CHN Housing Partners (CHN) hosted a ribbon cutting today for the Louise C. Stokes Scholar House. More than 100 funders, partners, residents and community leaders and members of the Stokes family gathered to celebrate the innovative development.
The Louise C. Stokes Scholar House, named for Louise C. Stokes, mother to former Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes and former United States Congressman Louis Stokes, is a 40-unit apartment building for parents who are college students. The building removes barriers to economic opportunity by providing affordable housing and wrap-around services for adult college students and their children to support educational success.
“The Louise C. Stokes Scholar House was just an idea eight years ago and turning the concept into reality has been a very special experience,” said Kevin Nowak, president and CEO of CHN. “Thanks to the many partners and funders in this work, 40 full-time student parents and their children now have access to affordable, stable housing, high quality childcare and support as they complete their education.”
At the ribbon cutting, Lori Stokes, the granddaughter of Louise C. Stokes and daughter of Louis Stokes, unveiled a photo exhibit in the building lobby honoring the life of Louise. The exhibit tells the remarkable life story of Louise, raising two sons while working full-time after the death of her husband. Louise modeled hard work for her sons and emphasized the importance of education. Her sons Louis and Carl each obtained a law degree and served as distinguished elected officials. Carl became the first African American mayor of a major American city, and Louis became the first African American congressman from Ohio.
“My grandmother, Louise C. Stokes, instilled the importance of education in my father and my uncle, and they instilled that in me, my siblings and my cousins,” said Lori Stokes. “She would be incredibly proud of the dedication the Louise C. Stokes Scholar House residents have to their families and their education. Her greatest hope would be that the residents remain committed to their studies and demonstrate to their children the power of education through their example.”
In addition to Nowak and Stokes, speakers included Sara Parks Jackson, Director of the Cuyahoga County Housing and Community Development Department, Alyssa Hernandez, Director of the City of Cleveland’s Community Development Department, Sharon Sobol Jordan, CEO of United Way of Greater Cleveland, Ndeda Letson, Senior Vice President at Citizens Bank, Dr. Denise McCory, President of Cuyahoga Community College’s Metropolitan Campus and Marilyn Santiago, a resident of the Louise C. Stokes Scholar House.
The Louise C. Stokes Scholar House is a collaborative effort of many dedicated funders and partners. Funders include the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, Enterprise Housing Credit Investments, LLC, Citizens Bank, federal funding secured by Senator Sherrod Brown, the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, The William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neill Foundation, the Bruening Foundation, Dollar Bank, the RSM US Foundation and the Community West Foundation. Programmatic partners include Step Forward, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland State University and United Way of Greater Cleveland.
“The Louise C. Stokes Scholar House has been wonderful for my son and I so far,” said Marilyn Santiago, resident and student at Cuyahoga Community College. “The community of Scholar House has my favorite part. Living somewhere where all the parents are full time students creates such a strong community because we all understand and can support each other through raising a child while being in school.”
The Louise C. Stokes Scholar House is a $17.3 million LEED certified building. Amenities available on-site include building-wide high-speed internet, community room with kitchen, fitness room, computer room, indoor playroom, common laundry facilities, study lounge areas, resident adult and child counseling spaces, on-site early childhood education and secured building access. The building began leasing in late 2023 and is now fully leased.
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