Middlebury housing rehab initiative gets $8M boost to build affordable homes in Akron

Efforts to rebuild Middlebury neighborhood homes and put housing back in the hands of local owners received an $8 million boost Thursday morning.

Standing in front of a rehabilitated home on Eber Avenue, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan announced the city would provide $4 million to the Well CDC, a neighborhood nonprofit that rebuilds local houses.

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Of that amount, $2.75 million is from the American Rescue Plan Act with $1.25 million from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants, according to a city press release.

"I can't overstate the importance of improving housing in our communities," Horrigan said at a press conference. "When we have vibrant, diverse neighborhoods like Middlebury, we need a housing stock that reflects that vibrancy."

Knight Foundation Akron Program Director Kyle Kutuchief also announced Thursday that the foundation would provide a $4 million grant to match the city's investment.

Rebuilding to create affordable housing in Akron

The Well CDC, led by Executive Director Zac Kohl, has rehabilitated 84 homes in the neighborhood since 2016, he said after the press conference.

This $8 million influx will allow his team to rebuild roughly 58 more houses. Although, he said, this number could change depending on the work needed at each site.

"Some homes need to be gutted entirely, but we always try to save what we can," Kohl said.

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Since starting the nonprofit in 2016, and having endured the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation, he has seen many fluctuations in the housing and construction markets.

"We saw a purchase price increase from $15,000 to $40,000 in the last few years," Kohl said. "Some (projects) need $80,000 to $150,000 in rehab costs."

These costs include repainting, installing new cabinets and windows and buying appliances like washers and dryers.

"We want to go above and beyond for tenants to make it comfortable for people of all backgrounds," Kohl said.

Although costs are high, he does not want to increase rent, which averages $850 a month per home, he estimated. Rent varies depending on the size and number of bedrooms.

To make up the difference, Kohl receives grant funding from the city and nonprofits like the Knight Foundation and financing from Western Reserve Community Fund and PNC Bank.

Putting locally owned homes back into Middlebury

Among Kohl's goals is to mitigate the loss of investment in the Middlebury neighborhood.

Roughly 75% of the area's 2,600 homes are owned by absentee or out-of-state landlords, he said. Rent money from those properties leaves the community, and in some cases, the state.

"Absentee landlords don't have an incentive to reinvest in a community they don't live in," Kohl said.

In a few decades, hundreds of thousands of dollars can leave a neighborhood like Middlebury, resulting in dilapidated homes, he said.

Makita Gulley, a Well CDC tenant and business manager for the nonprofit, said the neighborhood has gradually improved since Kohl founded the nonprofit.

"Most of the homes on this side of (Eber Street) are owned by Well CDC, and it's incredible to see the change," Gulley said after the press conference.

Before Gulley moved into her Well CDC renovated home in 2021, she and her four kids lived with her mother. She needed more space and a home to call her own. As a single mother, finding an affordable house was key.

Finding her Well CDC home was a blessing, Gulley said. Not only was it affordable but it came with a washer and dryer, a rare commodity in Akron house rentals.

"I didn't want to walk or drive somewhere every time we had to do laundry," she said.

Over the last two years, Gulley and her landlord built a relationship that goes beyond paying the bills.

That rapport allowed her to keep her home when she was laid off when the pandemic eviction moratorium ended in July 2021.

"I was stressed that I would be evicted, but my landlord reassured me that wouldn't happen," she recalled. "I'm still here now, and it's been a great experience."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron, Knight Foundation fund Middlebury housing rehab with $8 million