CLEVELAND, Ohio - Mayor Frank Jackson unveiled plans Wednesday for a $15 million development of apartments and shops in a blighted area on the city's East Side.

Jackson said the project, which will involve both private investment and tax dollars, will serve as a framework for his plans to revitalize some the city's other struggling neighborhoods.

"We still have institutional disparity and inequality," he said in an earlier interview with cleveland.com. "If we concentrate on creation of quality of life and prosperity in areas where there is none, it will buffer and sustain everything else we have done."

What's the plan?

The apartments and shops are to go up adjacent to a proposed new park at East 105th and Ashbury Avenue and just north of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center and University Circle.

The area, one of several that Jackson is targeting on the East and West sides, is between Ashbury and Superior avenues and east of 105th Street. A short distance south is University Circle, where tens of thousands of people are employed.

That proximity is key, Councilman Kevin Conwell said at the news conference.

"This project here is going to be seamless with University Circle," Conwell said. "When you leave University Circle, you shouldn't drop off the way [economic conditions] drop off. Now we're going to be connected with University Circle."

The developer, the Finch Group, has several housing projects in the University Circle area, including the Innova Apartments on Chester Avenue near the Cleveland Clinic, Park Lane Dwellings off 105th Street near Euclid, Circle East Townhomes on Euclid Avenue and Parkside Dwellings on Stearns Road.

The new building will have about 13,500 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and 63 apartments in the upper floors. The design work will go to City Architecture and the construction work will be awarded to Ozanne Construction.

The building should be completed by June 2019, Finch Group Chairman Wes Finch said in an interview. The city will provide tax abatements and tax increment financing for the project.

Some of the commercial space will open onto the new park, which will have an amphitheater. The hope is that a restaurant or two will locate there, Finch said.

The remaining space will be used to support new businesses, he said. Businesses that can't afford rents will have access to space by making Finch Group a partner.

"Here's an opportunity for entrepreneurs," Finch said.

The project should be a catalyst for development in the adjacent neighborhood, Finch said. "We've got a point to prove."

Nearly 30 new homes are expected to be built in the area over the next two or three years with assistance from the city. Another 20 homes are expected to be rehabilitated and made ready for sale. The city already has control of much of the property.

Homeowners will be able to get assistance to fix up the exteriors of their homes and to make emergency interior improvements such as furnace replacements or electrical work.

Some aspects of the Finch deal will have to be approved by Cleveland City Council. Council, though, has supported the mayor's plan. In addition to Conwell, council President Kevin Kelley attended Wednesday's news conference.

This map shows the part of Glenville that is the first area targeted by Mayor Frank Jackson's neighborhood revitalization initiative. The area stretches from East 105th Street to Lakeview Road between Superior and Ashbury avenues.

What's the goal?

Jackson expects the program will spark more economic growth in the neighborhood, draw in new residents and businesses and boost wealth for those who already live there by boosting the equity in their homes.

"If you're going to invest and you're willing to take the risk of investment, this is your area," Jackson said in an interview. "We're investing in the people who live there and we're investing to get people to come there."

Ultimately the model could be throughout the city, Jackson said.

What's the big picture?

Jackson's revitalization programs are targeting the corridors of East 105th and East 93rd streets on the East Side and the Clark Fulton area on the West Side.

The areas have easy access to public transit and major employment centers are nearby. Yet development and economic growth in the areas have been stagnant.

The city has committed $25 million toward the plan -- money that was carved out of a $100 million bond issue from 2015 and set aside specifically for neighborhood development and revitalization.

Jackson expects that money will leverage another $40 million in private investment, raising the total to $65 million. Huntington National Bank, PNC, Key Bank and Fifth Third Bank have publicly committed to support the plan with financing.

The money will fund loan programs to help jump start housing construction and commercial development. It also will support an incubator program to encourage entrepreneurs and new businesses, pay for demolition of dilapidated housing and support restoration of homes that can be saved.

The goal is to provide a spark that ignites more growth and development in neighborhoods, creating jobs and boosting home values to boost wealth. While there has been strong growth in several Cleveland neighborhoods -- places like Ohio City, Detroit Shoreway, University Circle -- development activity has been stagnant in several blighted areas.

"We had to create a public-private partnership so we could have investment," Jackson said Wednesday.