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Landmarks Association pitches schools summit and redevelopment planning for closed school buildings
Summary
Stuart Keating of the Landmarks Association asked the committee to convene a two-day summit and bus tour to explore adaptive reuse of historic school buildings such as Euclid, arguing early planning can prevent deterioration and enable productive redevelopment.
Stuart Keating, executive director of the Landmarks Association, told the committee that the city's historic school buildings are taxpayer assets that merit early planning for adaptive reuse. Keating proposed a two-day "schools summit" in June that would include a bus tour of successful redevelopment projects, design charrettes and meetings with developers, preservationists and school officials to build partnerships ahead of forthcoming school closures.
Keating argued postponing redevelopment risks building decay and theft of materials, turning a potential $5 million redevelopment into a much larger expense. He said the moment a school closes is the optimal time to pursue adaptive reuse and urged the district and development partners to engage early so preservation and reuse opportunities are not lost.
Committee members expressed support and asked about timeline and participation; Keating said Landmarks could convene stakeholders sooner for focused work on Euclid and similar buildings. The committee did not take a formal vote on the summit proposal during the meeting; members thanked Keating for bringing the idea forward.
