Edgewood Village

Client Background

As part of the Hope VI Federal Grant, Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA) began the planning and construction of the $50 million neighborhood revitalization project of Akron's second oldest public housing development, Edgewood Homes.

The AMHA Board of Trustees selected the new name, Edgewood Village, for the emerging community. Caler&Company designed a new logo using the skyline of the City of Akron, which forms the eastern border of the new community.

The transformation into Edgewood Village provides Akron with a vibrant, thriving neighborhood that enhances the accessibility to community services and amenities. Edgewood Village offers 2, 3 and 4 bedroom townhomes as well as single-family homes, designed with spacious floor plans, architectural details and spaces that bring families together. Neighboring the Akron Zoo, the Helen Arnold Community Learning Center, the Akron Urban League and downtown Akron, Edgewood Village provides convenience and opportunity to its diverse community of residential and commercial renters and homeowners.

New literature was designed and written by the Caler Team.
It targeted prospective new residents as well
as community partners.

A new stationery suite enabled the
Edgewoodstaff to communicate
officially and frequently to strategic
partners and new residents
while building the brand.

Caler&Company produced a press kit,
distributed at press conferences
and open houses.

Mayor Plusquellic and AMHA
President, Anthony O'Leary
presented the first Edgewood
Village resident, Maggie Jones,
with an award and
acknowledgement as she
transitioned from the old
Edgewood Homes to the new
Edgewood Village.

Local and regional news outlets
covered the ceremony.

The Challenge

Edgewood Village required a strategic marketing communications plan and public relations programs to help mitigate stigma associated with the past and alter public perceptions about the area and its history and reposition it as a vibrant, working neighborhood with surrounding opportunity.

A 30 ft. banner designed by the Caler Team
became the Edgewood Village stake in the
ground at the corner of Euclid and Martin
Luther King expressway. The 432-HOPE
phone number rang off the hook as soon
as the banner was hoisted.

Caler&Company designed a
sleeve to cover the existing
monument signage from the
old Edgewood Homes.

The Caler Team designed
temporary construction
banners which payed
homage to all those who
had a stake in the new
community. The 8 ft.
banners were used on all
fences bordering the
new neighborhood.

Caler&Company staged new
photography in the first model
while the paint on the kitchen
walls was still wet.

The new apartments were open,
airy and filled with natural light.

Caler&Company's interior design
team accessorized the model
bedroom for photography. The
furnishings were leased for
four hours.

The Outcome

After a significant competition regarding an RFP process, Caler&Company secured a contract with Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA) to lead the marketing communications charge for Edgewood Village. To reach Akron's diverse community of residential and commercial renters and homeowners and communicate that Edgewood is a supportive environment with a focus on the family, Caler&Company positioned Edgewood Village as An Akron Neighborhood Celebrating Community.

Caler&Company created the new Web presence
and worked in concert with AMHA's sales agents,
leasing agents, case workers and management
staff to launch the robust new online presence.

The Caler Team provided leasing agents with resident
presentation materials and information packets.

In addition to developing the identity and logo, Caler&Company provided a strategic marketing communications plan, internal conditioning, business development strategies, promotional program, site signage, advertising, consumer literature, interactive web presence, as well as public relations support with the coordination and promotion of Edgewood Village's press conferences and grand welcoming ceremony.

Caler&Company created a
strategically integrated
marketing communications
plan complete with
prioritized objectives,
strategies for lease-up,
tactics, tools, timelines,
media, public relations,
strategic partner integration
and a detailed marketing
budget.

The plan also included a year-at-a-glance planning
calendar enabling managers to quickly determine planning
phases, launch dates, elements, deployment and
costs for the awareness campaign.

“I wanted to personally thank you and your team for the excellent support and direction that you’ve provided us regarding our HOPE VI collaboration for the newly emerging Edgewood Village. This $50 million urban revitalization assignment will undoubtedly transform this Akron Neighborhood, which has suffered blight and neglect for years.

Your leadership and the support of your entire team helped steer us to understand the complexities of marketing communications and the impact that an uplifting brand has on the future success and vitality of a neighborhood.

I have proudly served AMHA for 20 years and I have had my eyes opened to the value that a professional brand management organization like Caler&Company can bring to an important assignment, such as Edgewood Village.

Thank you for hanging in their during the arduous RFP process and working directly with key staff to create our position, ‘An Akron Neighborhood Celebrating Community,’ while adding clarity and meaning to this newly branded message.”

Thomas E. Gilbert
HOPE VI Director
Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority

The new neighborhood starkly contrasts that which preceeded it. Caler staff took the before photos prior to submitting its proposal to brand this successful community.