In Ghanan folklore, the sankofa is a bird, one typically stylized in the shape of a crescent moon. The bird’s head is twisted to stare at its tail. Sometimes there’s an egg resting on its back.
And it’s often used as shorthand for a Ghanian proverb: “It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten.”
The same goes for Downtown’s latest public housing complex, Sankofa Village, which opened its last phase of housing on Wednesday afternoon following months of construction. Nestled in between Tri-C and Central Avenue, Sankofa now has 238 units in two blocks with rents at roughly 30% of a household’s income.
In a lengthy ribbon cutting ceremony featuring 21 speeches from local officials, many saw Central’s renewed blocks as a symbol that one of the city center’s lowest income neighborhoods no longer has to be seen that way. Especially after decades of highway division and red-lining.
That Ghanian bird, colored blue and black on Sankofa’s pamphlets, is that symbol of Central’s future.
“What we need is to remind us that progress is the strongest when it’s rooted in understanding of our past,” Delores Gray, a Sankofa resident and twin sister of Ward 3 Councilwoman Deborah Gray, told the crowd.
“All while honoring the people and stories that brought us here,” she said. “This name reflects more than their location. It reflects identity, dignity and purpose.”
Costing roughly $73 million for all four phases, and boosted by some $9 million in low-income housing tax credits, Sankofa is now 238 units of housing in 18 buildings, mostly brightly-colored townhomes and a big Scholar House of student apartments.
But Sankofa isn’t envisioned as typical public housing. Many on Wednesday framed it in very 21st century terms: a neighborhood that’s not just a quick walk or bike ride from Downtown proper but one close to amenities—a rec center, a health center, a community college, a library (soon to be renovated) and (soon to be built) a grocery store. Possibly, one speaker mentioned, a Goodwill.
“It’s really just thinking about how we can create a holistic neighborhood where there’s not just housing,” Matt Schmidt, a development chief with CMHA, told Scene. “But services that support everyone, from younger kids to seniors that live here.”
Especially for those, city and county reps said, who can’t afford Downtown’s luxury apartments, the usual stars of city center development. This week, the Wall Street Journal cited Public Square-area apartments as key to its population boom.
In other words, Sankofa is an often-overlooked part of Cleveland’s pursuit of a 15-minute city, as both Mayor Bibb and County Executive Chris Ronayne made reference to in their speeches on Wednesday. Sankofa, they noted, is in the center of a growing Campus District.
“That’s what makes a complete community,” Ronayne said. “Where you can get everything you need in your daily lives without having to leave your community to get there.”
But although Bibb made reference to the Ohio Department of Transportation’s renovation of the East 22nd Bridge nearby, which also held its own ceremony on Wednesday, a walk or bike ride into Downtown from Sankofa isn’t exactly pleasant. Central Ave. is still wide, with cracked, uneven sidewalks.
Extended bike lanes on East 22nd — sorely needed, as the street is the only viable connector from Downtown to Central — may be the fix, several said.
“Honestly, it could use a road diet,” Mark Lammon, the head of the Campus District, told Scene. He looked around. “We can’t build all of this without” one.
Those interested in applying to live at Sankofa can do so here.
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