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The long-empty Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, at Lake Avenue and West 117th Street in Cleveland, will be demolished as a block-wide redevelopment plan moves forward. The city, which owns the church, recently picked developer Brickhaus Partners to build townhouses on the northern edge of the block. Carnegie Cos., which controls the surrounding land, razed a deteriorating retail strip on Clifton Boulevard last year and plans to build new shopping just south of the church site.

(John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, a stone-clad sentinel that has watched over the Cleveland-Lakewood border since the 1920s, will be demolished to make way for a block-wide project involving a grocery store and high-end townhouses.

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the Cleveland Landmarks Commission approved the city's request to dismantle and demolish the octagonal church. The vote kicked off a public process that will require land sales, a rezoning and other legislation during the next few months.

City officials said demolition and construction on the site, between Clifton Boulevard and Lake Avenue and West 116th and West 117th streets, might start as soon as August. A representative from Giant Eagle, the retailer that will anchor the project, wouldn't put a firm timeline on the grocery store opening.

As Cleveland prepares to bid farewell to another historic church, residents of the city's Edgewater neighborhood are accepting the loss of a landmark building that they've watched, argued over and fought for during the past 20 years. Many residents and business owners in the area have signed onto the retail and residential redevelopment plan, which hinges on a complicated dance between two developers and the city, which owns the church.

Councilman Matt Zone generated laughs by comparing the project to baklava - with many layers and much complexity. Grappling with each tiny piece or competing element has been difficult. But, he said, "at the end of the day, once you approve it, that baklava is going to taste so sweet."

Giant Eagle plans to open a Market District Express store - the first of its kind in Ohio - at Clifton Boulevard and West 116th Street. The 31,000-square-foot store is part of a broader retail plan that was unlikely to move forward without demolition of the Fifth Church of Christ Scientist, to the north.

Members of the Landmarks Commission, which has some control over historic buildings and districts in the city, acknowledged Thursday that the unusual church seems too far gone to save.

Built in 1926, Fifth Church has been empty since the late 1980s, when its congregation left for the suburbs. The city took possession of the threatened building more than 10 years ago and has searched for someone to redevelop it, with little success.

Don Petit, a city staff member who works with the commission, said the church's sanctuary is such a mess that "it feels like a bomb went off."

Commission member Allan Dreyer described the dilapidated church as an example of demolition by neglect. "It's just hard for us to hold other property owners to a standard that the city has not exhibited," he said.

Dreyer added, though, that he couldn't think of another case when the city received such a detailed proposal about what would replace a historic building. The Carnegie Cos., which owns most of the surrounding land, expects to develop a Giant Eagle Market District Express store and a second, smaller retail building on Clifton. The two-story, 31,000-square-foot Giant Eagle would be the first of its kind in Ohio. Carnegie has lined up three other tenants, including a bank, for the second building.

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)

The Carnegie project would occupy everything but the northern edge of the site. On the remaining property, residential developer Brickhaus Partners aims to build 11 townhouses. Brickhaus is working with Dimit Architects on plans for the homes, which would incorporate stone and decorative features from Fifth Church into their facades. Renderings show that the church's main entry arch would become the freestanding centerpiece of a small park at Lake and West 117th.

Michael Fleenor of the Cleveland Restoration Society said the group mourns the loss of Fifth Church, which he described as one of the most iconic buildings on Cleveland's West Side. The preservation organization nonetheless lauded the townhouse plan, particularly the idea of saving the arch.

Based on a request from the restoration society, the Landmarks Commission asked developer Andrew Brickman of Brickhaus to incorporate an Ohio Historical Marker into the site. Historical societies, civic groups or local governments typically apply for and pay for the markers, which are produced by a company in Marietta. A marker for Fifth Church might include text and an image of the building.

The demolition request was met with little resistance from the crowd at the commission meeting. Neighbors packed the room at Cleveland City Hall, but few spoke. Jeon Francis of Neighbors in Action, a grassroots group that fought for preservation of the church, reiterated that he didn't sanction the demolition - even with the city's emphasis on deconstruction and salvage.

But Neighbors in Action chose not to protest the townhouse plan.

The Landmarks Commission also gave its conceptual approval to Carnegie's retail plan and the townhouse development. Both projects will have to reappear before the public body for additional review.