Ensemble Theatre Comments On Lease Change

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The Cleveland Heights-University Heights School announced last week it is looking into the sale of the Coventry School building. The district notified tenants of the building that they are moving to a month-to-month lease starting on July 1, 2017. Now, one of the building's tenants, the Ensemble Theatre, is reacting.

The Coventry School ceased operating as an elementary school in 2006. Various tenants, including Ensemble, now have residence in the building.

But upkeep has been a problem for the building and a cost to the district. The school system says the roof of the building is in need of more than $1 million in repairs, including a wholly new roof.

In a statement issued on May 17, the Ensemble Theatre's Board said:

"On the afternoon of May 9th Ensemble Theatre was notified by the Cleveland Heights-University Heights School District that all building leases would be moved to a month-to-month term beginning July 1st and the District would begin to pursue selling the building.

Ensemble’s priority at this time is to continue to serve the community through our mission of theatrical presentations, educational programming, and by providing a safe and positive community gathering place. 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.

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."

“It’s obvious that the Coventry site and the building are in need of significant repairs in order for it to continue operating,” said CH-UH Superintendent Talisa Dixon in a statement. “We do not want to invest more money into a site that does not directly impact our students."

“With that said, we wanted to be proactive with our tenants, many of which are valued District partners, and give them advance notice of our intentions," Dixon said. "At the end of the day, we will ensure that the site transitions into uses that are beneficial to the surrounding neighborhood and the Cleveland Heights community.”

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