Announcer: The views and opinions expressed in to the point are those of the host of the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of WGTE public media.

Doni Miller: There are few things more exciting than watching a city come to life.

Affordable housing.

Repurposing historical buildings.

Walkable spaces, commercial growth and sustainable development are all at the center of making a city a place where young talent and those young at heart want to be.

Well, guess what?

Through its vibrancy, Initiative Toledo is not just implementing but accelerating its vision for bringing this change to town.

We're talking about this exciting transformation with our guests, the mayor of the city of Toledo, Wade Kapszukiewicz, and the manager of development, Cody Brown.

I'm Doni Miller.

Welcome to the point, Connect with us on our social media pages.

You know that.

You can always email me at Doni Underscore Miller at dot org.

And for this episode and any others that you'd like to see, don't hesitate to go to.org.

To the point.

I am so excited today for a number of reasons.

The first of which is that we get to talk about a vision for changing this city in a way that we perhaps have never seen before, and it's being spearheaded by our mayor.

Wade Kapszukiewicz thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

The director of development, Cody Brown.

you guys started off with a big picture.

For what?

The city.

What you wanted the city to look like.

What was that?

Wade: My attitude is that is that for as many exciting things as are happening in Toledo and particularly downtown, and all the new bells and whistles and, riverfront, redevelopment, the new Metropark, etc.. and it is exciting, don't get me wrong, terribly exciting.

that until that excitement, it, extends into the neighborhoods, then it won't be real for for all Toledo.

And so fundamentally, our, goal with this initiative was to get resources into neighborhoods, to help, regenerate some of the activity in the neighborhoods of Toledo where people live.

So since 2021, our project has leveraged about $80 million of private investment, created 145 jobs, and brought back to life some of the most beautiful older historical structures in our community.

Just this year, the, recipients of our, white box and facade grants, two thirds of them were buildings built in the 19th century.

And we're not talking right, necessarily downtown.

We're talking in the old South End or in the junction neighborhood.

the Weber Block in East Toledo.

In years past, we've made investments along, Sylvania Avenue, in West Toledo.

So the idea is to try to breathe life back into the neighborhoods.

And I think we've had some success in the, you know, first few years of the initiative.

Doni: You know, one of the things that's so exciting about this initiative is that you have communities involved in the discussions.

And why did you think that was important to do?

Cody.

Cody: Yeah.

well, you know, we had, when we launched the program back in 2021, it was a huge goal of ours to, you know, not just be addressing, buildings that, were chronically vacant, and to be preserving historic structures.

So that was definitely a huge, you know, reason behind the initiative.

but we also wanted to work with, local business owners and developers and building owners, to help them create the spaces, that they were passionate about.

really the kind of placemaking spaces that make a community the exciting and fun place it is to be and live.

Doni: Isn't it tough, though, to take the language and the expectations of the community and and translate them into city policy and city vision?

Or no, maybe it's not so hard.

You certainly need the input of the community.

Wade: Well, we don't just need yes, we need the input of the community.

But one of the other reasons that we're so eager to partner, especially in a program like this, is because that $80 million of private investment I talked about, well, that comes from those partners by definition.

Yeah.

this is a classic match.

but the city is putting in relatively few dollars for the amount of money that's being leveraged.

this year, 2024, I think the amount of somewhere around $835,000 of city money, but that is leveraging $21 million of private investment.

So why do we want partners?

Well, first of all, it helps build, neighborhoods.

Ultimately, government isn't good at creating jobs.

We need those private partners to create those 145 jobs that we've created.

But fundamentally, that that, almost 20 to 1 private sector to public sector leverage comes from those partners.

So it's in our best interest as a city, to make sure that we're working with, the NHA's and the local banks and the local small businesses that are using these long vacant spaces and breathing life into them.

And when I mentioned long vacant, I want to emphasize this.

The, of all the recipients of, the Vibrancy Initiative grants since we started doing this, the average, building had been vacant for almost 11 years for 10.6 years.

So we're taking dollars and investing them not just in neighborhoods, not just in ways that create jobs, but really bring back to life.

19th century, in most cases, in two thirds of all cases, 19th century buildings that had been vacant for a decade or more.

It's really, I'm really proud of what we've been able to do.

Doni: What exactly is the vibrancy initiative?

Cody: Yeah.

Great question.

so the vibrancy initiative, it's essentially, a suite of different incentive programs that are aimed at real estate redevelopment, and making those projects possible.

