Cleveland Heights council hears Severance redevelopment update, Coventry Peace tenants' relocation; passes resolutions on food aid, lead abatement and other事项

Cleveland Heights City Council on April 21 received updates on the Severance Town Center redevelopment and the aftermath of the Coventry Peace Campus closure, heard student and arts updates from Heights High and Heights Arts, and approved a package of emergency resolutions that included opposing reductions to food assistance and authorizing a Lead Safe Ohio abatement contract.

The council heard a detailed redevelopment briefing from Ryan Porter of Impact, who said a recommended action plan completed in December–January and a recent residential market study underpin the project’s next steps. "The new revitalized Severance Town Center is not gonna happen overnight," Porter said, adding that initial work will focus on the east side of the site (the former Walmart and Regal theater area), infrastructure challenges such as aging sewer collection pipes, and a phased approach that pairs short-term surface parking with later structured parking.

Porter described an on‑line, crowd‑sourced engagement tool at severanceclevelandheights.com and said the project team plans to finish a zoning code and an expedited permitting framework by the end of the year. He also said the team discovered sewer and grading constraints that will require mitigation as buildings are planned and that the site will be developed in multiple phases to balance feasibility and financing.

Brady Dindia, speaking for Coventry Peace, summarized where the nonprofits that had shared space in the former Coventry Elementary building have landed. "As of Jan. 31, 11 of the 12 tenants had left the building," Dindia said. He listed local relocations (Lake Erie Inc. and the Cleveland Heights Teachers Union moved to the Cedar‑Taylor and Cedar‑Fairmount areas, respectively), organizations that went remote or relocated farther away (Future Heights, Grace Communion, Dance Cleveland), and one tenant that retains a lease through December 2025 (Do Good Day Hub). Dindia said Artful is in negotiations to purchase the former St. Albans church on Euclid Heights Boulevard; if that closes, Artful and Coventry Peace would aim to reconvene a local arts hub there.

“Peace Pops is coming…