Special Projects

HUD's Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant

South Lorain Pride Photo

Southside Gateway Community Plan

Transformation is on the horizon for South Lorain, as the Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority and the City of Lorain have been granted the esteemed HUD Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant. This enables the formulation of a comprehensive plan to ignite a transformation within Southside Gardens and the wider South Lorain community. Positioned at its core, this project aims to rejuvenate neighborhoods, safeguard affordable housing, and foster improved opportunities for residents, building upon the foundational ethos of the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative - HUD's most prominent program.

Spanning a geographical area in South Lorain, from the Republic Steel Plant in the North to the high-tension power line in the South; Broadway in the West to Oakwood Park in the East, the Planning Grant embarks on a journey to reshape both public and HUD-assisted housing. This project does not merely revolve around the impending redevelopment of Southside Gardens; instead, it extends its strategic planning to encompass neighborhood investments throughout the broader South Lorain community. These strategies, responding meaningfully to the community's input, will construct a robust framework for sustainable and healthy housing, infrastructure improvisation, business development, and improved access to essential services.

More About HUD's Choice Neighborhoods and the Planning Grant

The Choice Neighborhoods program leverages significant public and private dollars to support locally driven strategies that address struggling neighborhoods with distressed public or HUD-assisted housing through a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation. Local leaders, residents, and stakeholders, such as public housing authorities, cities, schools, police, business owners, nonprofits, and private developers, come together to create and implement a plan that revitalizes distressed HUD housing and addresses the challenges in the surrounding neighborhood. The program helps communities transform neighborhoods by revitalizing severely distressed public and/or assisted housing and catalyzing critical improvements in the neighborhood, including vacant property, housing, businesses, services, and schools.

Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants support the development of comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plans that focus on directing resources to address three core goals: Housing, People, and Neighborhoods. To achieve these core goals, communities must develop and implement a comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy, or Transformation Plan. The Transformation Plan will become the guiding document for the revitalization of the public and/or assisted housing units while simultaneously directing the transformation of the surrounding neighborhood and positive outcomes for families.

Learn More about the Southside Gateway Community Plan

Contact Us

  1. Matt Kusznir

    Director
    Email Matt Kusznir
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  2. Hannah C. Kiraly, MNO

    Program Manager of Community & Economic Development
    Email Hannah Kiraly
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Food Forward Lorainpeach

USDA UAIP Planning Grant 

In an effort to promote a healthier Lorain, a unique collaboration has been forged between the City of Lorain, Lorain County Public Health Department, and the Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, known as the Food Forward Lorain initiative. The primary objective of this project is to implement environmental and systemic changes, develop improved policies, and ensure that nutritious food is readily accessible to every Lorain resident. As we work towards accomplishing this mission, we value and seek your distinctive insights, feedback, and vision to enhance our community-driven decision-making process.

We deeply appreciate the diverse perspectives and cultural richness that each member of our wonderful Lorain community brings to this vital endeavor. Through Food Forward Lorain, our aim is to bolster the existing local food resources while establishing an efficient system for easy access to wholesome nourishment. Your real-life experiences, thoughts, and aspirations for a healthier Lorain are integral to our journey toward creating lasting, sustainable change. We encourage you to participate in this brief survey, as your invaluable input will shape policy development and drive tangible progress.

More about Food Forward Lorain

Food Forward Lorain is a partnership of community organizations working together on policies, systems and environmental changes to make healthy food available for everyone who lives in the City of Lorain.

Purpose:
To build upon existing community momentum, sustain efforts and encourage new partnerships to increase access to healthy food, and improve community well-being.

Why:
For community members to access to quality, nutritious food is fundamental to a healthy life. The City of Lorain is the largest city in Lorain County with a high poverty level. Residents face multiple barriers to health because of social and economic factors, or the Social Determinants of Health.

Objectives:

  • Evaluate local food systems.
  • Increase coordination of food system resources.
  • Identify collaborative opportunities for solutions to system problems; initiate conversations, and convene relevant stakeholders.
  • Aid in implementation.
  • Promote outcomes.

More about the Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production (UAIP) Planning Grant

The USDA has invested $14.2 million in 52 grants, including one for the "Food Forward Lorain Initiative" in Ohio, as part of its Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production (UAIP) competitive grants program. These grants, which include funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, aim to support urban agriculture and innovation in food production. The goal is to increase food production and access in economically distressed communities, provide job training, education, and help partners develop business plans and zoning proposals. This initiative builds on previous funding efforts and is part of the USDA's broader support for urban agriculture. UAIP grants support various stakeholders in urban areas and suburbs, addressing areas such as food access, education, business development for new farmers, and the development of policies related to zoning and urban production needs. The Food Forward Lorain Initiative is among the projects working to improve urban agriculture landscapes and enhance access to healthy food in economically distressed neighborhoods.

Voices of Lorain

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Voices of Lorain is our community's new hub to share, discuss, and collaborate on creating sustainable solutions for important issues, challenges, and opportunities in our community. Thanks for taking part, joining with us, and making your voice heard.

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