City Gospel project builds facilty, new chances

Before construction begins on a new, expanded City Gospel Mission downtown, a partnership with Building Value shares construction benefits far beyond an updated facility.

Founded in 1924 by James Gamble, the agency has a long history of improving the lives of disadvantaged and struggling Cincinnatians. But the agency outgrew its landlocked, 1940’s building in Over-the-Rhine, which led to plans for an $8 million project to relocate to Dalton Avenue.

To redevelop the site, City Gospel Mission will renovate the former Trane facility on Dalton and build additions that create a campus feel. That requires tearing down the old Beech Acres facility next door on York Street -- and deconstruction is something Building Value does very well.

This subsidiary of Easter Seals Work Resource Center salvages reusable building materials through deconstruction and resells them to the public. Far more than a recycling center, Building Value provides resume-building jobs in construction and retail to those who have been denied past employment through lack of education, experience or luck.  

With his sporadic work experience, Akeem Hill couldn’t break into the construction field. Building Value cracked open that door. After months working on a deconstruction team, taking certification classes and getting help writing a resume, Hill landed an internship with Messer Construction. He'll be working on the City Gospel project. “I’ll have the awesome chance to shadow different people,” Hill says. “I’m interested in heating and cooling and have been told that I’ll have the opportunity for schooling if things go well.”

The goals of both Building Value and City Gospel Mission have dovetailed with this project. "Building Value is employing people who are focused on getting their lives on track.That’s our mission, too,” says Jason Williams, public relations director for City Gospel Mission. “Those people on the front end of this project will be helping those people on the back end -- the folks who share similar pasts with the guys who are working on the site and improving their lives now.”  


By Becky Johnson