Heights Libraries Purchase Noble Neighborhood Church

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The Heights Libraries are purchasing the Noble Road Presbyterian Church building and its surrounding 1.3 acres.

The $315,000 property purchase was approved during Monday's church board meeting. The Heights Libraries will use the newly-acquired property to expand the Noble branch building and broaden its services to the community.

“We have noticed over the past 10 years that the building feels more crowded than ever and the needs of the community have changed and grown,” said Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin. “And this perception of ours is backed up by a recent community survey about the building.”

In January and February, the Heights Libraries conducted a community survey on what changes residents wanted at the Noble branch. Nearly 500 responses were collected and 72 percent of respondents said the building needed more room.

Library officials said they have already budgeted funds for the work. No new taxes or bonds will be needed for the branch renovation.

Library officials will hold Zoom meetings with the public to present the survey results, gather resident concerns and get suggestions for the Noble branch. A preliminary meeting was held March 8 and another meeting is scheduled for April 7 at 7 p.m. Registration for the event can be done via the Heights Libraries website.

Once the April 7 meeting is complete, crews will conduct a visioning and pre-architectural study. That phase of the project should take a "few months," library officials said.

The community will have a chance to offer feedback on possible renovation plans, both online and via a display at the Noble branch. That feedback will likely be collected in the summer or early fall.

“We want to make sure the community has a voice in the planning process at every phase," Levin said. “We continue to be dedicated to serving the Noble community and look forward to providing the best library possible.”

The church is next to the Noble library branch at 2780 Kirkwood Road in Cleveland Heights. The Heights Libraries Board of Trustees approved the purchase on March 15.

“We are very excited that our beloved building will continue to be a space for the community to learn, live, and grow together,” said Meredith White, pastor of Noble Road Presbyterian Church. “We have partnered with our neighbors, both the school and the library, throughout the years and believe the sale of our property marks a new phase in that relationship. We will continue to be a congregation and are exploring what it means for us to be a church in the world without a building. We are honored to have been a part of the Noble Neighborhood and we look forward to seeing what the future has in store for all of us.”