Brickhaus-Partners-Lake-Avenue

Developer Andrew Brickman, working with Dimit Architects, proposed 11 townhouses that would incorporate pieces of the deconstructed Fifth Church in their facades. The church's entry arch would anchor a small park at the southeast corner of Lake Avenue and West 117th Street. (Dimit Architects LLC)

(Dimit Architects LLC)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A well-known church on Cleveland's West Side will be dismantled and replaced by townhouses and a small park, if all the pieces fall into place for a block-wide redevelopment at the city's western edge.

After soliciting and evaluating proposals, the city of Cleveland recently picked Brickhaus Partners, a local developer, to build 11 townhouses along Lake Avenue in the Edgewater neighborhood. To create the residential site, the city must demolish the octagonal Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, at Lake and West 117th Street, and swap land with an adjacent property owner who hopes to build a grocery store and other retail to the south.

A cause celebre for neighborhood activists, the vacant church has been holding up that retail project, at the Cleveland-Lakewood border. Now Cleveland is moving ahead with what officials describe as a comprehensive makeover of the block, ending decades of debate over the church's future.

The long-empty Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, at Lake Avenue and West 117th Street in Cleveland, is likely to be demolished as a block-wide redevelopment plan moves forward. The city, which owns the church, recently picked a townhouse developer to remake the site and neighboring property on Lake. Carnegie Cos., which controls the surrounding land, razed a deteriorating retail strip on Clifton Boulevard last year and plans to build new shopping there.

"We've been here before," said Chris Warren, the city's former regional development chief and current consultant on the church site. "It's 15, going on 20 years, and we now have a proposal in front of us that can eradicate what is even an equal, if not greater, injury to Cleveland [than the church]. Which is a whole block, as you come into our city ... that is an embarrassment.

"We have a great opportunity to change that," he added, "and to do that in a way that is respectful to the history and the architecture of a building that was abandoned - not by us, but by the private entity, the church."

Fifth Church's congregation left the building in the 1980s. Cleveland took possession of the building in the early 2000s, to protect it from the wrecking ball.

Since then, developers have talked about remaking the domed structure as a bookstore, residences or, most recently, a rock-climbing gym. But those plans ran up against the whims of large retailers, the recession and the damage wrought by nature and neglect. Turning the church into condos or apartments became increasingly expensive and impractical. And some neighbors fiercely fought the idea of allowing commercial uses to creep north from Clifton Boulevard to Lake.

Making a decision on the church became more urgent last year, after the Carnegie Cos. demolished a dingy retail strip along Clifton, on the southern half of the block. In November, Carnegie released plans that showed a 30,000-square-foot Giant Eagle Market District Express store and other retailers lining Clifton, with parking tucked behind them. Those plans called for a land-swap with the city, which would give Carnegie part of the land beneath Fifth Church for a parking lot.

In exchange, the city would acquire land from Carnegie on Lake, creating a linear site for townhouses. The city also expects to receive some cash from Carnegie and to sell the developer additional property east of West 116th Street for parking.

On Monday afternoon, Warren confirmed that a selection committee chose the Brickhaus plan, after vetting two townhouse proposals. Cabinet members and Mayor Frank Jackson concurred.

A site plan from Brickhaus Partners, led by developer Andrew Brickman, shows townhouses and green space in place of Fifth Church and empty land along Lake Avenue.

Working with Dimit Architects and Richard L. Bowen & Associates, developer Andrew Brickman proposed a cluster of homes clad in stone, with balconies made from the church's ornamental railings. Other pieces of the building would become benches or landscaping features. And the church's main entry arch would continue to stand at Lake and West 117th, as the anchor for a small park.

"A lot of people were very attached to this building," Brickman said. "It was a religious gathering place. So I think that by re-purposing it and keeping all the most significant elements, it will just be like a metamorphosis."

His townhouses would range from 2,100 to 2,500 square feet and be priced between $480,000 and $550,000, according to a proposal submitted to the city.

A pitch from the Orlean Co., another local developer, was the runner-up.

"They made their decision," Ken Lurie, an Orlean principal, said of the city. "I wish Andrew well."

The city disqualified a third concept, from a Tremont couple that hoped to preserve Fifth Church as a rock-climbing gym and wellness center. That plan did not meet the requirements of the city's request for proposals, which focused on residential uses. Warren and City Councilman Matt Zone said most nearby residents want to see housing along Lake, even though the rock-climbing idea generated headlines and attracted nearly 700 supporters to an online petition.

A site plan unveiled in November shows the proposed redevelopment plan for a key city block at the Cleveland-Lakewood border. The Brickhaus townhouse project would occupy land along Lake Avenue. Carnegie Cos., a local developer, hopes to build a Giant Eagle Market District Express store and other retail along Clifton Boulevard. Carnegie has not responded to recent inquires about any modifications to its plans.

"We sort of saw that response coming," Niki Zmij, part of the rock-climbing team, said Tuesday. "We just want what's best for the neighborhood. We are glad that we were part of the process, because we feel like it was the right thing to stand up for the church. ... Ultimately, it was a complicated situation, and we totally understand that."

She and developer Chick Holtkamp are looking at other potential locations, including more empty churches, for their rock-climbing facility.

Jeon Francis, an activist who championed the rock-climbing proposal, expressed disappointment in an email Tuesday.

"Wiping away such history in a neighborhood is like destroying photographs of our ancestors," he wrote. "It is destructive to our consciousness and especially to those moving into the positions of the stewardship of our neighborhood after us."

Zone expects to ask the Cleveland Landmarks Commission to approve the church demolition request and conceptual plans for the block on May 22. The church is a city landmark, a designation that gives it some protections, and the southern half of the site sits in a city landmark district.

A Carnegie executive did not respond to a request for comment about the company's plans or the townhouse proposal.

The city anticipates that Carnegie and Brickhaus will start construction on their projects in August. Between now and then, Cleveland City Council will review legislation related to the land swap with Carnegie, the land sale to Brickhaus and a rezoning of the Lake Avenue property to a residential classification that permits townhouses. Warren said none of those ordinances will be introduced until the city works through final details - including land costs - with Carnegie.

Cleveland is setting aside $250,000 for demolition and salvage at Fifth Church. The city hopes to recoup that money through the land deals.