(Cleveland, OH) - On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, the Cuyahoga Land Bank will begin demolition of the former St. Peter Chanel Catholic High School building in Bedford to make way for future use by the current owner, the Bedford City School District.
St. Peter Chanel, located at 480 Northfield Road, was built in 1956 by the Society of Mary (Marists) in response to overcrowding in other diocesan high schools and opened in September 1957. The school was designed by George W. Stickle and Associates of Cleveland. The school is a steel structure with an ashlar limestone brick pattern. The school closed at the end of the 2012-2013 school year due to declining enrollment and budgetary concerns and was purchased in June of 2018 by the Bedford City School District.
Demolition of the massive 166,000 sq. ft. building is the most extensive demolition project to date for the Cuyahoga Land Bank. The Cuyahoga Land Bank is undertaking the project on behalf of the City of Bedford, which is devoting $300,000 of its allocation from the Cuyahoga County Property Demolition Program to help fund the $1.7 million project.The City will reimburse the Land Bank for the balance and, in turn, the School District will reimburse the City.
“The property will be financed over a number of years using the District’s Permanent Improvement Fund as collateral, not our General Operating Fund,” said Bedford City School District Superintendent Andrea Celico. “The purchase of the Chanel property was of strategic interest to the Board of Education as the district continued to work toward a Master Facilities Plan for the future. The concept of utilizing the property for a future building site was first introduced by our Strategic Planning Team in 2017. They recognized the potential for a campus-like setting as it is in such close proximity to Bedford High School.”
The Cuyahoga Land Bank’s Community Stabilization team spent months prior to demolition developing detailed specs, administering bid processes, and overseeing interior and exterior inspections and hazardous materials evaluations before managing an extensive cleanout of the facility that included asbestos abatement.
“While we have demolished taller buildings, in terms of square footage, this will be our largest demolition project to date” says Kim Kimlin, Chief Operating Officer of the Cuyahoga Land Bank.
Baumann Enterprises, Inc. of Garfield Heights will execute the demolition in strategic phases over several days.“Our contractor will begin demolition at the rear of the building and work its way to the front,” says Kimlin. Completion of the demolition also includes hauling away the debris with the entire process expected to take up to five weeks.
“St. Peter Chanel has been a staple not only in the City of Bedford, but to Northeast Ohio for decades,” says Bedford City Manager Mike Mallis. “The City of Bedford is forever grateful for Chanel’s proud history, the dedicated Alumni Association and of all those who shared in the Chanel experience and call themselves Firebirds. As an alum of St. Peter Chanel, it was important that the demolition be handled with respect and reverence. The City of Bedford is excited to partner on this project and bring this important piece of property closer to its next use.”
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