Franklin County, city leaders discuss demolition of Latitude Five25

Added: 2026-05-23

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[00:20:34]We're so glad you could all be here.

[00:20:37]Now, we're here obviously to mark the passing from one era to the next for Sawyer Towers, but equally, we are here to express our deep gratitude to the many people who have contributed to reaching this milestone.

[00:20:50]And when PATs first began to have conversations with this community about Sawyer Towers, in spite of the painful events that led to the towers being vacated in December 2022, we heard something different from the people we spoke with. We heard from many longtime community members who expressed that the towers were actually the backdrop for so many happy memories.

[00:21:11]We heard the deep sense of pride that people felt for the namesake of the towers. Harold Sawyer is a decorated Tuskegee airman who returned to serve this community in his role at the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority for years. And we heard the fondness that people felt for the distinctive architecture of these towers that have become an icon recognizable from miles away.

[00:21:32]So, as we start this process of dismantling the towers and turning the page on the history of this property, we do also remember and carry forward with us the spirit of generosity with which these towers were built and the many happy memories that were made within it their walls. And it's that spirit that guides us as we look forward to the future.

[00:21:54]And in that future we're working towards this property will provide nearly 400 new homes for families and seniors that will be affordable and accessible for generations to come. So whether it's a longtime member of this community who wants to stay in the area as rents continue to rise or a young family looking to put down roots as they seek out career opportunities, we hope that they'll find a home here.

[00:22:17]And we're so proud that the housing that we're creating will really be of the highest quality and an example for similar communities across the country.

[00:22:26]With beautifully built new buildings, extensive amenities, landscaped outdoor areas with recreational opportunities, and wraparound services for tenants, this community will be a paragon of what is possible when the public sector and private sector work together to create housing that is both exemplary in quality and affordable for its community. because we know that it can be both.

[00:22:50]But to create something special here, we know that we certainly couldn't do it on our own. And as I said at the start, we owe a debt of gratitude to so many of you that are here. In a moment, I'll introduce some of our most valued critical partners, but we owe our thanks to so many people.

[00:23:06]And I do want to recognize a few more of them. our state- elected officials, Representative Dantavius Geralds and State Senator Hershel Craig, who have been advocates for this effort from the start.

[00:23:17]Locally in this community, the Brownsville Neighborhood Association, led by Willis Brown and his board that have been such a valued partner and a sounding board for us, our financing partners at the Columbus Franklin County Finance Authority, the Affordable Housing Trust, and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.

[00:23:35]And last, I want to recognize the teams from legal aid and the community shelter board who were here responding to the calls on the day that the towers had to be vacated in December 2022.

[00:23:47]With that, I'd like to introduce our first speaker. And it's truly no exaggeration when I say that without her, we would not be celebrating this milestone today.

[00:23:57]When we first came to Columbus, as we were just discussing over four years ago, Commissioner Erica Cwley was one of the first people we met.

[00:24:06]and she and her team at Franklin County, administrator Ken Wilson, DCA Joy Bivvens, Chief Relle Pride, there's so many people who have been involved in this effort and is really the their their force and just their commitment to this mission that has driven it forward and has brought this to reality of delivering housing for this community.

[00:24:27]And commissioner, we're so thankful to you for your commitment to equality and economic opportunity for your constituents, your vision for how to create real lasting change, and your determination to see that vision brought to fruition. Thank you so much for everything you have done. Please welcome Commissioner Erica Cwley.

[00:25:02]Good morning everyone.

[00:25:04]I am your Franklin County Commissioner, Erica Cwley. I bring greetings on behalf of my colleagues at the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, President John O'Grady and Kevin Boyce.

[00:25:15]I want to start with gratitude. But before I tell you where we're going, I need to thank the people who got us here. Thank you to my colleague John O'Grady and every Franklin County Department that answered the call on Christmas Day 2022, Job and Family Services, the Office on Aging, Justice Policy and Programs, Child Support, the Family Stabilization Unit. Thank you to Kota, to Red Cross, legal aid, the community shelter board, Mayor Gther, city council, my friend Derek Clay, the Near East Area Commission, and our development partners at Naveen and PASS.

