CBA Submission Form PDF - PDF Templates

COMMUNITY BENEFITS PLAN SUBMISSION FORM

Friday, December 13, 2024

The City of Cleveland recognizes its unique role in ensuring that development projects directly benefit the communities in which they are built and that public dollars benefit the entire community, including historically underrepresented minorities, women, and small businesses. While the baseline for a CBA includes meeting the MBE/FBE/CSB and local workforce targets the City has required for years, we believe a strong CBA can build from that base and help impact our City in a myriad of other ways. Investing time to discuss community benefits early in the project can create a more meaningful and impactful project for the community, the developer, and the City.

The City of Cleveland has designated two types of Community Benefits Agreements - Standard CBA and Expanded CBA.

A Standard CBA is for all projects receiving $250,000 or more in City assistance and under $20 million in total cost (including residential tax abatements for projects under $75 million); the CBO outlines a set of mandatory community benefits.

An Expanded CBA is for all projects receiving $250,000 or more in City assistance with a project cost of over $20 million (including residential tax abatement projects over $75 million in total cost). An Expanded CBA consist of the mandatory community benefits listed in the Standard CBA; it must also be coupled with additional community benefits to be considered for legislative approval. The CBO provides a great deal of flexibility in determining the appropriate additional community benefits related to the project. The CBO offers categories, suggested considerations of additional community benefits, and associated requirements that must be met.

Based on the CBO, City Council will not approve any development project incentives, nor can the City close on any incentive agreements or contracts until all community benefits are agreed upon. Therefore, the preference is to begin the conversation about community benefits early in the process; however, the Administration will not engage in the process until the Developer has a firm development project that will move forward.

It is critical that The Developer does not begin construction on the project until both the project incentives and community benefits have been fully approved. Doing so may result in the City disapproving or pulling back the incentive.

The purpose of this document is to summarize the specific objectives the Applicant is committing to in its Community Benefits Plan (CBP) in quantifiable and/or measurable terms with S.M.A.R.T. milestones – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely – and timelines wherever possible. If the SMART method is not applied, the application may be rescinded. Applicants are strongly encouraged to clearly and concisely respond to each answer in the space provided.

For example, in response to your plan to provide internship opportunities to City of Cleveland residents, here's how you can answer using S.M.A.R.T. milestones:

"John Doe Development, Inc. plans to provide internship opportunities to two (2) City of Cleveland Residents who are currently enrolled as students at Tri-C (Specific) for a total of 50 workable hours at the pay rate of $20 per hour (Measurable). The goal is to have hired the intern by the start of construction (Achievable). The selected Interns will assist the Development team with fulfilling other required elements of the CBA, like planning and organizing Community Stakeholder Meetings and compliance reporting, while providing the Intern with the ability to enhance their soft skill set that is transferrable and can be valuable to them once they have completed their program and have entered into the workforce as professionals (Relevant). Once the Interns have successfully fulfilled their 50 workable hours, if the opportunity presents itself for future employment, we would like to give them first consideration to become official members of our team here at Neighborhood Family Practice. (Timely)."

** Before meeting with the Administration, the Developer should have: **

Proforma for the project
Site plan
Project development timeline

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COMPANY INFORMATION

Please provide company information for the Lead Applicant. The Lead Applicant is the party requesting to be the recipient of the City of Cleveland financial assistance/incentive, responsible for handling disbursements of funds, project management, and overseeing all compliance reporting requirements to the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO).

Name of Company/Developer:

Blanket Mill Main, LLC/Levin Group, Inc.

Primary Address:

1801 E.9th St, Suite 1505

Cleveland, Ohio, 44114

United States

Primary Phone Number:

(216) 771-2175

Website:

www.levingrp.cp,

Year Established:

1974

Business Structure of Developer (Please check one):

For-Profit

Type of Entity:

Limited Liability Company - LLC

Nature of Business - Please provide a brief summary of the business:

Levin Group, Inc. is a Cleveland based real estate property management company with a portfolio of commercial and residential properties. Blanket Mill Main, LLC was created to own the 1st Floor Commercial Condo of the Northern Ohio Blanket Mill mixed-use development in the Clark-Fulton Neighborhood of Cleveland. LGMW Blanket Mill Managing Member, LLC is the managing member entity for Blanket Mill Main, LLC and the Residential Condo owner, LG Blanket Mills Apartments, LLC. LGMW Blanket Mill Managing Member, LLC is partnership between the Levin Family and Metro West Community Development Organization.

