Buckeye Square provides a signature building for Cleveland’s Buckeye neighborhood, an area considered to be one of Cleveland’s most vibrant, mixed-used districts.
Opened in 2013, Buckeye Square is a permanent supportive housing project for chronically homeless individuals. The new construction, Green Communities© project offers on-site social services, common laundry facilities, a community room with kitchen, a computer lab, parking for residents, a 24-hour staffed front desk and outdoor courtyard space. The efficiency apartments, which offer different layouts for tenant choice, average 450 square feet and come with full baths and kitchens, bed, table, dresser and phone. The building is within walking distance of major anchor projects including medical facilities (e.g., Saint Luke’s and MetroHealth centers), community and public services.
The project was funded mainly through the use of Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC). Other development financing included HOME funds (local, county and state), the Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Program, the local Continuum of Care and other grants.
Buckeye Square is part of Housing First, a coalition of public and private organizations whose mission is to establish the permanent supportive housing model in Cuyahoga County, Ohio and to end chronic homelessness in our community. The model is performing above expectations in Cleveland, with less than a 2% return to homelessness. Key partners of Housing First include CHN Housing Partners as lead developer/owner, Emerald Development & Economic Network, Inc. (EDEN) as property manager and co-owner, FrontLine Service as lead service provider, Enterprise Community Partners as coalition leader, and Care Alliance as mobile health clinic provider.
