OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Cleveland City Council Meeting Summary - November 10, 2025

City Council Meetings — Monday, November 10, 2025
BodyCleveland, Ohio
SessionCity Council Meetings
DateMonday, November 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:45:43

Transcript — Verbatim
5:27

I mean everything would have to go back.

6:05

Thank you.

6:06

We're going to always start off with our guests, and I believe we have two guests from Economic Development if they could join us at the table.

6:18

And her guest.

6:21

Thank you.

6:28

All right, this is ordinance number thirteen sixty two dash twenty twenty five as amended by council members Starr Harrison and Griffin by departmental request.

6:39

An emergency ordinance authorizing the director of economic development to enter into a forgivable loan agreement with Penrose Holding LLC or is designed to provide economic development assistance to partially finance the construction, pre-development, and renovation costs associated with converting two buildings located in Ward Five service area into affordable apartments for seniors and families and other associated costs necessary to redevelop the properties.

7:11

And the amendment states the amendment is actually on your pads.

10:01

Good afternoon.

10:03

Thank you.

10:05

Chair, I have with me Mr.

10:08

Edward Peppers, who's the Vice President of Economic Economic Development at Midtown.

10:18

This project, the Warner Swayze project.

10:20

And I've also with me Afoma Zepwe, who is the project manager with our department.

10:29

Warner Swayze has been a long-standing project.

10:34

It is in my opinion a an incredible example of an adaptive reuse project.

10:42

And I think we're really getting close to the finish line, and it's really exciting.

10:47

I know that my colleagues in community development have done a ton of work on this.

10:50

This project has over 20 um funding sources.

10:54

And I will let Mr.

10:57

Peppers kind of take it from here.

11:00

Thank you, Council President and Committee.

11:09

Right now, the project where we stand.

11:11

We're at a little over 64 million dollars in total project cost.

11:15

We're looking for a mid-December 2025 close, and that would put us with a 24-month construction period, a 1227 completion date.

11:24

This project would have 112 units of affordable housing, and that would be up to 60 percent AMI.

11:31

56 units of family, 56 units of senior.

11:36

In the future, we would have another phase that would have 28 workforce units as well as over 20,000 square feet of commercial space.

11:43

For now, we're just focused on the 112 of LITTEC units that I just mentioned, though.

11:48

Okay.

11:50

That's really the overview of where we stand now, and we were seeking these numbers because the loan we do need to draw on at closing to help us with pre-development costs.

11:58

We've been spending money on this for about 10 years now.

12:01

And looking into the future, the actual uh TIFF is really necessary as we don't want to get to year 15 when the light tech period expires and come back because of the tax clip that's gonna hit.

12:11

We want to be ahead of the game when the funds expire, when the CRA expires.

12:15

So we want to have the tax the TIFF in place, so we're ready for when the everything expires.

12:19

Um we did find out some really good news today.

12:21

We found out that we do have a CBA with the city as of today.

12:24

So that was signed, which was a huge step on behalf of uh Penrose, the development team, and the city of Cleveland.

12:30

So we're happy to see.

12:31

I see that that did happen.

12:33

It was a lot of work on everybody's party, and I think that was a huge step in moving this deal forward and showing the magnitude of what it means to the city of Cleveland.

12:40

Thank you.

12:41

Director Mitchell, did you want to give any um feedback about the uh community benefits agreement?

12:46

Yeah, give me an I haven't been here in a while.

12:49

How are y'all doing?

12:50

All right, all right.

12:51

Uh the chair, we were excited about this project as was uh mentioned.

12:55

This adaptive reuse.

12:57

We uh negotiated a community benefits agreement that is fairly standard.

13:02

Um just to give you some high-level overview.

13:05

We have a total of 12 million, 12 basically 13 million dollars of minority female and small business spend.

13:12

This is a 64 million dollar project.

13:14

Of course, we have our Fannie Lewis 20 percent and our 4% low-income worker requirement, two men or proteges, six registered apprentices or pre-apprentices, four Cleveland interns, resident interns, which will be paid, played $20 an hour on this project, three community stakeholder meetings, quarterly reports.

13:36

Um the other things that are exciting about this project, they're gonna be use people try to use people from the community.

13:42

One of the things we got, you have the city mission fair uh right near there.

13:46

So we're gonna try to see how we can incorporate some of those residents into this into this project.

13:52

We're also gonna have the unbundling, of course, the lead principals in this in this project.

13:58

They're gonna do a lot of um infrastructure stuff, uh, bike lanes, uh, repair and replace deteriorated curbs.

14:05

As you all know, that that area requires a lot of work.