[00:25:53]This day belongs to all of you. Now, let me tell you the story that made this day necessary. This is a story about trust.

[00:26:02]The community's first major betrayal happened in the early 1960s when the city used in imminent domain to bulldoze homes and businesses to construct these public housing towers. This federal urban renewal initiative destroyed a predominantly black neighborhood. Local civil rights leaders called it what it was, negro removal. The construction of Boulevard Arms, later Sawyer Towers, later latitude 525, displaced 309 families, 307 of them black. Residents were promised a thriving neighborhood with recreation centers, libraries, and green space. But too many of those promises never came. And still, many in this community looked at these towers with hope. Not long ago, I read that east side legend Will Haggood moved into this complex as a teenager in 1968.

[00:26:55]He later wrote that these apartments felt like a dream come true, replacing leanto and outdoor plumbing with something families could finally be proud of. One of our Bronzeville neighbors, Bonzel Johnson, became known as the pride of Boulevard Arms. and another Diana Pryock transformed her 11th floor apartment into what she lovingly called her treehouse.

[00:27:19]Even with the strategic neglect of this building, people made homes here, real ones, and they were proud of them. The shame of what came next does not belong to those residents or our neighbors. It belongs to owners who never had to look tenants in the eye. To management companies that ignored court orders rather than fix a pipe. To years of broken elevators, mold, no heat, and no no hot water. To a system that calculated what these residents were owed and decided the answer was nothing.

[00:27:52]December 25th, 2022 is a day I will never forget. Nothing prepares you to see water pouring through the ceilings of a 16-story building. Nothing prepares you to hear every elevator has failed.

[00:28:03]Nothing prepares you to watch firefighters carry seniors down stairwell after stairwell because there is no other way to get them out. Nothing prepares you for the conversation you have to have with a resident to leave all that they know because they don't have the option to stay. Our neighbor Rick Hammond moved into this building through veterans affairs after losing his wife. He called his apartment his sanctuary. On Christmas morning, he packed one duffel bag and evacuated.

[00:28:34]Diana Pric left behind her five cats and her family Bible filled with generations of births and deaths. That was Christmas morning.

[00:28:45]I was the second person to arrive here only behind former NAACP president Nana Watson. And I knew in my heart this community deserved a dignified new start. I told residents, "I care about you. We will fix this." But I want you to understand what I was asking of them.

[00:29:05]These neighbors already knew what broken promises looked like. They had filed maintenance requests, gone to court, and waited. And now someone in elected office was standing in front of them on Christmas morning asking them to trust one more time. I made a promise that day. I don't care what we have to do.

[00:29:25]this can never happen again. And the work started immediately. Chief Pride stayed late at Dodge Rec Center because nobody who loses their home on Christmas should wake up surrounded by strangers.

[00:29:39]Our teams came back the day after Christmas because a oneweek gap in benefits can sink a family already in crisis. Cota ran trip after trip because evacuation does not end when the building is empty. Legal aid in the in the city went to court because accountability matters. This project is personal to me because I am my neighbor and my neighbor is me. And after what residents experienced here, trust could not simply be handed over to another developer with a presentation and a promise. It had to be earned. Months later, my friend Derek Clay reached out and as conversations began about what responsible investment in housing could look like in Columbus and Franklin County. And hearing more about Naveen's investment in affordable housing, it immediately made me think about what happened here and whether this could become part of the solution for this community. But introductions and conversations were never going to be enough for me after what these residents had endured. I needed to see for myself what kind of partner they could be. So I traveled to New York to visit Nibian properties and talked directly to residents living there. I asked whether things got fixed when they broke, whether residents felt safe, whether anyone in authority actually listened to them. Commissioner O'Grady also took the time to independently visit and evaluate their work himself because after everything this community had endured, none of us were willing to move forward based on promises alone. The answers I received from the residents that they had in New York were the reason why I came home and put my name on this deal.

