developers

Developers Jake Hawley, Sean Fairbairn and Tom Leneghan, left to right, talk to the Lakewood Planning Commission Thursday night about their plans to convert a church into a brewery and restaurant.

(Bruce Geiselman, NEOMG)

Developers want to convert the former St. Gregory the Theologian Byzantine Catholic Church in Lakewood's Birdtown neighborhood into a brewery and pizza restaurant.

LAKEWOOD, Ohio – Residents voiced mixed opinions Thursday night about developers' plans to turn a Birdtown-neighborhood church into a brewery and restaurant.

However, at the end of the evening, city Planning and Development Director Dru Siley said he believed concerns could be addressed and the city eventually could support the project.

The developers need city approval to operate a business in the residential neighborhood.

Developers Tom Leneghan, Sean Fairbairn and Jake Hawley, who are involved in running the Barrio restaurants in Lakewood and Cleveland's Tremont area, presented their proposal to the city's Planning Commission for opening the Lakewood Brew Works and Restaurant. The three plan to purchase the closed St. Gregory the Theologian Byzantine Catholic Church, built in 1925, and convert it into a small brewery and pizza restaurant. The church has been vacant since 2012.

Leneghan said they would spend about $2 million purchasing the property and renovating it. They also would renovate a parish home next door in which one of the owners would live.

The developers said they would respect the existing church architecture, incorporating stained glass windows and ceiling paintings by local artists into their plans for the brewery.

Leneghan has experience renovating historic buildings, including the Treehouse Restaurant in Tremont.

More than 15 members of the public, mostly Lakewood residents, also addressed the planning commission. Some supported the project, saying they would be glad to see the church renovated rather than sit vacant and fall into disrepair. However, others raised concerns about increased traffic in the residential neighborhood and customers of the brewery using scarce on-street parking on which residents rely.

St. Gregory's is at the intersection of Quail and Thrush streets. Its neighbors include North Coast Baptist Church, Harrison Elementary School and residential houses.

The brewery would be open Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. The hours are designed to have a limited impact on neighbors, including the school, the developers said.

However, some residents expressed multiple concerns, including whether a parking lot would be outfitted with lights that would shine on neighbors' houses, whether there would be loud music, and the issue of protecting on-street parking for residents.

The Rev. John Lutz, of the neighboring Baptist church, expressed concern about whether serving alcohol in the neighborhood would result in an increase in crime.

"Anytime alcohol is involved, crime goes up," he said.

He also disagreed with the idea of turning a former church into a brewery. He said the proposal would be better suited for a commercial area on Madison Avenue.

"This is not a wise proposal," Lutz said. "I think there are much better locations than across from a school and across from a church."

Other residents expressed concern about the safety of children with additional traffic in the area.

Mark Snyder, a Dowd Avenue resident and real estate broker, voiced support for the project.

"I am familiar with what vacancies can do to a neighborhood," he said. "It can be detrimental."

Refurbishing the vacant church, which has been broken into and vandalized, should improve property values, Snyder said,

"I think this would be a great asset to our community," he said.

The developers said they were not surprised by the mixed reaction, but that they plan to work with neighbors to address their concerns. The brewery and restaurant plans to use valet parking to increase the number of cars their lot could accommodate from 22 to 44, they said. In addition, they are working with the city to find off-street parking at nearby churches or commercial businesses that customers could use in the evenings. They also said they would install directional lighting at the parking lot that would not bother neighbors and avoid loud nighttime entertainment.

Siley said the city was happy with the track record of the developers and their apparent willingness to address residents' concerns.

"They are working in earnest to address those issues," Siley said. "If they continue in that manner, I think they'll have a project the commission can approve."

The Planning Commission plans to resume discussions about the brewery proposal at its June 5 meeting at 7 p.m. at City Hall.