14:08

So we have a list of like 20 things going on, wayfinding, um, using um tree replacing the tree canopy canopies that are there, making it look real nice, using LED bubs, partnering with law enforcement to connect the cameras that are in the neighborhood to uh be a part of that, to do an RTA um coordinate with our RTA to provide residents with existing transit stops and shelters, um, and of course the affordable housing that was mentioned, or the what we call the workforce housing from 30 percent to 60 percent AMI that will be there.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Grant Management███████████████████19%
Personnel Matters██████████████████18%
Economic Development█████████████13%
Affordable Housing█████████9%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Community Development██████6%
Housing████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Cleveland City Council Meeting Summary - November 10, 2025

The Cleveland City Council convened on November 10, 2025, to consider a series of emergency ordinances focusing on major economic development initiatives, HUD grant allocations, public works equipment procurement, and various collective bargaining agreements. Key discussions centered on the long-awaited Warner/Swayze affordable housing project, the first instance of a Payment in Lieu (PIL) of affordable housing funds, and administrative challenges regarding the Department of Community Development's staffing levels and funding disbursement timelines.

Consent Calendar

  • Ordinance 1073-2025: Council unanimously approved the sale of a small, unbuildable remnant piece of city-owned land at the terminus of Bern Avenue to Greg Canado. The parcel will be consolidated with adjacent land for the purpose of green space and garden development.
  • Ordinance 1354-2025 & 1357-2025: Council approved corrections to typographical errors and legal descriptions regarding the East Ohio Gas Company building and the St. Aloyish Church landmark designations.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Councilman Michael Palency: Expressed strong frustration regarding the delays in the Department of Community Development (DCD) funding disbursements. He argued that the failure to distribute funds on time forces local Community Development Corporations (CDCs) to deplete reserves, hurting the community, and noted that he receives direct complaints from residents blaming council members for these administrative delays.
  • Councilman Kevin Conwell: Echoed concerns about the "culture of not executing" within the DCD. He highlighted that when funding is delayed, it "kills" projects and creates time constraints that negatively impact neighborhoods, asserting that the administration fails to hire and train staff effectively to meet processing demands.
  • Councilwoman Marlene Spencer: Agreed with the sentiment expressed by Councilman Casey and Councilman Harrison regarding the Payment in Lieu (PIL) funds. She expressed concern that directing PIL funds to neighborhood improvements (like Herman Park) without requiring affordable housing construction might benefit a developer's future tenants without actually addressing the affordability gap in that specific ward.
  • Councilman Brian Casey: Raised concerns about the "slippery slope" of developers avoiding affordable housing mandates by paying PIL funds. He argued that upgrading parks in a neighborhood via these funds without concurrent affordable housing production could gentrify the area for those who cannot afford it, noting that the developer has no input on where the PIL funds are directed.

Discussion Items

  • Warner/Swayze Project (Ordinance 1362-2025): Council heard updates on the adaptive reuse of the Warner/Swayze complex. Mr. Edward Peppers (Midtown) and Director Mitchell detailed a $64 million project comprising 112 affordable units (56 senior, 56 family) up to 60% AMI, with a targeted closing in mid-December 2025. Director Mitchell affirmed the signing of a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) ensuring $12-13 million in minority/female/small business spend, unbundled contracts, and workforce development. Councilman Michael Palency expressed skepticism regarding the project's 40+ year timeline but noted that the financing gap appears to be resolved. Councilman Charles Slife questioned the volatility of the 60% affordability cap, to which officials responded that the 9% tax credit guidelines lock in the 60% AMI floor for the initial 15-year period.
  • Payment in Lieu of Affordable Housing (Ordinance 1310-2025): The Council discussed directing $660,000 in PIL funds from a tax abatement recipient to a dedicated Herman Park renovation fund ($585,000 estimated). Director Hernandez clarified that while the initial tax abatement law allows for PIL payments instead of building units, the legislation offers flexibility to direct funds citywide to high-pressure affordability areas. Councilman Casey and Councilwoman Spencer noted this serves as a test case for future reforms as the tax abatement sunset clause approaches in 2027.
  • HUD Budget Authorization (Ordinance 1225-2025): The Department of Community Development sought authorization to expend nearly $28 million in HUD formula grants. Director Hernandez reported a staff headcount of 78 full-time employees, below the ideal 111, noting a leadership vacuum (no assistant directors). She cited federal uncertainty and a hiring freeze as causes for attrition but highlighted recent recruitment of compliance managers and grant managers to improve efficiency. Councilman Palency and Councilman Conwell pressed for assurances that critical positions would be filled to speed up funding disbursement, acknowledging that while federal delays contributed to the backlog, internal processing speed remains a critical need.
  • Public Works Equipment (Ordinances 1350-2025 & 1351-2025): Commissioners from Public Works requested approval for new asphalt rollers to replace obsolete equipment and contracts for large capacity trucks with operators for street resurfacing. Commissioner Scott and Brown noted that parts for older rollers are becoming difficult to source. Councilman Palency raised a concern about large piles of asphalt grindings left near Waterloo Road, prompting a commitment from staff to have staff investigate and remove them.