As the mayor said, you know, a lot of these buildings were built in the 18th century or in the 19th century.

so they can be really costly projects to undertake.

and we also have a lot of business owners in our community and people who are, you know, maybe getting into, development for the first time.

So it's their first venture into that.

and so really, these, these programs are meant to partner alongside them to make the numbers make sense, so that the project can get across the finish line.

and be complete.

So, programs that are included in the initiative include the facade improvement grant Doni: and what's that?

Cody: The facade improvement grant is, really aimed at addressing exterior, redevelopment expenses.

so things like windows, doors, storefronts, paint things that really freshen up the, exterior street facing facade of a building Doni: so that these aren't for neighborhoods.

These are for private residences.

These are for commercial buildings.

Cody: That's right.

Commercial or industrial or mixed use.

As long as there's a commercial use in there.

That's right.

yeah.

So that program really focuses on, beautification.

So, you know, we found that, and studies have shown that when people, live in a neighborhood that, you know, looks better, they take more pride in their community.

So that's a huge goal behind that program specifically.

but this year we did add, some new, we added some guidelines that included, the building.

It can't be vacant.

in order to be eligible, the building needs to either be currently occupied by a business or it needs to have a committed tenant.

and that's something we did because we we really have a priority on working with business owners in our community and helping them to succeed.

So, we're really happy about that.

And, I think that we've been able to help a lot of business owners, startups and existing businesses, to succeed.

Wade: and, and if the, facade grant component of the vibrancy initiative involves preparing the outside of the building for redevelopment, the white box component of the vibrancy initiative is is about preparing the inside.

to be honest, I had never heard the phrase white box before, but I guess it's the industry, phrase used, to sort of, you know, to make sure that, the inside of a building is wired for, you know, an office coming in and that the insides, the Hvac and such are ready to be moved in.

So in concert, the facade grant for the outside and the white box for the inside are the two of my judgment, key components of what we are calling the vibrancy initiative.

And so all of these numbers that we've been talking about, the jobs created, the private dollars leveraged, and the businesses helped, have received one or the other, of these, financial incentives.

And I think it is worth noting, because often there's discussion about how do we choose the, you know, there are so many needs in a community, especially an older community like Toledo.

How do we, sort of narrow down, all of the applications into the winners?

And I think we had almost 75 Apple, about 75 about applications, 75 applications this year.

We ended up selecting 18, and I can happily report that politicians had nothing to do with the decision.

There was a citizens group of, you know, industry practitioners, you know, but also, you know, local businesspeople, realtors, folks who just who gave their time volunteer, unpaid, folks who reviewed these applications and sort of chose the ones they made, felt, made the best, sense.

And I think that's a powerful part of this as well.

It's yet another way that average people can make a difference in their community.

And I don't know how many people are on the committee.

About a dozen or so.

Cody certainly led that.

But I love the fact that these dollars were invested in neighborhoods, really, with the assistance of the wisdom of neighborhood people.

Doni: Yeah.

You know, the other thing, too, is that these dollars are focused on the kinds of projects that are very difficult to find funding for it, very difficult to find funding for.

So your contribution just becaus that is is notable.

Cody: Yeah.

That's true.

And that's honestly another reason why we originally stood up these programs is because projects of this size, have difficulty obtaining funding from, you know, federal or state grants.

So we saw it as an opportunity for us to come in and assist local building owners, with completing those projects.

Yeah.

Wade: And the reality of development is that it will always be a little easier and cheaper just to build something new in a, in a soybean field out, you know, as a way from the core of, of, of a city.

so to do what we want to do, which is to in a re-energize the core and to rebuild neighborhoods, it does create it does require a financial incentive because it is harder to take the Weber block in East Toledo with it built in the 19th century, where the the old international order of I think they're called the they were called the Wobblies.

Back in the 1930s, the International Workers of the world had an office up there.

And so, so much interesting history.

Doni: That's a beautiful building.

It's a beautiful building, Wade: but it needs, you know, you need a little, boost from the public sector to, to make that investment.

So that's why we do it.

Absolutely.

Right.

Doni: So we have much more to talk about, but we need to go away for a moment.

I trust you'll stay with me.

Wade: We will.

Yeah, yeah.

Good, good, good.

Here.

Doni: We'll be right back.

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Watch, listen and learn at wgte.org Doni: Welcome back!

You know that you can always connect with us on social media.

You can always email me as well @doni_miller@wgte.org And you know that for this episode and any others just go to wgte.org To that point we are talking to just two amazing young men who are really committed to changing the face of this city, through renovation, through inclusion, through visioning, in a way.

