Coventry School Sale To Be Aided By City of Cleveland Heights

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The city of Cleveland Heights will work with the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District to sell the Coventry School Building site. The district announced on May 10 that it planned on selling the facility. All tenants of the building will be moved to a month-to-month lease starting June 1.

“We are excited that the City of Cleveland Heights has stepped forward to lead the efforts in redeveloping the Coventry site,” said CH-UH Superintendent Talisa Dixon in a statement. “With the amount of repairs needed at Coventry, we knew the time was right to sell the property. However, in light of the District’s relationship with the City, we are hesitant to put the site in the hands of the wrong developer. We want to ensure that whatever the site becomes it adds value to the Coventry neighborhood and the Cleveland Heights community."

The Coventry School closed as an academic building in 2006. Community efforts to re-open the school failed in late 2007, after Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Donnelly ruled there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the district's decision to close the building.

The city will help the school district identify a developer for the site. Once a developer is identified, the district will sell the building to the city. The district has said in press releases that the Coventry building, as it stands, is in need of a $1 million in repairs, including a new roof.

"We are looking forward to creating a redevelopment partnership with the District," said Cleveland Heights City Manager Tanisha Briley in a press release. "Cities and school districts across the country and in our own backyard are working together to tackle issues that come along with school closures, and it is clear that outcomes are better when they do so."

Since 2007, the site has been home to a variety of tenants. Currently, there are 11 tenants in the building, including the Ensemble Theatre. The board of directors for Ensemble, and its artistic director, "It is our hope the CH-UH School Board shares our commitment to the community and understands the benefits of having an institution such as Ensemble Theatre present within their district."

The statement continues, "As an anchor tenant in the Coventry building, we look forward to working with the CH-UH School District on a tenable solution that takes into account a realistic timeline to address a “possible” change in venue that will allow us to continue providing artistic and educational opportunities to the Cleveland Heights community and the surrounding region, as we have done for the past four decades."

In a press release, the city said its representatives, along with staff from the school district, will begin meeting with tenants to discuss possible relocation sites.

“It’s obvious that the Coventry site and the building are in need of significant repairs in order for it to continue operating,” said Dixon at the time of the original announcement. “We do not want to invest more money into a site that does not directly impact our students.”

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