[00:31:17]And let me say something plainly. This did not happen overnight. It has taken nearly three years to get this across the finish line. Three years of conversations, three years of rebuilding trust, three years of carrying the weight of what happened on Christmas morning. And while there were easier paths politically, I kept thinking about those residents standing in flooded hallways wondering whether anyone was actually going to follow through for them this time. After that day, I had two choices. Follow through or become another person who let this community down. I was not going to be next on their list.

[00:31:54]That is how trust gets built and the record we leave behind. And there is still more work to do. We sat down with our prosecutor's office and rewrote our development guidelines. So, resident protections now travel with properties if ownership changes hands, health and safety standards, code enforcement provisions with teeth and clawback provisions, protections residents can hold us accountable to long after today because we do not get to ask residents for faith again. We have to earn it. I cannot wait to see these towers come down. It is the last grand symbol of a urban renewal on the near east side. A policy that displaced 309 families and gave them promises it never intended to keep. And in the ground where these stand, we will build a renewed covenant.

[00:32:44]One residents can hold us to. On this site will stand the single largest affordable housing investment in the history of Columbus and Franklin County.

[00:32:54]380 affordable apartments, wraparound services, wellness support, and opportunities for families to build financial equity alongside stable housing.

[00:33:09]Upon hearing these towers would come down, Will Hey, Good said, "Surviving Boulevard Arms was a human victory." And I understand why. The resilience it took to make it home here, raise children here, and hold on to dignity while the system failed you deserves to be honored. But nobody should have to claim victory just for surviving their housing. The victory we celebrate today is different.

[00:33:38]It is not residents enduring a broken system. It is a coalition finally doing what should have been done 60 years ago.

[00:33:45]This is not a photo opportunity. It is a record. A record of what accountability looks like when it actually follows through. James Bowwin said, "History does not refer merely to the past. The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us. And we are standing on ground that holds 309 families. We are standing on a Christmas morning that holds every broken promise this country has made to black residents and every opportunity it still has to do better." The people of the Near East Side were asked to trust again. in any way. We will not waste it this time.

[00:34:20]Thank you.

[00:34:32]Thank you so much, Commissioner, for those remarks.

[00:34:37]Now, we at PATS have visited many cities seeking opportunities to partner to create affordable housing. And while we often hear lip service paid to this important issue, unfortunately, it so often does not extend beyond the rhetoric to doing the hard work. Many cities would do well to look to this mayor and his administration for what it takes to be a leading example of how to take on the affordable affordable housing crisis head on through innovative leadership and creative problem solving.

[00:35:07]This mayor and his administration, whether it's the the development department, building and zoning services, city law, and so many others that have touched this effort, they have rolled up their sleeves right alongside us and said, "How can we be sure to maximize the impact of this opportunity?

[00:35:24]How can we tackle these problems that we're facing?"

[00:35:28]In particular, I want to reiterate our appreciation for the mayor's department of development, led by director Mike Stevens and Deputy Director Hannah Jones, who have been such wonderful, indispensable partners to us in this effort.

[00:35:41]Mr. Mayor, thank you. And thanks to your administration for leading by example and showing all of us how to do the hard work necessary to deliver housing for this community and this city. Thank you.

[00:35:53]Please welcome Mayor Andrew Ginther.

[00:35:58]Thank you, sir. Appreciate you.

[00:36:02]>> Good morning. I just uh those powerful uh comments from Commissioner Cwley. Um I'm just grateful for her leadership. We would not be here today without her. Uh I am her partner. She is the leader on this and so many other efforts. And Commissioner, thank you.

[00:36:26]uh for all that you do. I want to thank every agency, community, nonprofit, first responder, and volunteer who was here in the winter of 2022 for the compassion and support that they showed the residents of Sawyer Towers, our neighbors.

