CLE Purpose Built Communities is putting the Buckeye-Woodhill and Glenville-Circle North neighborhoods on a pathway to greater opportunity

A group of people sit around a table talking

Residents participate in a CLE Purpose Built Communities Common Ground conversation in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood.

Officially launched in 2018, CLE Purpose Built Communities is a holistic, place-based approach to developing Cleveland’s Glenville-Circle North and Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhoods through the national Purpose Built Communities neighborhood revitalization model.

The national model

Since 2009, Purpose Built Communities (PBC) has been working nationally to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by helping local leaders revitalize some of the country’s most challenging neighborhoods. PBC does this by helping local leaders transform neighborhoods and bringing together the vital components necessary for holistic community revitalization – high quality mixed-income housing, an effective cradle-to-college education pipeline, and comprehensive community wellness resources – organized and driven by a nonprofit “community quarterback.” The community quarterback aligns partners and resources, and oversees progress.

The work in Cleveland

“Implementing the Purpose Built Communities model in two Cleveland neighborhoods is exciting and gives Cleveland an opportunity to leverage its strengths and come together in a powerful way, while recognizing the uniqueness and history of each community.”

– Kimalon Dixon, Senior Project Director, CLE Purpose Built Communities.

Two women stand at a podium in a school gymnasium

Principal Melanie Nakonachny and Assistant Principal Delarisia Bruce of Mary McLeod Bethune School in the Glenville-Circle North neighborhood speak at a community event.

CLE Purpose Built Communities continues the legacy of the Greater University Circle Initiative, an effort launched in 2003 to create pathways to employment, employer-assisted housing and transit-oriented development in seven Cleveland neighborhoods.

CLE Purpose Built Communities operates in partnership with the Cleveland Foundation and Saint Luke’s Foundation, which both serve as community quarterbacks for the neighborhoods, along with an executive board, two neighborhood-level executive committees, and community partners. Senior Project Director of CLE Purpose Built Communities Kimalon Dixon oversees the entire effort and its progress.

CLE Purpose Built Communities is working with partners to promote quality mixed income housing, create a cradle-to-college educational pipeline, and develop community wellness initiatives in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill and Glenville neighborhoods. Though both neighborhoods have historically struggled with disinvestment and the effects of policies and practices rooted in systemic racism, the future is bright thanks to the collective work of individuals and organizations who share the vision of equitable and holistic neighborhood transformation.

Want to learn more about CLE Purpose Built Communities? Visit the website here.