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Overview
Mayor Bibb's Southeast Side Strategy is a multi-faceted plan to address the issue of concentrated disinvestment in the neighborhoods of Cleveland's southeast side. Our mission is to revitalize the area, providing residents with safe, equitable, and vibrant community they deserve.
Southeast Side Geography
The southeast side neighborhoods encompass Lee-Harvard, Union-Miles, Lee-Seville and Mount Pleasant, spanning across wards 1, 2, 4, and parts of 6 in the southeast part of the city.
Southeast Side Neighborhoods are communities with rich historic legacy and deeply engaged residents who have pride and investment in their neighborhoods.
Visualizing Disinvestment
From 2010-2020, Cleveland's southeast side witnessed a 13.5% population decline, which is more than double the city's overall loss. Presently, the southeast side is home to around 55,000 residents, with over 90% identifying as Black.
These areas have endured decades of disinvestment, resulting in generational poverty, substandard housing, limited educational opportunities, high unemployment, and reduced life expectancy. The impacts of historical redlining policies still loom large over these communities.
Mayor Bibb’s Southeast Side Revitalization Plan aims to:
- Address Blight and Deterioration: Define and target micro-geographies to employ demolition, home repair, home rehab, code enforcement, and clean-up activities.
- Increase Quality Housing and Homeownership: Home repair and rehab within micro-geographies, with the intent of keeping people in their homes.
- Change the Narrative: A public campaign that highlights the historical significance of the community, builds on neighborhood pride, meaningfully engages and empowers residents, and seeks to bring additional investment
The Southeast Side will focus on dividing $15 million in Federal Aid from the American Rescue Plan Act into four key areas:
1. Home Repair and Rehabilitation
Funding has been deployed to repair and rehabilitate over 100 homes in targeted micro-geographies in Southeast Side neighborhoods. This strategy targets residential properties along designated commercial corridors for maximum impact.
2. Commercial Corridor Revitalization
This part of the strategy focuses on revitalizing key commercial corridors through various programs. This phase of investment will work to stabilize surrounding neighborhoods, grow small businesses, provide quality-of-life improvements for nearby community members and attract additional investment.
3. Large-scale Site Developments
This combined effort of partnership and funding will be directed to spur catalytic redevelopment on key sites. Site repairs will likely include places such as the former Hamilton Recreation site, the former John F. Kennedy school site, and more. This objective will incentivize transformative outcomes that will directly benefit existing residents and align with other City development initiatives and priorities.
4. Strategic Demolition and Code Enforcement
Beginning in the spring of 2023, the City has strategically conducted over 12,400 property inspections, cited more than 1,100 violations, and demolished over 130 properties. This targeted approach has reduced blight and safety hazards while creating opportunities for new development and green spaces.
Current Progress
Since the launch of the Southeast Side Promise Initiative in the summer of 2023, more than $10 million in funding has been deployed for home repair, small business assistance, and new construction.
Forty residential properties have received repair and rehabilitation investments. Street clean-up and repairs were completed in the investment corridor on Kinsman Avenue, with clean-ups currently underway on Lee Road.
Over 130 blighted residential and commercial structures have been razed.
The bi-monthly Southeast Side Promise Newsletter was launched with its first edition in September 2024.
Looking Ahead
The interactive Southeast Side Map, set to launch in 2025, will offer residents, current and future investors, and business owners a comprehensive view of the strategy and its impacts. It will highlight engagement opportunities for youth and young adults and outline plans for the strategic construction and rehabilitation of residential and commercial properties within the Southeast Side investment areas.