Gordon Crossing, a new apartment building on East 101st Street, has 54 units. More than 1,300 people have contacted the owners about living there.

Staff have already reviewed 864 applications and have 436 to go, according to Seriah Davis, Gordon Crossing’s community manager. 

The high demand is not surprising. The four-story brick and siding building sits near the border of Hough and University Circle. In recent years, new housing has sprouted in the areas abutting the city’s cultural, educational and medical hub. Most of it has been market-rate, or based on what renters are willing to pay. And a lot of these units have been high-end.

Gordon Crossing is a mixed-income building. While it has some market-rate units and a few for lower-income renters, the focus is on working-class/lower middle-class tenants. They are among the renters who have been hard hit by the dwindling supply of affordable housing in Greater Cleveland as rents have spiked in recent years.

Marcia Reeves lived nearby and saw the building going up across from the Maltz Performing Arts Center campus. She figured it was yet another building that was far out of the range she could afford on her salary as a lunchroom attendant at a nearby elementary school.

Then last fall, Reeves saw  a “leasing soon” sign saying Gordon Crossing would be a mixed-income building. “I’m on it,” Reeves remembers saying to herself. She submitted her application – with anxiety. Demand would be high, she knew,  given the affordable housing crunch. 

“I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed and God blessed me,” Reeves said. “This is a blessing for me to be able to move into something brand new with all these amenities.

“Look at that washer and dryer,” she said, pointing to the front-loading models as she gave a tour to an official from one of the companies that own the building. “Look at that dishwasher. Look at that microwave.”

Even some of the new market-rate buildings in the area don’t have all these appliances in each unit. Reeves was also thrilled about the luxury vinyl plank flooring in all the units. It’s a definite upgrade from the worn out carpeting, which landlords were often reluctant to shampoo, in other apartments she had rented.

Neighborhoods near University Circle see an apartment building boom

In neighborhoods such as Hough, Glenville and Fairfax, new apartment buildings are being constructed or rehabbed to meet a growing demand for housing. These predominantly Black, working-class and low-income neighborhoods have suffered decades of disinvestment. They have always been located near major employers, including University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic, the region’s largest employer. 

Now, as taboos among the middle-class and affluent against urban living have lessened, these neighborhoods’ proximity to University Circle and the Cleveland Clinic are viewed as an asset. Additionally, there is little land left to develop in University Circle for institutional expansion or for housing for those who want to live close to work or school.

Stephanie Cammack said employees of all incomes work in the area, and that new housing development efforts should take this into account. She found what she was looking for at Gordon Crossing: a quiet building not far from the skilled nursing facility where she works long hours as a State Tested Nurse Aide (STNA). 

“Affordable living is a must,” she said.

What is mixed-income housing?  

There aren’t many mixed-income apartment buildings in the Cleveland area, said  Sheila Wright, president of Frontline Development Group, LLC, one of the owners and limited partners of Gordon Crossing. The co-developer, builder and operator is Columbus-based Woda Cooper Companies, Inc., which specializes in affordable housing.

Wright and Angela Thi Bennett, Frontline’s vice president and general counsel, were drawn to the project because it focused on affordable housing, a rarity among new construction in the area. (Bennett was the one to whom resident Reeves gave a tour of her apartment.)

 “What I’m proud of is that there will be income variation throughout the units,” Wright said. “It’s going to be for everyone: A single mother. A law student. A senior. A nurse.”

Whether here or throughout the U.S., mixed-income housing has sometimes meant economic segregation. Affordable units are often physically separated from the market-rate ones. They may be in a separate building or set apart in some other way. In New York City, for example, affordable units are sometimes clustered in a section of a building and only accessible through specific doors not used by the market-rate tenants. Such entrances are unofficially known as  “poor doors.” At Gordon Crossing, which has only two- and three-bedroom units,  apartments aren’t partitioned based on income. There are no designated entrances based on income.

The income variations at Gordon Crossing aren’t as vast as they are at many other mixed-income buildings or developments. Gordon Crossing was built with the help of the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. It provides tax incentives to private developers for constructing or rehabilitating affordable rental housing.

Gordon Crossing’s core tenant base is those making no more than 70% of the median income for Greater Cleveland. For a family of two, this is $55,720. A two-bedroom for a family with a 70% median income rents for $1,075. There are some units for renters making 60% of median, or $47,760 for a family of two. A two-bedroom rents to them for $1,040.

A market-rate unit the same size rents for $1,699. At many of the newer market-rate buildings in the area, a two-bedroom often rents for double that. In some of the higher-end buildings, $4,000-plus isn’t uncommon.

Gordon Crossing residents like the affordable rents and great location

Sierra Coleman had been looking for an apartment for months but couldn’t find what she wanted within her budget. She hadn’t rented in the Cleveland area in a few years and was surprised by how much rents had soared. What would have paid for a decent place before the pandemic would only be enough for a crappy one now.

Since the pandemic, the percentage increase in rents in Greater Cleveland has tended to outpace national averages. For example, the typical rent hike in Greater Cleveland in 2025 was 4.4%, or double what it was in the U.S., according to a Zillow report. The trend has concerned many in city and county government, who say they want to focus on housing affordability issues, including lowering evictions.

Coleman really wanted to live near University Circle, and one of the reasons is because “there is so much culture in the area.” It had always felt like home to her. She’s a graduate of the Cleveland School of the Arts and Case Western Reserve University.

There were also more practical reasons. Coleman, a solo entrepreneur in a technology-related field, has a chronic illness that requires her to visit nearby University Hospitals several times a month.

Just when she was nearly giving up on finding a place near University Circle, a friend told her about Gordon Crossing. Her application was accepted and she moved in a few months ago. 

