Construction begins on affordable housing in Cleveland’s Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Positive changes are coming soon to Cleveland’s East Side with the city’s Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood getting the chance to rebuild.

Friday kicked off the beginning of construction on Phase II of the Woodhill Homes project for the Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority with a $35 million grant in 2021.

It’s allowing them to build 500 new housing opportunities and bring retail stores, recreation, and an early childhood education center to the neighborhood.

Marilyn Burns has lived in the Buckeye-Woodhill community for more than two decades, and she told 19 News it’s a long time coming.

“We need a positive change. We need to beautify and enhance our neighborhoods to bring some fresh light into our area,” said Burns.

Cleveland Ward 6 Councilperson Blaine Griffin said he calls these same streets home.

He said the project is more of a renaissance for this devastated community.

“We lost a lot of population in this neighborhood,” Griffin said. “This neighborhood has had the lowest life expectancy in the entire county, but now we are changing the trajectory.”

Griffin said the project could take years, but the work to revitalize this neighborhood is nowhere near done.

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