[00:36:47]that especially includes some of the folks that were mentioned, city department of development, the county team, and so many others. As we look to the future, I want to thank Naveen real estate team and director of development, Max Aaron, the state of Ohio, and all the folks that have come together to work on this important effort.

[00:37:12]For some people, this place will always be Sawyer Towers. For others, latitude 525.

[00:37:18]But for the families who lived here, it was home. And soon it will be again. But before we talk cranes and demolition and capital stacks and what comes next, we need to remember what happened here.

[00:37:35]On Christmas Day in 2022, families were forced out of their homes when pipes burst during sub-zero temperatures.

[00:37:43]Apartments were flooded. Conditions were unsafe for all the residents. It was the final straw after years of substandard management and resident exploitation.

[00:37:56]Parents, children, seniors, and neighbors were left facing fear and uncertainty during the height of the holiday season. It disrupted their lives and their sense of security and stability.

[00:38:09]So many incredible first responders and dedicated public servants from the city and the county and other agencies showed up that day in the days that followed to lend a helping hand to safely evacuate the towers and connect residents with housing and essential resources. This community saw firsthand what happens when housing fails the people who depend on it. and we committed to a responsibility that didn't end when the emergency response had concluded. We cannot undo what happened here. We should not pretend that taking down these towers erases what those neighbors went through, but we can and should choose what happens next. When this crisis unfolded, Columbus made a promise that we would not look away. We would help residents through the immediate hardship learn from what happened and do more to protect families when landlords take advantage of vulnerable tenants who don't have better choices.

[00:39:16]That work has continued in real and meaningful ways. We enacted the Relocation Assistance Code so that renters displaced by emergency conditions are not left alone to shoulder the cost, confusion, and fear of starting over. When a family is forced from their home through no fault of their own, they deserve more than sympathy. They deserve help. We created the Division of Housing Stability within the Department of Development. This team is focused on eviction prevention, housing quality, fair treatment for renters, and standing up vital tenant resources for those who are closest to the edge of displacement and homelessness.

[00:40:05]We expanded access to legal counsel for families facing eviction in the court system. and we've kept working to hold property owners accountable when the health and safety of their tenants are at risk. We also started a new rental registry so the city can better understand who is responsible for rental housing, a critically important step to move forward as a community. We believe that these partnerships and this aggressive effort really reflect more than just policies and programs. They're an embodiment of our values as a community. They're essential lifelines to a parent trying to keep a child in the same school after an emergency move.

[00:40:53]To a senior on a fixed income who suddenly cannot cover the cost of rent or a security deposit. to a working family who did everything right, played by the rules, and still found themselves without a safe place to call home. That is the human dimension of this work, and it remains our focus. These questions drive our actions and decisions of to this day. Are people safer? Are they treated fairly? Do they have help before a crisis becomes a catastrophe?

[00:41:28]Today, we're applying those same rigorous standards to the homes that will be built on this site and throughout this community. That's because this property cannot remain a permanent and painful reminder of what went wrong. It needs to become part of what this neighborhood demands and deserves moving forward. through $17.5 million in city affordable housing bond funding. And with New Real Estate, Franklin County, and the state of Ohio at the table, this site, as the commissioner mentioned, will be transformed into nearly 380 new energy efficient and affordable homes. That's 380 families, 380 neighbors.

[00:42:18]And when we say affordable, we should be clear about what that means. These homes are affordable for households earning up to 60% of the area median income. Well, what does that mean? Tell me more. It's an annual salary of roughly $46,000 for a single renter, 53,000 for a household of two, $59,000 for a family of three, and 66,000 for a family of four. Who is that? Those are the folks that take care of our kids and help to care for our parents. They drive our buses. They teach our children. Uh they take care of those on the front lines in this community and communities all over this city. Home health aids, security workers, line cooks, young parents who are just getting started. Grandparents who are helping to raise their grandchildren. Young professionals with steady jobs who are working hard, playing by the rules, but cannot keep up with the cost of rising rents. These are the neighbors who make Columbus work every single day. And they deserve to live safely, securely, and affordably in a city that they've helped build and continue to call home.

