History

East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation (EANDC) is a community development corporation formed in 1982 as the first nonprofit housing organization of its kind in the city of Akron.  With help from East Akron Community House, a United Way funded agency, and the Council of Block Club Presidents, EANDC was able to identify the housing needs of the community and begin to revitalize the substandard housing stock in East Akron.

During their early years, EANDC purchased and rehabbed vacant and abandoned homes, then sold them to first-time or low- to moderate-income homebuyers.  In 1984 EANDC added home weatherization and energy conservation programs to its roster of services, providing easy-to-implement home improvement steps to help families cut utility costs.

1993 proved to be a major turning point for EANDC when for the first time, it was able to leverage credit for the community by working with the local banking institutions to increase lending opportunities for low-income homebuyers. The result—a stable of families putting roots down in East Akron, which guided more investment and development to fuel positive change for the community. In 1996, EANDC successfully completed construction of Arlington Homes, the organization’s first ground-up, single-family development created in partnership with National City Bank. Today, EANDC is one of the more successful community development corporations in Ohio with more than 15 new developments providing quality housing for more than 500 families. 

In an effort to further improve Akron’s housing stock and to provide community renewal opportunities, EANDC launched the Lead Based Paint Hazard Control Program in 1998.  To get the program on track, EANDC partnered with the Akron Health Department to abate lead paint from homes with children under six years of age. The success of the program has created a strong and healthy housing stock for our community.

In 2004, EANDC became a charter member of NeighborWorksÒ America.  Since then, EANDC has gained a stronger foothold in the community and has been able to build capacity, serve more families and grow its programs through NeighborWorks trainings and technical assistance. 

In 2006, to respond to the housing crisis, EANDC created new foreclosure prevention services to help families achieve the best possible homeownership solution.  Today EANDC’s HUD-certified housing counselors continue to help hundreds of homeowners get on the right path to sustainable homeownership through homeownership workshops and foreclosure prevention assistance.