A major redevelopment of the former Park Synagogue site was approved this week by Cleveland Heights City Council after a shakeup at the top of City Hall’s leadership. With the approval, the first phases of redevelopment of the 75-year-old synagogue can begin (SCA-Ardon Bar-Hama). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Big project emerges from City Hall shakeup
The City of Cleveland Heights has reached an agreement with a local, experienced real estate developer to help finance the redevelopment of the former Park Synagogue and its green space as an arts campus and residential village.
The $60 million first phases of its redevelopment envisions new, multi-family housing units and a new, onsite Bachelor’s of Arts/Fine Arts degree program offered by Oberlin College. The 28-acre site is located at 3300 Mayfield Rd. At full buildout among all phases, investment in the site could reach $144 million.
The deal came despite, or because of a leadership change at city hall. Voters on Sept. 9 recalled Mayor Kahlil Seren. On Sept. 30, the day before Seren was due to leave office, he fired longtime city Law Director Bill Hanna. Seren was replaced by Interim Mayor Tony Cuda. Hanna was reinstated in an emergency City Council meeting the next day.
“I really have Bill (Hanna) to thank and our legal counsel, Jason Dodson, in helping reach an agreement,” Cuda said in a written statement. “There may have been a transition of leadership at City Hall in the middle of the negotiations, but we never took our eye off the ball.”
To secure the redevelopment, the city will provide a $1.75 million incentive package consisting of a $750,000 grant, a $750,000 loan, and a $250,000 permit fee waiver with Cleveland-based developer Sustainable Community Associates (SCA).
A basic development plan for the 28-acre Park Synagogue site shows were new uses of the property will occur and what they will be. The city plan was approved by the city in July. Mayfield Road is to the left or north on this image (SCA-studio BCC).
At its regularly scheduled meeting Monday, City Council agreed to help finance the Park Synagogue redevelopment for which SCA has assembled a multi-layered capital stack, including $10 million in Ohio historic tax credits.
“I’m thankful to City Council and city staff for guiding this project through to this point,” Cuda added. “We’re all excited for SCA to move forward with the redevelopment of Park Synagogue and surrounding campus into a multi-generational arts and residential campus. The city’s support ensures that everyone will be able to enjoy it thanks to the development of walking and biking trails and public access.”
The city’s financial support marks a significant milestone in the project whose first phase will include redeveloping the National Landmark synagogue designed by renowned German Jewish architect, Erich Mendelsohn. The project is being developed in concert with the Cleveland-based nonprofit Friends of Mendelsohn.
Mendelsohn, who fled the Nazis and worked in Britain and the United States, was considered the main proponent of Expressionism. Park Synagogue was one of four synagogues he designed in the U.S.
“The redevelopment of Park Synagogue, as proposed by Sustainable Community Associates, is consistent with the mission and values of FutureHeights and is clearly a major win for the city of Cleveland Heights,” the FutureHeights advocacy organization announced last month.
This graphic shows the former Park Synagogue site and what structures and features currently exist on it (City of Cleveland Heights).
Park Synagogue relocated to 27500 Shaker Blvd. in Pepper Pike in 2006. Its first location was at 1117 E. 105th St. in Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, a 1920-built structure that was recently renovated and has been home to Cory United Methodist Church since 1946.
In Cleveland Heights, the Park Synagogue’s giant, bronze-clad dome emerges into a mature tree canopy on acres of wooded grounds between Euclid Heights Boulevard and Mayfield Road. The 75,000-square-foot building, built from 1950-53, will become a center for visual and performance arts, community events, and education.
The Charlotte Goldberg Community Mikvah, a ritual bath designed for the Jewish rite of purification, will remain. But Kangesser Hall, a 1969-built, 2,000-seat auditorium for religious services, concerts and lectures, will likely be demolished for residential development. An enclosed pedestrian bridge over a creek that links Kangesser Hall to the synagogue will be preserved.
The city’s financial package for the Park Arts project was developed in consultation between staff in Cleveland Heights’ economic development, law and planning departments, SCA, and City Council.
The old Park Synagogue is considered a significant example of 20th-century religious architecture. Its hemispheric dome was the third-largest in the U.S. at the time of its construction in the early 1950s (City of Cleveland Heights).
“We relied on (the) Planning (Department) to get us to this point and legal (staff) to help negotiate it,” said council President Gail Larson. “I want to thank my [council] colleagues for asking questions, seeking information and for protecting the city’s interests, including balancing our financial commitments to this and other projects of importance that the city is looking forward to seeing come to fruition.”
Part of the terms of the city’s financial support is for SCA to the develop a series of walking/biking trails and improve infrastructure such as lighting and public access to the property.
Both the building and the grounds on the southern portion of the site must meet the design standards set forth by the National Park Service which oversees the building’s National Landmark status.
Larson and Cuda thanked the City’s Planning Department for taking the lead on the pre-development of Phase 1 of the project. From May to September, the Planning Department worked with SCA to guide it through reviews by the City’s Landmarks Commission, with its development plan, rezoning and Architectural Board of Review.
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