“There are people who are cold, who don’t have a furnace, and ABCD can provide resources for them,” says Darlene Knott. “There are people who don’t have transportation to go to their doctors or their jobs and ABCD is able to get them there, to give them some independence. ABCD does so much for the community, and it’s so rewarding to see that impact and to be part of helping people.”
Reducing poverty, fostering self-reliance, and empowering communities in Stark County, OH, to achieve self-sufficiency has been the mission of ABCD since its establishment in 1973. The Community Development Corporation based in Canton accomplishes this by providing affordable housing, transportation, and training in construction and energy conservation to area residents. Will Dent, ABCD’s founder and CEO, says Knott exemplifies what the organization’s work is all about.
“Darlene started in one of our training programs right out of high school,” Dent explains. “She got early exposure to finance and business, and we hired her in our accounting department. This is one of the prizes of ABCD’s work. Over the past 40 some years, she has learned and worked her way up. Now she’s our chief financial officer and getting ready to test for her CPA.”
Thanks to a recent development project, ABCD is poised to further strengthen the community by helping more Stark County residents like Knott achieve their goals in the years ahead. The organization’s new facilities – which include a 14,480-square-foot former bank branch renovated to serve as ABCD’s headquarters and a newly built 23,000-square-foot facility to house the organization’s fleet of vehicles and workforce development programming – are helping to revitalize Canton’s Crystal Park neighborhood, make ABCD’s services more accessible, and position the nonprofit for an additional phase of development on a nearby property that will create high-quality housing for seniors.
By renovating the former bank branch to serve as its headquarters – named the Will Dent Center for Community & Economic Development in recognition of Dent’s 50-plus years of leadership of ABCD – the organization upgraded its administrative facilities and created high-quality offices for other local mission-driven organizations not yet ready for facilities of their own. Current tenants include the Stark County Black Nurses Association, the Canton Community KidSummit Against Drugs, and WATOES, which provides a variety oF services to support local families.
With its new job training facility, which includes garage space for up to 30 vehicles, ABCD will be better able to connect Stark County residents with jobs and other resources needed to thrive. The organization currently provides more than 100 rides daily for seniors and individuals with disabilities; residents with no other way to get to work; and individuals connected to the organization through contracts with local schools, colleges, day care centers, and churches.
“Transportation is one of our most visible services,” says Dent. “We currently operate 14 vehicles and they are going 24/7. We have people who need to start dialysis at 3 or 4 in the morning or who have a specialist they need to see on the other side of the state. They might not have any other way to get there, so we take them. We have also recently gotten more into workforce transportation. We’re giving a lot of people an opportunity to get back to work.”
To facilitate its $9.3 million development project, ABCD secured funding from the Ohio Finance Fund and the City of Canton through a Community Development Block Grant, used its own equity, and leveraged a $2.8 million loan from IFF and a lending partner, the Cornerstone Fund. The Crystal Park project is a significant step for ABCD as it continues to expand its capacity and impact, and Dent says IFF’s partnership has been instrumental in bringing the organization’s vision to fruition.
“I knew about IFF but hadn’t worked with them. There was a nonprofit in town – a halfway house, Community Restoration Centers of Stark County (CRC) – that had been trying to get financing for years. All the banks had turned them down,” he says. “I put them in touch with IFF. With IFF financing they moved to a new location and transformed it into a really nice facility only about six blocks from here.” CRC broke ground on the renovation of the 75-bed facility in November 2017 and opened for clients in October 2018.
“So, we’ve had a great relationship with IFF for some time,” continues Dent. “When we started this project, IFF was the first one we approached about financing. And then IFF helped connect us with the Cornerstone Fund and other partners who have been instrumental in helping us revitalize this neighborhood.”
Having moved into its new facilities in Crystal Park last year, ABCD is now focused on the next phase of the project — the construction of a mixed-use facility expected to begin this fall. The Stephen A. Perry Lofts, named to honor a former Canton resident who was CEO of the nearby Pro Football Hall of Fame, will include 24 two-bedroom, two-bath apartments. The development will meet a pressing need in Canton for additional housing options for older adults, and the ground floor of the facility will feature retail and office space that will provide ABCD with additional revenue to support its programs. Still in the planning stages, ABCD is also considering housing a museum dedicated to the O’Jays, an iconic R&B group formed at a Canton high school only a few miles away. Once the housing project is completed, the entire complex will be known as O’Jay’s Plaza.
Housing has always been at the crux of ABCD’s work and this new project will build on the organization’s extensive history ensuring that more Stark County residents have access to quality, affordable homes.
“The key to our whole existence has been helping people and changing lives,” says Dent. “We’ve built three senior living facilities and more than 400 single-family houses. When you see people who have gone through our programs to become a first-time homeowner, you can see the change in them. It builds them up, builds their confidence, and that doesn’t just position them for success. It transcends the individual and becomes about how collectively they can join in building up and supporting their community.”