[00:43:34]It's why we've gone back to Columbus voters three times to ask them to invest in more affordable housing, not as charity, because housing is infrastructure. Just like our water, just like our sewer, just like our roads, housing is infrastructure. And now in a growing city, we want to make sure that we stay livable, competitive, fair. We want this growth to be dynamic and inclusive where everybody, regardless of what you do for a living in this community, can afford to live here and make it special. We cannot let growth happen to us. We must embrace it and shape it to make sure that everybody has a place to call home. Here on the Near East Side, shaping growth means more than replacing two vacant towers.

[00:44:24]It means building homes that are safe, modern, efficient, and affordable. It means connecting this property to the neighborhood around it. It means remembering who lived here before while making room for the families who will live here next. And it means recognizing that none of us can do this work alone.

[00:44:43]The city cannot solve the housing supply crisis by itself. Neither can the county, the state, or nonprofit partners of the private sector. But everybody can and must do something. Today is a powerful example of that. City bond dollars, county partnership, state support, private investment, and a shared belief that this site deserves better than the story it carried these last few years. To the former residents of Latitude 525, I know this moment may bring back difficult memories. I know the pain of what happened here did not end when the response teams departed and the TV cameras stopped rolling. So many of those stories folks shared with me at Dodge and at hotels in different parts of the city where folks were put up afterwards.

[00:45:32]We honor what you endured and we recommmit ourselves to making sure that no family is left behind in a housing crisis. To the neighbors here on the near east side, this city sees the strength and pride of this community. We firmly believe that this site can once again contribute to the incredible bright future of this neighborhood. And today, as these 15story towers begin to come down, we are not erasing the past.

[00:46:02]We're remembering it. We're learning from it. We are building something new and better together. Thank you very much.

[00:46:22]Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor.

[00:46:25]There are certain individuals whose impact can be seen and felt across the whole arc of this effort to turn around and redevelop Sawyer Towers. And chief among those people would be council member Tiara Ross.

[00:46:38]In her role at city law, she was there when the city need needed to make the difficult but necessary decision to issue the order to emergency vacate these towers.

[00:46:48]She was pivotal to the process of taking this property out of the hands of the prior owners and starting the long road to transforming this tragedy into an opportunity.

[00:47:01]now is our council member for district 7. She has been a vocal supporter of this effort to redevelop this site into 380 units of affordable housing of the highest quality. And as chair of the council's housing committee, has been a leading voice in the city for the need to create and preserve affordable housing. Council member Tiar Ross, we're so grateful to you for being such a strong voice and a force for justice, not just in this process, in your community, but in this city. Thank you so much. Please welcome Council Member Ross.

[00:47:40]>> So much.

[00:47:43]>> All right. So, I have to blame Commissioner Cwley for starting to cry because I've been crying the entire time. Um, and it it's not because of of of the what the story means, but but really what we endured as partners together.

[00:47:57]Um, it's a call to action to ensure that those crisises are not the only time that we are partnering together. Um, and also a thank you for answering those calls on Christmas Day. a thank you to the mayor because I was just a lowly city attorney at the time trying to explain to you what happened and what we needed as a community to move forward to strengthen um to strengthen this this space and a a thank you to to Heidi Carr to to my co-consel who tried to explain to a judge with only nine complaints from a a attorney at legal aid who now works for the city named Graham Bowman who tried to explain that what was what we were hearing was not the full story.

[00:48:44]That what um we saw in city records was actually not the full story of what was happening at this property.

[00:48:52]That just because you're not receiving a code enforcement complaint doesn't mean that they're not issues that need to be addressed because people get tired of complaining when nobody is responding to the complaints.

[00:49:04]who tried to explain to us that the exhaustion from living in conditions that were subhuman was something that we needed to answer to even when the law didn't necessarily support the argument.

