Arbor Park (previously Longwood), Cleveland, OH

Arbor Park Village (“Arbor Park”; formerly Longwood Apartments) developed by The Finch Group (“TFG”) and completed in 2005  consists of 629 new construction, affordable, residential rental, family housing units built in a “streets and townhouses” layout, including a day-care center, computer learning center, supportive/social services space, resident council space, management and maintenance space, and a 54 unit apartment building, all located about 1-2 miles from Cleveland City Hall and Public Square in Cleveland, Ohio’s Central neighborhood.

Arbor Park continues the City of Cleveland’s ongoing revitalization of the Central neighborhood. Arbor Park fills the void of quality affordable rental housing and becomes one component of the “new” Central that includes, among other things, the construction of hundreds of owner-occupied, single-family homes within the Homeownership District, the complete renovation of three Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority properties, the rejuvenation of the Maingate Business District, and the creation of a master plan for the metropolitan campus of the Cuyahoga Community College.

TFG assumed the ownership and management of Longwood Apartments (“Longwood”), the predecessor apartment complex to Arbor Park, in January, 1999. Longwood was then a severely distressed 820-unit residential property, originally constructed during the urban renewal era in the mid-1950’s. The term “severely distressed” perhaps understates the reality. Longwood’s future in late 1998 was, at best, problematic and uncertain. The prevailing community and resident fear was that the property would be foreclosed upon, vacated, and demolished by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, leaving raw land in its place and a gaping hole in the middle of a major neighborhood redevelopment initiative.

Before                                                 After

In January 1999, when TFG assumed ownership and management, Longwood was in “chaos”:

• Fiscally – According to its audited financials, the property had lost $3,636,292 in the two prior years.

• Physically – There existed an estimated 4,800 significant outstanding health and safety code violations. Criminal and civil complaints against the property partnership owner and general partner were outstanding.

• Obsolete – Even if substantial funds were spent to correct the code violations, Longwood's overall site layout, building design, building systems, unit size and unit mix made it obsolete.

Commencing in January, 1999, TFG worked closely and successfully with the following individuals, organizations, and their representatives to bring Arbor Park to fruition: Governor Bob Taft; Senators Michael DeWine and George Voinovich; Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones; Mayor Michael White; County Commissioners Jane Campbell (now Mayor of the City of Cleveland), Jimmy Dimora and Tim McCormack; Councilman Frank Jackson (now City Council President); Linda Hudecek, Director of Community Development, City of Cleveland; the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (‘HUD”) from Washington, D.C., and Columbus & Cleveland, Ohio; the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority; Longwood residents; the Cleveland Tenant’s Organization; numerous employees of the City of Cleveland (the “City”); and various Central neighborhood stakeholders.

Before                                        After

Additionally, early on TFG established a group made up of representatives of the above individuals and entities, called the Longwood Group, which became something of a public forum. Because of the conspicuous nature of the undertaking and the estimated cost to the public, TFG wanted to make sure that each step of the process was subject to significant public scrutiny and consensus.

From the outset, TFG, along with the Longwood Group, had two critical missions:

• To develop a plan, scope of work and funding mechanism for dealing over the short-term with the then existing property substandard conditions and inadequate management, and

• To prepare a well-researched, well-documented, vetted and comprehensive plan for the development of Arbor Park for the benefit of its current residents, future families of modest means, and the City.

Both of these missions have been accomplished.

For more details on Arbor Park Village's transaction structuring, please see attached.  For financial information, please view attached.

For More Information:

Arbor Park web site

Arbor Park Village Renaissance in the Inner City
Properties Magazine January 2003