FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 30, 2016

PRESS CONTACT:
Jeff Ramsey, executive director, Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization
Cell phone: (216) 404-8187
Email: jramsey@dscdo.org

The Lofts at Lion Mills Groundbreaking Continues Revival of

West 25th Street Corridor and the Clark-Fulton Neighborhood
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Lofts at Lion Mills redevelopment at 3256 West 25th
Street is set for Wednesday, June 29 at 10 a.m. This event signals the Clark-Fulton
neighborhood's launch as the next prime investment area on Cleveland's west side.

Soon to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the $10 million project, developed
by the Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization (DSCDO), will redevelop the
historic knitting mills building into a mix of 36 one- and two-bedroom affordable apartments. The
building is primarily funded with low income housing tax credits provided by the Ohio Housing
Finance Agency, and with federal historic tax credits. PNC Bank is the investor for the project.

The Lofts at Lion Mills development is located a block from MetroHealth Hospital's main
campus, providing a critical link between affordable housing and the hospital system's massive
campus renewal plans. MetroHealth is the anchor and driving force of the West 25th Street
Corridor initiative that aims to revitalize the five-mile stretch from the Shoreway on the north to
Brookpark Road on the south. MetroHealth CEO Dr. Akram Boutros envisions the hospital's
main campus as the hub of a community that spins off medical and retail jobs.

"Our job at MetroHealth is to make the entire community healthy in every possible way. We
know that people who have good safe housing are much more likely to stay healthy socially,
financially and every other way," Boutros said. The hospital is currently working on an
employee housing plan to encourage 500 employee families to move to the neighborhood in the
next 5 to 10 years. It is also working to improve neighborhood housing stock by helping
homeowners secure grants for exterior home repairs.
These incentives add to an already attractive neighborhood housing market. Priced out of
surrounding west side neighborhoods, first-time home-buyers are starting to discover Clark-
Fulton with its three national historic districts. Joe and Peggy Smith recently paid $57,000 for a
four-bedroom Victorian built in 1925 in the Scranton Road Historic District. According to Joe,
buying a home in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood made good sense, "We looked in Tremont and
Ohio City, but couldn't find anything in our price range. In this neighborhood we found a great
house at a great price."

The West 25th Street corridor's other major assets include the West Side Market and the
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Both attract more than one million visitors annually. These assets,
plus affordable housing, transportation access, a large Hispanic population, quality education
facilities and plenty of vacant space provide a perfect recipe of investment opportunity in the
Clark-Fulton neighborhood.
According to Cleveland City Councilman Brian Cummins, "There's been more development in
the Clark-Fulton neighborhood last year than in the last 15 years." Recent multi-million dollar
projects include:

Nestle/LJ Minor's $45 million addition on West 25th Street brought cutting-edge food
technology to Cleveland.
The historic Aragon Ballroom's $1.5 million renovation now under construction as a
conference, event and banquet center that will employ 40-50 residents and attract over
50,000 visitors annually to West 25th Street.
The Fresenius Dialysis Center, under construction just one block north of MetroHealth
on West 25th Street, involves a partnership with MetroHealth and the Cleveland
Clinic. The new facility is an example of the kind of business spin off from MetroHealth's
presence in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood.

"With the neighborhood's prime location near downtown and its easy access to major highways,
this is a prime area for all sorts of investment," said Adam Stalder, managing director of
DSCDOs office serving the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. Stalder explained that there's plenty of
excellent development opportunities for both renovation and new construction on West 25th
Street.

Transit access is one advantage Clark-Fulton has over other Cleveland neighborhoods.
Interchanges for Interstates 90, 71, and 490 and State Route 176 provide unprecedented
access to the neighborhood. West 25th Street is also the west side's busiest surface street and
RTAs transit route.

The Clark-Fulton neighborhood is the epicenter of the densest Hispanic population in the state
of Ohio. After years of planning, La Villa Hispana, centered around the intersection of West
25th Street and Clark Avenue, is now underway. The cultural place-making and economic
development initiative celebrates Hispanic culture with plans for a central plaza, marketplace,
streetscape and parking.

Jenice Contreras, director of the Hispanic Business Center, said the initiative will create catalytic
change in the neighborhood. "Last year we launched La Placita, a monthly festival from May to
September with Hispanic artisans and food vendors. The festival can be a business pipeline for
the Mercado, or micro retail center, we are creating," Contreras said.

Opportunity awaits commercial and real estate investors along the West 25th Street Corridor.
Soon residents of the Lion Knitting Mills redevelopment will be able to access jobs, shopping,
schools, entertainment, medical offices, libraries and public transportationamenities already
provided in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood.

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