Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization named Housing Hero
Charter One Foundation to provide $50,000 award recognizing Detroit Shoreway’s innovative affordable housing developmentCLEVELAND (November 16, 2006) - Charter One has named Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization as the first recipient of its new Housing Heroes Award. The Housing Heroes award spotlights one non-profit housing developer each year that demonstrates innovative solutions and leadership in creating affordable housing.
Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization was selected as the Housing Hero because of its excellence in developing affordable housing. Its West Side Homes project stood out for its innovative use of resources and collaborative partnerships to restore three historic buildings into 52 affordable housing units and seven commercial storefronts in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood on Cleveland’s west side.
As part of the award, Detroit Shoreway will receive a $50,000 grant from the Charter One Foundation. The Housing Heroes grant award program is an extension of the Charter One Housing Bank, a low-interest loan program designed to increase the supply of affordable housing units in the state.
Charter One Bank President & CEO Ned Handy made the surprise announcement at the organization’s annual benefit.
“We are thrilled to name Detroit Shoreway as the first recipient of the Charter One Housing Hero Award for the West Side Homes project,” said Ned Handy, President & CEO of Charter One Bank. “Charter One recognizes the critical need for affordable housing in the state and we are pleased to celebrate the impact that non-profit developers, such as Detroit Shoreway, are making in the lives of Ohio residents.”
DSCDO has an organizational commitment to create a balanced housing agenda. As a result of the organization’s community development efforts, the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood has seen nearly $180 million in investment in housing by developers and non-profits between 1990 and 2006.
$10,000 of the $50,000 grant award from the Charter One Foundation is designated for a resident-related program in the neighborhood. DSCDO will use these funds to create a six-terminal computer facility. The space will be available for residents of West Side Homes and Gordon Square Homes and can be used for computer skills training, job searches, credit counseling and budgeting training.
"We are honored to be recognized by Charter One Bank as a Housing Hero," said Jeff Ramsey, Executive Director of DSCDO. "We will use the resources that this award brings to further our mission of creating affordable housing and a great neighborhood. We are grateful to Charter One Bank for this recognition and for its efforts to support and promote affordable housing throughout Ohio."
The Housing Heroes grant program is an annual awards program to recognize a successful project that has created affordable housing units in the state. Any non-profit developer that has completed an affordable housing project in the past year is eligible to apply. The next deadline will be September 2007.
The Charter One Housing Bank Community Loan Program, a $250 million loan commitment, was designed to address the need for more affordable housing by providing non-profit developers with the low-cost funding they need to create a new supply of affordable housing units for rental or homeownership and increase neighborhood stability through new homeownership opportunities.
About Charter One Bank, N.A.
Charter One Bank, N.A., is a $46 billion bank operating in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. It has 474 branches and more than 800 ATMs. It has 167 branches and 213 ATMs in Ohio. Charter One is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, Inc., a $164 billion commercial bank holding company headquartered in Providence, R.I. Citizens has more than 1,600 branches, approximately 3,200 ATMs and 26,000 employees in a 13-state retail branch network and has non-branch retail and commercial offices in about 40 states. Citizens is the eighth-largest commercial banking company in the United States ranked by deposits and ninth in assets as of March 31, 2006. Citizens is owned by RBS (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc).
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