Key Outcomes

  • Ordinance 1362-2025 & 1369-2025: Approved unanimously. Authorizes a forgivable loan agreement with Penrose Holding LLC for the Warner/Swayze project and finalizes the associated amendments.
  • Ordinance 1073-2025: Approved unanimously. Authorizes the sale of the Bern Avenue remnant land to Greg Canado.
  • Ordinance 1310-2025: Approved unanimously. Directs PIL funds from a specific developer to a Herman Park renovation fund.
  • Ordinance 1225-2025: Approved unanimously (as amended). Authorizes the expenditure of ~28 million in HUD CDBG, HOME, ESG, and HOPA grants for the 2025-26 program year.
  • Ordinance 1350-2025 & 1351-2025: Approved unanimously. Authorizes the purchase of asphalt rollers and rental of hauling trucks for Public Works.
  • Ordinance 1354-2025 & 1357-2025: Approved unanimously. Corrects legal descriptions for city landmark designations.
  • Collective Bargaining Agreements (Ordinances 1409-2025, 1410-2025, 1413-2025, 1414-2025, 1415-2025): Approved for consideration by the full body or signed as standing approved. These include contracts with Laborers Local 860 (supervisory and non-supervisory), Teamsters Local 507 (drivers, maintenance, guards, seasonal drivers, and utility supervisors), and SEIU Local One (1405-2025), with the latter three scheduled for full body consideration.
  • Service Employees International Union Local One (Ordinance 1405-2025): The ordinance was noted as "heard for consideration by the full body" for the evening session, with the Director confirming this is the 22nd of 33 bargaining units settled.

Meeting Transcript

I mean everything would have to go back. Thank you. We're going to always start off with our guests, and I believe we have two guests from Economic Development if they could join us at the table. And her guest. Thank you. All right, this is ordinance number thirteen sixty two dash twenty twenty five as amended by council members Starr Harrison and Griffin by departmental request. An emergency ordinance authorizing the director of economic development to enter into a forgivable loan agreement with Penrose Holding LLC or is designed to provide economic development assistance to partially finance the construction, pre-development, and renovation costs associated with converting two buildings located in Ward Five service area into affordable apartments for seniors and families and other associated costs necessary to redevelop the properties. And the amendment states the amendment is actually on your pads. Good afternoon. Thank you. Chair, I have with me Mr. Edward Peppers, who's the Vice President of Economic Economic Development at Midtown. This project, the Warner Swayze project. And I've also with me Afoma Zepwe, who is the project manager with our department. Warner Swayze has been a long-standing project. It is in my opinion a an incredible example of an adaptive reuse project. And I think we're really getting close to the finish line, and it's really exciting. I know that my colleagues in community development have done a ton of work on this. This project has over 20 um funding sources. And I will let Mr. Peppers kind of take it from here. Thank you, Council President and Committee. Right now, the project where we stand. We're at a little over 64 million dollars in total project cost. We're looking for a mid-December 2025 close, and that would put us with a 24-month construction period, a 1227 completion date. This project would have 112 units of affordable housing, and that would be up to 60 percent AMI. 56 units of family, 56 units of senior. In the future, we would have another phase that would have 28 workforce units as well as over 20,000 square feet of commercial space. For now, we're just focused on the 112 of LITTEC units that I just mentioned, though. Okay. That's really the overview of where we stand now, and we were seeking these numbers because the loan we do need to draw on at closing to help us with pre-development costs. We've been spending money on this for about 10 years now. And looking into the future, the actual uh TIFF is really necessary as we don't want to get to year 15 when the light tech period expires and come back because of the tax clip that's gonna hit. We want to be ahead of the game when the funds expire, when the CRA expires. So we want to have the tax the TIFF in place, so we're ready for when the everything expires. Um we did find out some really good news today. We found out that we do have a CBA with the city as of today. So that was signed, which was a huge step on behalf of uh Penrose, the development team, and the city of Cleveland. So we're happy to see. I see that that did happen. It was a lot of work on everybody's party, and I think that was a huge step in moving this deal forward and showing the magnitude of what it means to the city of Cleveland. Thank you. Director Mitchell, did you want to give any um feedback about the uh community benefits agreement? Yeah, give me an I haven't been here in a while. How are y'all doing? All right, all right. Uh the chair, we were excited about this project as was uh mentioned. This adaptive reuse. We uh negotiated a community benefits agreement that is fairly standard. Um just to give you some high-level overview.

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