, Ohio City Inc. hosted a community engagement event at the Urban Community School during which Pennrose, LLC’s development team shared their project vision and solicited feedback and questions from Ohio City community members. In addition to meeting directly with Block Clubs in the area, Pennrose and OCI plan to hold another community engagement event on February 10 at 6 p.m. at Urban Community School.
"We are extremely grateful for the leadership of Mayor Bibb and Councilman McCormack to prioritize affordable housing for the reuse of McCafferty Health Clinic." said Ben Trimble, Chief Real Estate Officer, Ohio City Incorporated. "We look forward to continuing to work with our Ohio City neighbors and Pennrose on planning these new high-quality, affordable homes with a commitment to equity that suits the history of service of this important site."
Regarding the future of the McCafferty clinical services, the Cleveland Department of Public Health has signed a Letter of Intent to pursue legislation to lease space at the Blanket Mills building in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood to continue to provide uninterrupted clinical services in the community — including vaccinations and low-barrier reproductive health care services such as STI screening and treatment and birth control.
“The Blanket Mills building is a project that I’ve been passionate about since I first joined the Council,” said Ward 14 Councilwoman Jasmin Santana. “Bringing the Cleveland Department of Public Health to our neighborhood will be a great addition to this historic building and will benefit our community along with the other partners on the first floor.”