“It is just perfect – just perfect,” Coleman said.

She said she is delighted to have found an apartment that bucked the trend of market-rate new construction – and in her desired location.

“Diversity for me is a big thing: social, economic diversity, as well as cultural diversity,”  Coleman said. “I know that being at Gordon Crossing I will experience that.”

The Hough Community Land Trust wants to make sure redevelopment occurs in the area without displacing residents. A community land trust acquires parcels with the intention of collectively benefitting the community. The resident-led group also wants to preserve the economic mix now in Hough, which includes middle-class, working-class and low-income residents.

“Mixed-income housing may be a good start,” said Jeremy Taylor, the trust’s president. “I think that community voice is very important in any conversations about how Hough will be developed. It has to be done so that the community will benefit.”

Gordon Crossing piqued his interest because he said the trust owns land very close to it. Instead of selling land to developers, the trust aims to retain ownership of the land on which a project is built and then enter into a long-term lease agreement with the developer. 

How Gordon Crossing is choosing tenants with so many applications and only 54 units to rent

The leasing soon sign had barely gone up at Gordon Crossing in October when the phone started ringing. And it kept ringing, said Davis, the Woda Cooper Companies’ community manager at the building. Prospective tenants asked to see interior photos of the building. There weren’t any – the apartments wouldn’t be finished until January. The prospective tenants didn’t care. They wanted to fill out an application – and now.

“Location, location, location for sure,” Davis said of people willing to apply for an apartment they hadn’t seen. “ 

“The fact that it’s brand spanking new meant a lot,” she said. “No one has touched it, no one has lived in it. A lot of people want to be the first, of course.”

Landing an apartment in the building would prove difficult for many. Despite receiving about 25 times the number of inquiries as there are apartments, the building is only about 45% occupied, Davis said. She’s confident the other units will be leased, but getting through a thorough screening process takes time.

She rattles off a list of some of the reasons why prospective tenants haven’t been able to make the cut. They haven’t been able to pass a criminal background check. Their credit isn’t up to par. They have evictions or other civil filings that suggest they won’t be able to pay the rent. They don’t meet the income requirements, which has often meant that they don’t earn enough.

“A lot of people have mistaken this for low-income housing,” she said, including those that accept Section 8 vouchers. “Of course, it’s not.”

Gordon Crossing doesn’t automatically reject someone if concerns arise during the screening process, said tenants Signal Cleveland interviewed. Truth Lowe, who lives in the building with her three-year-old son, said Davis diligently worked with her to address something negative in her rental history for which she could document a reason.

Lowe, who works caring for the elderly, recalled her reaction when she first saw a listing for Gordon Crossing on an apartment rental website. She looked at photos of the units, gawked at all of the appliances and couldn’t believe the rent. 

 “I asked a friend of mine, ‘Do you think this is real?’ she said. “I mean it was just built. Then I thought, ‘Maybe, you should look at it.’”

Lowe had already had experience with what $1,000-a-month rent would get you. A vermin-infested unit. Unruly neighbors. No elevator or an elevator that frequently didn’t work. No laundry room or one without enough reliable appliances.

“I am so thankful for the washer and dryer,” she said. “I used to have to spend money on washing every weekend, and I would get so tired taking the laundry to [my apartment on] the third floor.”

Wright and Bennett of Frontline said their decision to place a washer and dryer in every unit was very intentional. Both have never forgotten how washday could complicate demanding schedules when they were young single mothers, often juggling jobs and college or law school with raising a family. The building also has a laundry room.

“We were intentional that whenever we had some additional [money], like unused contingencies, we would invest that money back into the building to provide things such as washers and dryers to make life more convenient for our residents,” Bennett said.

Gordon Crossing residents say having mixed-income housing in University Circle area is a must

On a recent weekday afternoon, a few Gordon Crossing residents gathered in the building’s community room, which is decorated in neutral tones. The space includes a living room-like section with cushy furniture and a kitchen similar to those in the apartments. Some shared how happy they are with their new apartments. Others compared notes on what they consider to be exorbitant rents at many of the newer market-rate buildings, including one on their block.

They widely agree on how the Cleveland real estate market has often not catered to working-class renters, even at developments built with federal subsidies to provide housing for low- and moderate-income tenants.

Keli Appleton and her daughter, Skylur Appleton, who gives her age as 9-1/2, used to live nearby in a building where, the mother said, the owner rarely made repairs. This is not the only reason she wanted to move. Appleton, a cook for a local school district, was attracted to Gordon Crossing because she wants her daughter to grow up in an environment seeing people going to work.

 “I was raised in a household where everyone in the household worked,” Appleton said. At her last apartment building, she said, “I would leave out at five in the morning for work and there would be men downstairs sleeping on the floor.

“Living here is a huge change.”

Skylur recalls her reaction when she learned Gordon Crossing would be home.

“I was excited,” she said with a burst of enthusiasm.

Skylur liked that the building allowed for pets. She liked that it has an elevator. Most of all, she liked that she felt safer than she had at her last home.

“It makes a big difference,” Appleton said of living at Gordon Crossing. “I’m a single mom with one daughter who just wanted us to be more comfortable and live in a better environment.”

Francies Finley, a paraprofessional at a Cleveland school, said she loves arts and culture and loves being within walking distance of Northeast Ohio’s epicenter of it. She was drawn to Gordon Crossing because it is a mixed-income building.

“We should see that they can come together and learn from one another,” she said. 

As apartment buildings continue to be built near University Circle, Finely wants more developers to see the value of including at least some units for working-class residents.

“I see where this is headed, and I know it’s buildings with high rent,” she said of new apartment construction near University Circle. “I want them to look at Gordon Crossing and know that mixed-income housing can work.”