The area known as Jefferson Park stretches from Lorain Avenue and will be a focal point for middle neighborhoods investment, Gillooly says. There are two home rehabilitation projects underway with a goal of 10 this year, and projects might include adding another bedroom or bathroom and general rehabilitation.
“By using grant money to complete these projects, neighbors’ home values will increase and then they will have the equity to redo their own kitchens and bathrooms,” he says. “It raises market value, overall.”
Proximity to the playground and green space at Jefferson Park, easy access to Lorain Avenue and connectivity to nearby Kamm’s Corners makes the targeted corridor ideal for stimulating investment throughout Jefferson-
Puritas West Park.
Additionally, the neighborhood CDC partners with the Home Repair Resource Center (HRRC) to offer home repair workshops to residents at no cost.
“We’re trying to push beyond home maintenance and are looking forward to initiatives through CNP, the city and all the middle neighborhoods,” Gillooly says, adding that white box improvements to commercial properties will provide opportunities for local businesses.
The CDC in conjunction with West Park Kamm’s Neighborhood Development will conduct a market study for the Lorain Avenue commercial corridor to find out what types of businesses residents feel the community was lacking and will support. “We want to attract the right things,” Gillooly says. “Are there offerings that should be available to our residents that they can afford and are probably driving out of the neighborhood to access?”
“The study will help guide us as to what types of businesses or neighborhood residents, combined with visiting traffic and traffic passing through, could economically support,” Gillooly says. “Of all the commercial offerings our neighborhoods want and need, which ones can we feasibly sustain?”
This type of deep-dive community engagement is how long-term revitalization continues an ongoing tradition of staying in and supporting the neighborhood.