Please note if this developer qualifies as any of the following, as defined in the City of Cleveland Municipal Code. (Please check all that apply.):

None

Are there any affiliate subsidiaries, parent, and/or partner companies?:

Yes

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COMPANY OWNERSHIP INFORMATION

Please provide company ownership of the Lead Applicant company submitted on the previous page.

Name:

Morton Levin

Title:

President

Primary Email Address:

mqlevin@levingrp.com

Primary Phone Number:

(216) 771-2175

Will the person listed above be the main point of contact for this development project?:

Please list contact information for the main point of contact within the organization for this development project

First Name	Kevin
Last Name	Hudson
Title	Director of Development
Phone	2167712175
Email	khudson@levingrp.com

Does the company have more than one (1) Owner?:

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PROJECT OVERVIEW - SCOPE OF WORK

This section describes the proposed Development Project and the related Scope of Work for which the Developer is seeking a financial incentive or assistance from the City of Cleveland.

Name of Project:

Northern Ohio Blanket Mill

Project Address:

3466 St. Rocco's Ct

Cleveland, Ohio, 44109

The requested dollar amount of financial assistance from the City of Cleveland:

1,250,000

Size area of project site in acres:

Type of development (Please check all that apply):

New Build

Please describe the proposed project:

The Northern Ohio Blanket Mills is a mixed-use, historic preservation/adaptive reuse project that will turn the largest vacant property in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood of Cleveland into 60 multi-family affordable housing units with 31,600 sq. ft. of first floor commercial space one block south of the Clark-Fulton intersection. The adaptive mixed-use plan of this former industrial building meets the objectives of the city’s master plan to provide needed affordable housing options and improve the streetscape conditions on an important commercial block within the Clark-Fulton Community. Morton Q. Levin, president of Levin Group, Inc., is the Sponsor of the project. Levin Group, Inc. is a Cleveland based real estate development and property management company that has partnered with the Clark-Fulton neighborhood community development organization, Metro West CDO, to form a new partnership for the purpose of owning the project, along with tax credit investors. Metro West CDO will have a 25% share of the project’s general partnership and share in development fees and surplus cash that will support neighborhood-based programs.

Anticipated project start date:

Monday, February 3, 2025

Anticipated project end date:

Monday, December 1, 2025

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PROJECT OVERVIEW - SCOPE OF WORK

This section describes the proposed Development Project and the related Scope of Work for which the Developer is seeking a financial incentive or assistance from the City of Cleveland.

Uses of Project Funds:

	Dollar Amount $
Acquisition (Land/Building)	267434
Building (Construction/Renovation)	$9,934,421
Machinery & Equipment	0
Infrastructure	0
Soft Cost (Fees, Miscellaneous)	4,540,587

Are there other Uses of Project Funds that are not mentioned in the above question?

Total Project Cost:

$14742442

Total Hard Construction Cost:

$9934421

Is the hard construction budget listed above the same as the amount negotiated with the Department of Economic/Community Development:

Sources of Project Funds:

	Dollar Amount $
Equity Investment	$9,379,958
City of Cleveland	$1,250,000
Bank Loan(s) (Total)	$2,515,000
Other Government Loan(s) (Total)	$1,397,484

Are there other Sources of Project Funds that are not mentioned in the above question?

Name of Source	Dollar Amount $
Deferred Developer Fee	200000

Total Project Sources:

$14742442

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PROJECT OVERVIEW - SCOPE OF WORK

This section describes the proposed Development Project and the related Scope of Work for which the Developer is seeking a financial incentive or assistance from the City of Cleveland.

Will the Developer have more than one (1) General Contractor working on the project?

Will the Developer be self-performing any portion of the hard construction:

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COMMUNITY BENEFITS PLAN

Summarize the specific objectives the Applicant is committing to in its Community Benefits Plan (CBP) in quantifiable terms with SMART milestones – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely – and timelines wherever possible. If the SMART method is not applied, the application will be rescinded.

