The Akron Cleveland Association of REALTORS® (ACAR) was awarded a $7,500 grant from the National Association of Realtors®’ Placemaking Program to support activities that create public outdoor gathering places. The grant will be used to create a pocket park in downtown Ravenna, Ohio.
“Realtors® play a vital role in shaping communities, tirelessly working to turn the American Dream into a reality for millions of Americans each year,” stated Akil Hameed, President of ACAR. “Placemaking grants further bolster our communities, elevating them as exceptional destinations for living, working, and recreation. Thanks to the Placemaking Grant, residents and visitors alike will relish the opportunity to embrace the community’s full potential.”
The Ravenna site was home to a now-demolished blighted commercial building and will serve as a gathering space for its popular downtown space.
Community outreach is an important piece of ACAR’s advocacy efforts, and the association is pleased to also announce that it will fund two additional placemaking projects, each receiving a $5,000 grant from the local association. The first project is a pocket park in the Buckeye-Woodland Hills neighborhood of Cleveland, where we will support a plan being coordinated by the Calvary Hill Educational Fund and Buckeye Ministry in Missions Alliance. The project will turn a vacant lot, sometimes used for illegal dumping, into a community space complementing the housing and renewal initiatives in the area.
The second ACAR grant recipient is the North Hill Community Development Corporation in Akron. Funds will be used to transform a vacant lot on historic Howard Street into a community gathering space celebrating African American contributions to arts and culture, and new families in North Hill. It will feature an area for small concerts and movies, and serve as a gathering space for the community at large.
Nationwide, NAR offers placemaking grants to various state and local Realtor® Associations to support outdoor public gathering places such as community gardens, dog parks, and playgrounds. Locally, ACAR strives to award one placemaking grant annually in each of the counties it serves. An application period is open in the first quarter of the year. For more information, contact Vice President of Government Jamie McMillen at jmcmillen@akronclevelandrealtors.com.