[00:49:16]And so, thank you to those who who fought to ensure that regardless of whether we were going to win a case that the stories were uplifted and that the advocacy was there because it was that case that got $10,000 to each resident that left here was the first time we had ever been able to put money back in pockets for residents who quite frankly deserve so much more.

[00:49:44]And that dollar amount was because we were there in person and could specifically speak to the issues that were happening in this community. So, thank you um for allowing me to cry through those call outs, those specific call outs for folks who I know um worked through the mud to get us to this place.

[00:50:08]So today marks the beginning of accountability, healing, and the possibility of something better for the people of this community. But we can't stand here today without first honoring the hundreds of residents whose families whose lives were turned upside down on Christmas Day in 2022. We've talked about it. families who were displaced with little warning because of years of neglect, because of years of mismanagement, because of a disregard for human dignity and safety.

[00:50:36]What happened here was unacceptable.

[00:50:38]What happened here was unacceptable.

[00:50:42]Housing, we all know, is not simply about buildings, but it's about stability, security, and the right to live with dignity. And yet, in the middle of crisis and heartbreak, I saw personally something extraordinary.

[00:50:57]I saw Columbus show up for one another.

[00:51:00]I saw Columbus and Franklin County show up for one another.

[00:51:04]In my decade of service to this city, I have never witnessed community response at the scale and with the compassion that emerged from those difficult days and weeks. I am deeply grateful to the office of the Columbus City Attorney, to the city of Columbus Department of Building and Zoning Services, the Division of Code Enforcement, specifically some of you who were there with me on Christmas Day.

[00:51:33]Thank you to the community shelter board to legal aid of Columbus and central Ohio to the department of development deputy director Jones specifically because I think it's important to call out specifically the folks that answer the calls the folks that add to their duty what wasn't on their duty and then the folks that turn those duties into systems that are able able to respond.

[00:52:04]There was no system before this crisis.

[00:52:06]There was no response system before this crisis. There was no coordination before this crisis. Hannah Jones coordinated that. And so, thank you to Administrator Bivvens, to Director Pride. There's a group chat I'll never delete. Thank you for answering the call. Thank you for not only answering the call, but showing up. Thank you for continuing to show up. Thank you for still answering my phone call to this day. I appreciate the both of you with all of my heart.

[00:52:40]And beyond the institutional folks, thank you to the army of community members, advocates, volunteers, faith leaders, service providers, and neighbors who refused to let residents face this tragedy alone.

[00:52:57]people who worked tirelessly to ensure dignity remained threaded through every moment of uncertainty, of fear, and of displacement.

[00:53:07]I'm proud to have worked alongside many partners to help return thousands of dollars back to these tenants. Dollars that belong to them, dollars that they were owed, dollars that represented just a small measure of justice in an unjust situation.

[00:53:26]Demolition alone is not justice.

[00:53:29]Today is important.

[00:53:32]But justice comes with the responsibility that we have after today to ensure our community our community has strong tenant protections so that this never happens again. And a small shout out to now uh prosecutor Shayla Favor who after this turned this incident into legislation incident into systems that are helping us to not just respond but to prevent situations like this from happening again. We must build enough quality affordable housing so that no family is trapped in unsafe conditions because they have nowhere else to go.

[00:54:11]Housing choice is what prevents tenant abuse.

[00:54:15]Stability is what creates healthy communities.

[00:54:19]And as we look toward what will rise here next, we must first know that we're still being watched.

[00:54:29]And as we look to what's going to rise here next, we must also commit ourselves to a community that benefits from what comes next, but always remembers the community that got us here today.

[00:54:43]Because the future of this site should not erase the pain that happened here.

[00:54:47]It should honor the resilience of the people who endured it and the collective action that must carry us forward. Thank you all.

[00:55:02]Thank you so much, council member.

[00:55:05]Beyond just building great housing here, we recognize that it's our responsibility to this community to be excellent stewards of this property and to do right by the members of this community.

[00:55:18]And to do that, we needed to engage in an open and honest dialogue with the members of this community. It's something that wouldn't have been possible without the Near East Area Commission under the leadership of chair Dr. Nathan Harris.

