In a last ditch effort before the district begins demolition, Cleveland has put out a call to developers for proposals to reuse four schools on the East Side: Audubon, Mount Auburn, Central and Empire.
The schools have all been vacant for over a decade; three of the four closed during the district’s last major school reorganization in the early 2010s. As early as October, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, which currently owns the properties, is set to demolish up to eight former school buildings across the city.
The call for proposals is likely to be one of many released this summer as CMSD carries out a major school consolidation effort that will shutter 18 additional buildings when school ends at the end of the month.
The four school buildings being offered now are all designated local historic landmarks, and the city is looking for proposals that will keep the existing structure of the building while reusing it in a way that benefits the surrounding neighborhood. Developers and other interested organizations have until June 10 to submit their projects, and a development team is expected to be selected by July 22. The proposals can cover just one school site or multiple sites.
If a proposal is accepted, the city council and the school board would vote to transfer the property to the City of Cleveland, which would then sell it to the developer, though the details and timeline for what comes after selection are still being hashed out.
Redeveloping school buildings can be difficult because interested organizations or individuals often have trouble getting the funding needed for costly renovations, especially in neighborhoods that have historically seen disinvestment.
Each of the four properties has been previously offered to developers. In each case, developers either weren’t interested in the buildings or a purchase fell through due to financing issues sometimes tied to changes in state law that no longer allow multiple types of tax credits to be used at the same time for housing projects.
“We’re essentially trying to save them from demolition,” Jorge Ramos Pantoja, a spokesperson for the city, told Signal Cleveland.
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In this case, the city is using a “request for qualifications” process. That means it doesn’t have a specific project like affordable housing or a community center in mind for the four schools.
Instead it is asking would-be developers to propose a project that fits into a broader development goals in each neighborhood.
There are some non-negotiable requirements for any proposal, including preserving the existing building and completing a community engagement process for the site. That process should include a meeting with the community development corporation in the neighborhood, in this case that’s either NuPoint, Burten, Bell, Carr or Famicos Foundation, and holding two additional community engagement events.
The city also wants to see these properties contribute to the neighborhoods they’re in whether that’s by adding affordable housing, bringing jobs to the community or acting as a community gathering space. Ward 5 Council Member Richard Starr, who attended Central Middle School and feels strongly about trying to save the historic building, told Signal Cleveland he’s been actively reaching out to potential partner organizations and neighbors to begin getting input.
“It’s about making sure that we have partners who understand that successful development in Ward 5 is not just about getting a job complete,” he said. “It’s all about improving the neighborhood by delivering high quality sustainable development, but respecting the historical importance of the site, creating jobs, housing and economic opportunities for Cleveland residents.”
