In Canton, Ohio, a $14 million dollar rehabilitation of the Mayfield Manor Apartments, made possible by $10 million from the AFL-CIO’s Housing Investment Trust (HIT), is welcome news to both construction workers and area seniors. The project will create 100 union jobs and keep 144 units affordable to for at least two decades. From a press release on the matter:

“The American labor movement has a tradition of caring for retirees and seniors, and Mayfield Manor exemplifies this core value,” said Michael McElfresh, President, East Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council. “It is fitting that the work of preserving this housing will be carried out by union workers and financed by union pension capital invested by the HIT.” Rehabilitation work on the six-story building will be done with 100% union labor.

The project will take advantage of efficient technologies to lower long-term costs.

“Mayfield Manor is an example of the HIT financing energy-saving retrofits to help reduce operating costs and keep housing affordable,” said HIT Investment Officer Chris Shaw.

The project is part of the HIT’s national Construction Jobs Initiative which to date has taken $1 billion and leveraged $2.3 billion of development across the country. This has generated more than 13,000 union construction jobs from San Francisco to St. Louis and represents a powerful and innovative approach to self-sufficiency and sustainability for labor unions.