[00:55:31]Dr. Harris and his board took a leap of faith, inviting a bunch of out oftowners into their community for many conversations about their aspirations and their concerns about the process of redeveloping the Sawyer Towers site.

[00:55:45]And Dr. Harris has facilitated that dialogue masterfully. And I can say unequivocally that this project is a better one today because of it.

[00:55:54]Dr. Harris, the NEAK board, and the community members that participated in those conversations shared invaluable insights, local wisdom, and yes, sometimes a bit of tough love to ensure that this project would take advantage of this incredible once in a generation opportunity. And for that, Dr. Harris, we're so grateful. Please welcome Dr. Nathan Harris.

[00:56:26]We're almost to the afternoon, but I can say good morning to you.

[00:56:31]I said good morning. There we go. Um, this is a very interesting occasion.

[00:56:38]Uh, some because I'm reminded of my family moved to the near east side in 1939.

[00:56:47]uh and now standing five generations as a near eastsider uh and the responsibility that I have as serving as chair uh it's been one a privilege to serve this community uh but then it's also has set an example of what community and uh partnership can look like when it comes to talking about the future of um where we are to go. Um, and so I'm I'm reminded by the words of Maya Angelou.

[00:57:18]Uh, she shared that you can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.

[00:57:25]And, you know, we gathered here today on what I'll call, you know, sacred ground, not simply to witness demolition, but to mark a turning point. Uh, so Tower, this site holds uh memory. It holds stories. It holds weight of what was promised uh what was endured and more importantly what was neglected and even what was lost. And when these towers went up in the 60s, um it began, you know, with this promise of public and affordable housing, um which would reflect quality care and uh opportunity and later when it transitioned into the ownership of CHA and it was then dedicated in the honor of a Morehouse man uh Mr. Sawyer um in his instrumental effort of ensuring what um effort in connecting legacy to um public service and providing guidance on housing is what really transformed this place into a beacon and a model of what fair housing could look like here in this expanding city.

[00:58:50]But you know to be clear today is not a celebration of eraser.

[00:58:57]Uh it's an act of acknowledgement.

[00:59:00]It's time that we pay homage to every resident, every family, every elder, every child who made life here in the midst of conditions that should have been unacceptable from the start. But we honor their endurance. We honor their humanity. And we honor the history of this place by refusing to repeat it. And so what gives this moment meaning is not demolition alone. It gives meaning to what will come next.

[00:59:31]And uh the Near East Air Commission has worked in collaboration with both PAVS and New to ensure that the future of this site is shaped not only by drawings and financing, but also by people, by voice, by tough love, uh by community vision. And that partnership matters because development should not happen to a neighborhood, but it should happen with a neighborhood.

[01:00:03]And so as these buildings come down, I was talking with Max and team earlier that this is normally my beacon of where I know where home is when I'm landing.

[01:00:15]Um, but you know, let this be a place where children can discover.

[01:00:21]Let this be a place where elders can find rest. Let this become a place where families can grow, where neighbors can counsel one another, where safety is real, where beauty is present, and where community is not an afterthought but the foundation.

[01:00:40]And history has given us a lesson.

[01:00:44]But now, let's have the courage to build the answer together. And so I hope that we will rise here from today to be worthy people of this great home I call the Near East Side. Thank you.

[01:01:10]Thank you so much Dr. Harris for those remarks.

[01:01:14]And with that, we're going to mark the commencement of the process of demolishing these towers with the removal of the steel pyramid you see here on top of one of the towers. So with that, Kevin, you can take it away.

[01:03:35]Heat. Heat.

[01:07:04]Thank you all so much for joining us.

[01:07:06]Moreover, thank you all for everything that you have done to contributing to reaching this milestone.

[01:07:11]As you all have heard, this is only the beginning. We're so excited to have you all back here for the groundbreaking in the not too distant future. Thanks again. Have a great day.

[01:07:36]I want