Is the Applicant seeking to receive $250,000 or more in City financial assistance for a development project with a total cost UNDER $20 million (including residential tax abatements for projects UNDER $75 million in total)?

Yes

Please provide SPECIFIC plan of action to utilize subcontractors to meet or exceed the MBE, FBE, and CSB participation goals of Fifteen percent (15%) of certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) firms, seven percent (7%) of certified Female Business Enterprise (FBE) firms and eight percent (8%) to Cleveland Small Business (CSB) participation.

During the project’s pre-construction/design phase the development team and general contractor will block out costs for the project per trade to understand where the opportunities in the project scope of work, i.e. several small contracts or a few large contacts. The project will use the City of Cleveland Office of Equal Opportunity sub-contractor register, along with a list provided by the Spanish American Committee of Hispanic-owned sub-contractors, and a list kept by the general contractor to form the basis of the sub- contractors in relevant trades who will be invited to bid for the project. Sub-contractors who are known by the Spanish American Committee and the general contractor, but who do not appear on the City of Cleveland registry will be able to submit a bid and will be referred to the Cleveland Office of Equal Opportunity so they can be registered with the city. The general contractor will track each sub-contractor who responded to the invitation to bid, along with their bid proposal so that equal comparison can be made for costs, schedule, and ability to meet the project’s employment goals can be made between each sub-contractor’s proposal.

Please provide a specific plan of action to employ or cause its contractors to employ Cleveland residents for twenty percent (20%) of the total Construction Work Hours (as defined in Section 188.01(c) of the Fannie M. Lewis Resident Employment Law on constructing the project

All invitations to bid sent by the general contractor will clearly state the employment goals for the project. All employment goals will be written into each contract between the general contractor and the subcontractors. Furthermore, participation by City Residents will be tracked in real-time through subcontractor’s submission of certified payroll reports via LCPTracker. Should a subcontractor fall behind on their participation requirements, the general contractor will work with them to remedy the deficiency in order to avoid problems at the end of the project. The development team will work with the City of Cleveland and their employment/job training partners and attend hiring events aimed directly at Cleveland residents.

Please provide a specific plan of action to employ residents of the City who are certified as low-income residents for four percent (4%) of the total Resident Construction Work Hours (as defined in Section 188.01(c) of the Fannie M. Lewis Resident Employment Law on constructing the project.

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COMMUNITY BENEFITS PLAN

Please provide a specific plan to create and/or participate in mentor/protégé programs for certified MBEs, FBEs, CSBs.

Ross Construction will work with their existing MBE/FBE/CSB sub-contractors who are not registered with the City of Cleveland and provide assistance to help those organizations to get registered with the City of Cleveland's Office of Equal Opportunity.

Please provide a specific plan to include Registered Apprenticeship programs AND provide PAID Internship opportunities for adult Cleveland residents, as well as a plan to provide pre-apprenticeship, paid internship, and/or information and networking session opportunities for City of Cleveland high school graduates and students who are Cleveland residents.

Ross Construction will work with City of Cleveland OEO employment/job training partners to provide apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities to qualified individuals enrolled in construction trade programs. Further, Levin Group, Inc. will hire a Cleveland Resident interested in real estate development as an intern for the duration of the project. The internship will be for a minimum of 10 hours a week, paid at $15 per hour for 40 weeks.

Please provide a specific plan that shows a commitment to meeting periodically with community stakeholders to obtain their input on the development project (at least three (3) times at minimum during the project design phase, during construction, and post-project).

The development team will continue to meet twice a month with the Spanish American Committee and Metro West Community Development staffs, and boards when appropriate. Notices to the community will be posted by Ward 14 Councilwoman Santana, Metro West Community Development Organization, Spanish American Committee, and St. Rocco’s Church regarding upcoming community meets, hiring events, and updates on services to provided at Blanket Mill. Notices will be printed in both English and Spanish and will continue monthly through the construction and quarterly after construction.

Please provide a specific plan to provide quarterly reports to the Office of Equal Opportunity(OEO) regarding CBA compliance.

Ross Construction will use LCPTracker for its payroll and labor reporting which will have an accounting of the total labor hours, city resident hours, low-income resident hours and MBE/FBE/CSB participation tracking built into it.

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COMMUNITY BENEFITS PLAN