I mean, you guys know exactly where you're going with this and what you want to see happen, and I'll reintroduce them.

But I certainly don't need to.

This is mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz whos with us and Cody Brown, who is the manager of development.

And we've talked about the impact that that the vibrancy initiative is having.

on the city.

Are you are there neighborhoods that you're more focused in, or are you looking at the community as a whole?

How are you deciding where to do this work?

that other than Grant, other than the grant selection Wade: this year, as it turned out, in 2024, there are three neighborhoods that, were of particular priority.

one was the Junction neighborhood, sort of in the core of Toledo, the city, core of the city, the junction neighborhood, the old South End sort of Broadway extending out from downtown toward the zoo.

That would be the old South End.

A lot of investment there.

And then, East Toledo.

We've talked a couple times about the Weber block.

And right there at Front Main, those are the three areas that, received this year's, resources.

But again, I mentioned in the past we've done work over, near the Library Village and Sylvania Avenue in West Toledo and really all throughout the city.

I will say that while these opportunities are exciting whenever they happe the chance to truly hit a grand slam home run is sometimes what guides our decision making.

And by that I mean being able to leverage other federal investments that are happening.

So one of the reasons East Toledo and Junction became such an important part of the vibrancy initiative this year is because we have received $50 million of federal grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation to rebuild both of those neighborhoods in different ways.

So whether it is the Rise Grant, in junction, that's going to better connect sort of the uptown area that area bounded on the east by the Jefferson Center, all the way up past a museum and then, to the the Mott Branch library on Dorr Street with all sorts of, improvements, including, a bike path and other other, opportunities to better connect, junction.

That's $28 million, I believe.

And then after we won that, we happened to win a $22 million grant for the area in between the back of Waite High School and the new Metro Park.

So, in other words, coming right up there on, Front Street in East Toledo.

So it made all the sense in the world to make sure that our vibrancy, initiative could at the same time regenerate, regenerate, re-energize, the Weber block.

So that's a lot of talking.

But the point is, at least for two of the neighborhoods we emphasize this year, it was very much because we knew we had $50 million of federal dollars for both East Toledo and Junction, and so we wanted to put a little local skin in the game, which could take a a wonderful project to begin with, maybe a double right, and turn it into a Grand Slam home.

Right.

I had to use a sports analogy to be to be on brand.

Doni: That's right, that's exactly right.

That's so you so let me ask you this.

I was thinking about this as we were putting this, this show together.

How or have you thought about a plan that maintains the integrity of the neighborhood in terms of, ethnicity, in terms of age and in terms of community investment with this, redevelopment that you're doing, or are you afraid that you have you discussed the possibility of what gentrification will do in, in those neighborhoods?

Wade: Yeah.

That is, something that we're always mindful of, always concerned about.

And absolutely, it's been a part of, our conversations.

I can say that what we are talking about here, I do not believe represents gentrification in its, classic definition.

Again, fundamentally.

Well, I guess gentrification could happen literally by displacing someone who was living, but it also could have the effect, I suppose, of increasing property values to make it more difficult.

But, putting aside for a moment the second way gentrification could happen again, remember, for the vibrancy initiative these buildings, had the average had been vacant for almost 11 years, but there was no one was living there.

the we have been pretty fortunate in Toledo to not, experienced the worst of gentrification that other cities have.

I would say that the fastest growing neighborhood in Toledo is the warehouse district, in some ways in and around the modern stadium and such.

But again, there it's not as though folks who had been living there were displaced and sort of the the yuppies, for lack of a better phrase or the young hipsters came in.

These were vacant warehouses where no one was living.

We were we created a neighborhood where one had not been.

So we're very sensitive to it, but I, I don't believe what we're doing here causes gentrification.

In fact, what we're doing really is adding amenities and value to larger swaths of neighborhood that benefit all of the people who are already living there.

I believe the connection to junction, for instance, isn't going to displace anyone living in junction, but it's going to make the experience of living in junction safer, more livable, more walkable, more pleasant.

Doni: Yeah, I agree, there's a lot of that.

I do think, however, that as you increase the value and the attractiveness of the neighborhood, then you get then you, you open the door to to gentrifying that neighborhood.

And I would suggest to you that, it's really important, I would think, and I know that you guys have thought about this.

I can tell mayor, from your discussion, it's important to continue to remember that you don't want to displace the community that's there.

You see that in other cities, and it's a nightmare when when you've taken, people from neighborhoods that they lived, lived in for years, and that they can't afford to move anywhere else.

