Students of Promise presents Prentice Place plan, asks council for $100,000 grant

Bob Ivory, executive director of Students of Promise, told Cleveland Heights City Council on June 16 that his nonprofit is seeking city support for Prentice Place, a transitional living facility for homeless mothers and children planned at the former St. Louis Church convent at 2435 North Taylor Road.

"The goal of Prentice Place is to provide a safe, supportive, nurturing, and structured transitional living environment for homeless women with children, helping them stabilize their families, address immediate needs, and develop the skills and resources necessary to secure permanent housing and achieve self sufficiency," Ivory said during a roughly 15‑ to 20‑minute presentation.

Ivory said the nearly 9,000‑square‑foot adaptive‑reuse building would double the organization’s capacity, providing private rooms and accessible bathrooms for up to 15 families at a time and projecting service to more than 100 individuals over the course of a year. The facility, he said, would include family‑style dining, an early‑childhood learning center and computer lab, spaces for job‑readiness and parenting classes, a fitness/meditation area, and full‑time security and controlled access.

Ivory described a range of on‑site services and partnerships: case management and economic‑empowerment programming, trauma‑informed counseling, a pre‑K childcare program, and health services via a partnership with MetroHealth’s mobile community unit. He said private donors and local partners — including Bridgeview Holdings and individual donor Eli Mann — helped make the move to the convent feasible and that the converted building reduces renovation costs so more funds can be spent on direct services.

"Prentice Place represents an adaptive reuse and a neighborhood compatibility, as the facility's design preserves the historical integrity of the building while blending seamlessly into the community," Ivory said, adding the site is ADA‑compliant and has spaces reserved for families with special needs.

Ivory asked the council to consider awarding a city grant to support the project. During questions, he referred to the request as a $100,000 grant; later in his remarks he used the figure $101,000. Council members and other speakers treated the request as an item they would consider at a future meeting.

County Councilman Pernell Jones Jr., who attended the meeting, spoke in support of Students of Promise and the project. "Some of those single mothers will be children who are part of the Cleveland High School system, who have found themselves destabilized," Jones said, urging council support. Lavelle Custer, president and CEO of Merdys Taylor Human Services System, said her organization would serve as fiscal agent if the city funds the project.

Council members thanked Ivory and several said they supported further consideration. Councilwoman Russell said she appreciated the organization’s past work with Cleveland Heights‑University Heights School District students and signaled support for advancing the grant request at a future meeting.

No formal vote was taken on the grant request on June 16. Ivory told the council he would email evaluations of Students of Promise’s work; council members asked for additional materials and said they expect to take up the request at an upcoming meeting.

Ending

Ivory closed by describing his personal and professional commitment to the project and the legacy of the late state senator C.J. Prentice, for whom the facility is named. Council members and several community partners in the audience expressed public support and said they will follow up as the city considers the grant request.