Avondale Development Corporation Announces New Executive Leadership to Advance “GrowAvondale” Vision
CINCINNATI, OH — The Avondale Development Corporation (ADC) today announced new executive leadership as Brady A. Melton assumes the role of Executive Director effective March 2, 2025, succeeding Russell Hairston, who is retiring after 10 years of dedicated service. ADC is a nonprofit community development organization focused on real estate revitalization, economic development, small business growth, and community engagement to create a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable Avondale.
“GrowAvondale is about building a self-sustaining economic ecosystem that creates opportunity for everyone who lives, works, worships, does business, shops, and visits Avondale,” said Melton. “Economic development, in its truest form, requires the alignment of community development, business development, and real estate development. It also requires alignment across the people who make a neighborhood function— residents, the City of Cincinnati, and business, corporate, faith-based, organization, and nonprofit partners —each holding a critical role in shaping outcomes. My work has been centered on bringing those elements together—aligning people, capital, and opportunity into a coordinated system that produces real, measurable progress.”
Melton brings more than 20 years of experience at the intersection of real estate development, financial strategy, and community transformation. His work with The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and in the Fairfax neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio demonstrates a consistent ability to unify fragmented systems and deliver results. In Fairfax, he facilitated alignment among residents, city government, businesses, and nonprofit organizations—enabling coordinated action that supported more than $100 million in investment, the creation of 348 new homes, and the renovation of over 650 existing homes. This work emphasized inclusive, community-aligned development that strengthened the neighborhood while preserving its integrity and ensuring that existing residents remained central participants in its growth. Through his leadership at The AssetScaling Corporation, he has continued to structure development initiatives that translate vision into sustainable economic value.
Under prior leadership, ADC has built a strong foundation of impactful initiatives across Avondale. Key projects include the Hale Avenue Townhomes, the first workforce housing development in more than 20 years; the Empowering Black Futures / Fifth Third Neighborhood Program, a $20 million community investment initiative that includes $2.2 million in philanthropic support for Avondale programs; and the Avondale Home Improvement Program, which has assisted more than 100 homeowners with critical exterior repairs. These efforts reflect ADC’s ongoing commitment to stabilizing housing, strengthening infrastructure, and supporting residents across the neighborhood.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Avondale community, we are excited to welcome Brady Melton as our next Executive Director,” said Royce Sutton, Board Chair of ADC. “Brady brings a unique combination of development expertise, financial discipline, and the ability to align diverse stakeholders around a shared purpose. His track record of facilitating collaboration across residents, government, and business partners to achieve meaningful outcomes made him the clear choice to lead ADC into its next chapter. We are confident in his ability to build on our foundation and expand ADC’s impact across Avondale.”
Looking ahead, Melton’s leadership will focus on strengthening ADC’s operational infrastructure, increasing its ability to attract and coordinate resources, and advancing the “GrowAvondale” vision as a shared system for neighborhood growth. This approach is designed to ensure that development in Avondale is not driven by any single group, but shaped through alignment across residents, the City of Cincinnati, and business, faith-based, and nonprofit partners. ADC’s work under this vision will ensure that existing residents are participants in—not observers of—the community’s growth, and that public, private, and nonprofit stakeholders operate as aligned contributors to—not disconnected drivers of—the neighborhood’s future. By integrating community development, business development, and real estate development into a unified strategy, ADC aims to generate sustained economic activity, expand opportunity, and create a model for inclusive, community-centered development.
About Avondale Development Corporation (ADC)
The Avondale Development Corporation (ADC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to creating a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable Avondale community. Guided by the Avondale Quality of Life Plan, ADC focuses on economic development, real estate revitalization, small business growth, and community engagement through partnerships with residents, businesses, and key stakeholders.
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