Toledo officials Thursday lauded the city’s focus in the past few years on using the Community Development Block Grants to fight blight and called on residents to participate in planning the funds’ future use.
“October would make it five years that I've been up here,” Rosalyn Clemens, the city’s housing and community development director, said. “We looked at what the city had been spending CDBG on, and we started looking at the needs of the community, and with the support of the mayor and council, what we[‘ve been] trying to do is to pivot the use of CDBG to invest in community amenities.”
Ms. Clemens spoke Thursday at the Glass City Enrichment Center in East Toledo, where the city of Toledo and its partners celebrated the 50th anniversary of the CDBG program. About 70 people participated.
“One other thing that we've done is invest these dollars in building the capacity of small organizations we see time and time again, the same organizations that apply for CDBG every year, the same organizations, the small mom and pop organizations that are indeed doing grassroots work in their neighborhoods and want to do grassroots work but don't have the capacity to do it,” she said.
Established in 1974 and administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this program has been crucial in providing neighborhoods with resources to address issues such as affordable housing rehabilitation, public services, parks and recreation facilities, economic development, financial literacy, and neighborhood blight, Ms. Clemens said.
Ms. Clemens emphasized that this funding has enabled Toledo to invest in essential infrastructure, economic development, and social services, contributing to stronger and more vibrant neighborhoods.
Under the current city administration, Toledo has received $51.9 million in CDBG funds, averaging $7.4 million per year, she said.
She noted that this funding has supported city and nonprofit staffing of housing and community development work and numerous successful projects, including upgrades to the Frederick Douglass Community Center, the construction of the new Wayman Palmer YMCA, the Rooftops Repair program in partnership with Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity, and countless upgrades to City parks and facilities.
“The $51.9 million in CDBG funding during our administration has been instrumental in advancing vital projects across Toledo,” Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said in a prepared statement. “This investment demonstrates our commitment to improving the quality of life for our residents and strengthening our neighborhood.”
Ms. Clemens Thursday highlighted the program's achievements and future direction.
“We have focused on those goals of our five-year plan, directing CDBG dollars toward direct investments in our neighborhoods and housing, like blight removal and new family housing construction on the former Driggs Dairy site,” Ms. Clemens said.
She emphasized the innovative use of CDBG resources:
“We are now utilizing CDBG resources for a $37 million Section 108 loan pool, a powerful tool that allows us to leverage our CDBG allocation for catalytic economic development projects like planned improvements to the Swayne Field shopping center in one of our Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Areas.”
About 30 community organizations and social agencies were allocated CDBG funds in 2024.
The city was allocated $7,355,028 for this year. With $915,000 in carry-over funds from last year, the city had a total of $8,270,028 in CDBG monies to allocate.
Ms. Clemens said the funds benefit residents of low and moderate-income and are intended to help fight blight in the community.
There are eight categories where the CDBG funding will be used: planning and administration, public services activities, code enforcement, housing activities, division of housing, parks improvements, economic development, capacity building, and NRSA activities.
Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity received the largest CDBG allocation — $550,000 — followed by Pathway Inc. at $450,000 and St. Paul’s Community Center at $345,000.
Ms. Clemens said her office is now preparing for the next five-year cycle to ensure that the investments “continue to meet the needs of Toledo’s communities. ... focusing on developing our 2025-2029 Consolidated Plan.
“And we’ll be listening to and engaging our residents throughout the process as we set priorities and goals for CDBG funding during the next five years.”
Monica Brown, the city’s community planning and development grants manager who also spoke during the Thursday event, said the city needs the input from the community to make sure “we are getting the right priorities for our next five-year plan.
“So make sure that … you are participating in meetings, workshops, or surveys, or anything that comes to light.”
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