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Committee clears land-swap with Cleveland schools to enable new JFK stadium and shared-use agreement
Summary
The committee approved an emergency ordinance authorizing a land exchange with the Cleveland Municipal School District that transfers the former JFK High School parcel to the city and transfers multiple land-bank parcels to the district, and authorizes up to $2.1 million in city bond funds toward construction of a shared stadium.
The Development, Planning & Sustainability Committee approved an emergency ordinance authorizing property exchanges between the City of Cleveland and the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) to facilitate redevelopment and a new shared athletic stadium adjacent to the new JFK High School and the city-owned Frederick Douglass Recreation Center.
Under the agreement the city will convey several small land-bank parcels to CMSD to support facilities at FDR Academy and Newcomers Academy, and the school district will convey the roughly 14-acre former JFK High School parcel at 17100 Harvard Avenue to the city for redevelopment. CMSD demolished the former school building and plans to build a new JFK High School on a separate campus adjacent to the city rec center.
CMSD representatives described a shared-use stadium project to be constructed by the district next to the new school. The district expects construction costs of approximately $4.1 million for an initial build; the board will be asked to approve an additional phase 2 package of improvements worth about $1.5 million (home and away bleachers, ticket booth, turf and track upgrades, fencing and storage), which would bring the total projected stadium cost to about $5.5 million. The city will contribute $2.1 million from bond funding toward construction. Director-level staff from CMSD attended the committee and described the site plan and shared-use arrangements.
Committee discussion addressed who will operate and schedule the stadium. Officials said CMSD would operate daily school programming and that the city’s Division of Recreation would schedule community or other non‑school uses for open hours. Council members asked whether neighborhood leagues and other non-CMSD youth programs would have access; both city and school representatives said the planned shared-use agreement would allow non-school programming subject to scheduling.
Several council members also put the project in the broader fiscal context for the city and for the district. One member noted CMSD’s operating shortfall and emphasized that the stadium funding is distinct: CMSD and the city will use bond proceeds for capital projects, not operating expenses. The committee recorded the ordinance as approved; an amendment replaced references to “JFK” with “Frederick Douglass” in certain title lines per a procedural change during the hearing.
What happens next: the land transfers clear the way for redevelopment planning of the former JFK parcel and for execution of a shared-use agreement between the city and CMSD. CMSD will seek board approval for the stadium phase 2 funding. City staff said they will proceed with an RFQ/RFP process for redevelopment of the former school parcel.