You see it in, in DC, you see it in Detroit, in downtown Detroit.

And, and one of the great things about Toledo is that we're not a DC and we're not a, downtown Detroit.

And we have neighborhoods with real character.

Wade: And I think in this case, we benefit from the fact that in general.

Yeah.

Again, this that's I'm speaking generalities.

We do have, we are our housing stock is affordable, more so than most cities.

The, the average home price in the United States of America is about $250,000.

That, that is more expensive than 95% of all of the homes in Toledo.

And that's one of the reasons that Realtor.com, ranked Toledo is the most affordable, you know, the hottest housing market in 2024 now, and some wonderful Doni: place to live, most affordable.

Wade: In some ways, that's a little damning with faint praise, but in this context, it makes me comfortable that while we do have to keep our eyes open and be mindful about how gentrification begins and for it not to happen, I think we're still further away from that than other cities are.

Doni: Yeah yeah yeah.

Anything that that about this initiative, the vibrancy initiative that we want people to keep in mind.

Like are you getting enough applications.

Do enough people know about it?

is there confusion around it?

Cody: Yeah.

Great question.

So, in terms of communication from our end, in regards to these applications, we, you know, we've used all of the media channels, social media, and we've also done a number of speaking engagements around the community with small business owners and various groups.

to get the word out as much as we can.

We've also utilized our partners, like business assistance centers and other partners of ours throughout the community in order to communicate these, applications.

and I will also plug here that if anybody is interested in applying for any of these grant programs for their buildings or for their business, the applications are currently closed and they'll likely, open again, with City council, approval of the budget, early next year.

So early again in 2025.

But if you are interested in the program, you can sign up, on our website at the Vibrancy Initiative web page, and submit your interest so you'll be notified when those applications open.

Doni: Great.

That's really good information.

I know there's somebody out there watching, though, who's saying, well, my roof is leaking and what is there something that you can do?

I mean, roof, a good roof is essential, but they're also extraordinarily expensive.

They can be, anything going on for those folks?

Wade: there are not necessarily through the vibrancy initiative, although it is possible that the, a part of your application could solidify your roof.

But I think you're probably thinking more so of a citizen.

Yes.

Right.

That so there that wouldn't necessarily be Cody and his department.

That would be a woman named, Rosalyn Clements.

And her department is just the best.

Doni: She's.

And she has.

She's been here Wade: A menu of programs.

emergency grants.

And just as a list longer than I can, enunciate right now of, mortgage assistance, new roofs, and not necessarily loans, but grants.

I think last year we've given last year through Ros program there had to have been at least 50 new roofs that, we awarded through different.

Doni: So I want you to say that again, because I want people to hear that you said, I want people to hear what you said.

Just say it again.

Wade: Through our, Housing and Neighborhoods department, there are grants made available primarily through federal dollars, but also some local dollars that allow people to apply, for a number of things that will protect and preserve the integrity of their house, not the least of which is a roof.

When your roof goes, everything, everything goes.

And, last year, through, an emergency roof program that, we lifted up, I might be slightly off, and I believe it was roughly 50 homes received new roofs through this initiative.

And so there again, I would encourage folks to go to toledo.oh.gov, which is our website, and go through the portal.

If you go to neighborhoods, our neighborhoods department, our housing department, you will see easily a dozen different programs that can provide immediate help right now for folks for their personal private home.

We've talked a lot about, you know, our commercial properties, but but neighbors live in neighborhoods, and a lot of folks need help paying the mortgage, paying the rent, protections against landlords who maybe aren't as, generous as they could be, generously spirited, frankly, because maybe they don't live in Toledo.

grants to remediate your home from land.

It's all across the board.

And, in fact, speaking of Ros, just just here within the last week or so, she, put together a homeownership fair over at Scott House, and it ended with a young woman, had a chance to meet a 27 year old young woman with five kids living in a place that she said it had more mold than it should have.

she won a $10,000 grant for a down payment for a mortgage for a brand new house.

We have programs to help Doni: That is.

I am so glad that you all came today.

This is such good, usable information for this city.

And thank you both for all that you're doing.

And I sure hope you'll come back and we can talk some more.

Thank you all for joining us as well and I will see you next time.

On to the point.

The views and opinions expressed in to the point are those of the host of the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of WGTE public media.

To the point is supported in part by American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated by the City of Toledo and the Lucas County Commissioners and administered by the Arts Commission.

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Thank you.