Giving Back in 2025: Where Lime Companies Showed Up

A year-end look at the partners, nonprofits, and neighborhoods we supported.

A lot of developers like to talk about community engagement as if it is a tax they pay to get a zoning variance approved in a suburban township. I have never looked at it that way because I live in the neighborhoods where we build, and I see the gaps in the social fabric every time I walk down a street in Akron or Cleveland. In 2025, Lime Companies made a conscious decision to move away from the big, shiny galas that eat up half their revenue in catering costs and instead put our capital into the boots-on-the-ground organizations that actually move the needle for local families. We focused heavily on the corridor between Canton and Cleveland because that is where our projects sit and where the economic disparity is often the most visible. It is not enough to put up a new multi-family building and call it revitalization if the people two blocks away are still struggling to find a reliable meal or a path to trade certification.

We started the year by deepening our partnership with the Akron 7th Ward community leaders who are working to stabilize housing in the Firestone Park area. There is a specific kind of grit required to maintain the older housing stock in South Akron, and we realized that our skill set in construction management could be used for more than just our own bottom line. We donated professional hours from our site supervisors to help local homeowners navigate the complexities of structural repairs that they otherwise could not afford. It was not about cutting a check so we could put a logo on a banner, but rather about making sure the existing residents did not get pushed out by the very growth we are trying to stimulate. If the neighborhood loses its original character and its people, the developer has failed regardless of what the pro forma says at the end of the quarter.

In Stark County, our focus shifted toward vocational training because I am tired of hearing people say there is no talent left in the Rust Belt. We funneled significant resources into programs at Canton City Schools that introduce kids to the trades before they even graduate high school. These students are the future of our industry, and giving them the tools to succeed in masonry, electrical work, and plumbing is the best way to ensure the longevity of our region. I personally spent time in those classrooms this year, not to give a motivational speech, but to explain how a kid from a neighborhood like theirs can end up owning the buildings they are learning to repair. We donated surplus building materials from our Plain Township projects to these shops so the students could practice on modern, high-grade finishes instead of outdated scraps.

When we moved our attention north into Cuyahoga County, specifically the Slavic Village and Old Brooklyn areas, the needs were different but equally urgent. We partnered with food pantries that are seeing record demand despite what the national economic headlines might suggest. Supporting the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland was a priority because you cannot expect people to care about urban density or architectural aesthetics when they are worried about their next meal. We treated our commitment there as a logistical challenge, using our fleet of trucks to help move palletized goods when their regular distributors were backed up. This is the kind of dirty-work philanthropy that I prefer because it solves a physical problem in real time without the need for a press release.

One of the most rewarding aspects of 2025 was watching our project in Ohio City become a hub for local artists who are often priced out of the very neighborhoods they helped make cool. Instead of just commissioning one big mural, we dedicated a portion of our operating budget to micro-grants for creators living within three miles of our developments. We saw these funds go toward new kilns, studio rent, and raw materials for people who are keeping the soul of Cleveland alive. Maintaining the cultural relevance of a neighborhood like the Near West Side requires more than just high-end retail tenants. It requires a commitment to the people who were there when the storefronts were boarded up and the streets were quiet at night.

As we looked toward the end of the year, we put a heavy emphasis on veterans' housing initiatives in Summit County. There is a specific complex near the University of Akron that we have been watching for years, and we spent the fourth quarter working with local nonprofits to renovate units for former service members transitioning out of homelessness. Our team did not just provide the funding for the materials, they actually spent their weekends installing flooring and painting walls because they believe in the mission. I have always said that the best way to understand a building is to work on it with your own hands, and I am proud that our staff took that to heart. We are not just building apartments, we are building safety nets for people who have earned them many times over.

We also made a point to ignore the typical corporate end-of-year giving cycle and instead looked at the long-term needs of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. A lot of people forget that we have this incredible natural resource right in our backyard that connects all three of the counties where we operate. We funded a series of trail restoration projects that focus on accessibility, ensuring that everyone in Northeast Ohio can enjoy the park regardless of their physical mobility. As developers, we take a lot of land and turn it into something else, so I feel a deep responsibility to protect the land that is meant to remain wild. It is a balance that we have to maintain if we want the region to remain a place where people actually want to live and raise their kids.

Looking back at the specific impact in the North Canton area, we supported the local public library system because libraries are one of the last truly democratic spaces left in our society. We helped fund a new digital lab that gives small business owners and freelancers access to high-end software and equipment they might not be able to afford on their own. This is about building an ecosystem where local entrepreneurs can thrive, which ultimately creates a better environment for our commercial developments. If the people in our communities can grow their own businesses, the entire region wins, and we are happy to play a small part in that growth. It is an investment in the intellectual infrastructure of Stark County that I believe will pay dividends for decades.

One thing I have learned this year is that the most effective way to give back is to listen to the people who are already doing the work rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. We spent a lot of time this year in meetings with neighborhood block clubs in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood just listening to what they actually needed. It turned out they did not need a new park as much as they needed better lighting and sidewalk repairs to make the existing streets safer for kids walking to school. We adjusted our giving strategy to address those specific infrastructure gaps that fall through the cracks of city budgets. It might not be as glamorous as a new playground, but a well-lit street corner can change the entire feeling of a residential block overnight.

We ended 2025 with a sense of accomplishment, not because we hit a certain dollar amount in donations, but because we saw the tangible results of our involvement in these three counties. Whether it was a student in Canton landing an apprenticeship or a family in Akron staying in their home because of a roof repair we facilitated, these are the metrics that matter to Lime Companies. We are not here to be the biggest developer in Ohio, we are here to be the most integrated and the most useful to the places we call home. As we move into next year, the goal is to continue finding those small, high-impact opportunities that others might overlook. This region has given us everything, and it is only right that we continue to show up where it counts the most.