Sacred Landmarks
Adaptive Use / Case Studies
After decades of outmigration from Cleveland, Akron, and Lorain, the demographic changes in inner-ring suburbs, and declining church attendance, the congregations that built some of the beautiful sacred landmarks in our region are not able to maintain them and they may eventually close.
The "Vital Parish Life Initiative" of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese will result in approximately fifty churches closing or merging in the Diocese. As a response to this initiative, The Cleveland Restoration Society has initiated meetings between the Cleveland Catholic Diocese and the Cleveland Landmarks Commission, Cleveland Neighborhood Development Coalition and their member Community Development Corporations, and Neighborhood Progress, Incorporated, an important funder of neighborhood-based projects in Cleveland.
Our mission is to help preserve landmarks, and this work takes many forms. We have formed a Sacred Landmarks Task Force to work on the issue of finding appropriate uses for closed churches in our region. We will continue to work in partnership with the Catholic Diocese to address the future of their closed churches. We call upon the entire Cleveland community to participate in this continued and adaptive-use effort so that we build a better tomorrow together.
We have collated resources on these pages to help encourage the adaptive use of sacred landmark properties.
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Case StudiesHere are examples of sacred landmarks that have been given new life. |
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Economic IncentivesDepending oupon the proposed rehabilitaiton plan, a building may be eligible for economic incentives. |
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Available PropertiesClick here to find religious properties currently available for re-use. |
FeedbackDiscussion about sacred landmarks in transition. |
