Cleveland’s Scholar House Modeled after Successful CLPHA Member Communities in Louisville, KY and Columbus, OH
Cleveland Scholar House received a big boost last week when the project was awarded a $1 million Low-Income Housing Tax Credit from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. This funding will generate about $9 million of the project’s estimated $12 million price tag.
Construction on Cleveland Scholar House will begin in 2022, and when finished will provide 40 affordable housing units for low-income college students and their families. The community will be built in walking distance of both Cleveland State University and Cuyahoga Community College and offer on-site daycare services and other academic and social support services coordinated by the United Way of Greater Cleveland. The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority will provide 40 housing vouchers for residents to ensure students can focus on their studies and not worry about rent.
The Cleveland Scholar House is modeled after Louisville’s successful, groundbreaking Family Scholar House, which is supported with vouchers from the Louisville Metro Housing Authority. The Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Scholar House for former foster youth was also inspired by Louisville’s Family Scholar House. Learn more about Columbus Scholar House in Columbus MHA’s recent video below.
You can learn more about how Louisville MHA, Columbus MHA, and their partners are increasing opportunities for postsecondary educational success through Family Scholar House in CLPHA's May 2019 publication Eliminating Barriers to Postsecondary Success. The publication elevates 11 shared learnings from a recent convening of five pioneering PHAs and their postsecondary collaborators, and offers a series of recommendations to policy makers, PHAs, and philanthropic organizations seeking to develop or strengthen cross-sector collaborations between housing and education organizations.
In November 2019, CLPHA, through its Housing Is Initiative, received funding from the Kresge Foundation to expand cross-sector collaboration between housing authorities and postsecondary education providers by establishing a leadership institute for a cohort of PHA staff and their partners who demonstrate the experience and capacity for postsecondary collaboration.