Engagement Sessions, Survey Responses, & Additional Community Feedback Were Paramount in Determining Selections for the 9 Sites

Friday, September 25, 2026 — Cleveland — The City of Cleveland announced selected partners to lead potential redevelopment or reuse projects at 9 Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) sites.  This follows an intentional, community-led process to ensure that future plans involving these sites would meet the needs of residents.  That process began earlier this year with 8 community engagement sessions and an online survey to collect residents’ ideas about what would best serve their neighborhoods.

“This milestone marks the start of our next phase where the City will engage in the established transaction process with CMSD, and teams will work with residents to develop projects that meaningfully contribute to their neighborhoods,” said Matt Moss, Deputy Director of Land Strategy & Asset Redevelopment for the City of Cleveland.  “It was important to us to lead with what the community wanted to see happen on these sites, so we integrated their feedback to shape the entire process. Centering community needs and desires while creating neighborhood-based investment opportunities that benefit every resident is what the Cleveland ERA is all about.”

Feedback from the community sessions and responses to the survey were aggregated and used to develop Engagement Reports.  These reports – which outlined residents’ desired uses and concerns for each site – were then compiled and included in a Request for Qualifications (RFQ).  The City launched the RFQ in late May and invited organizations, developers, and other interested parties to submit their qualifications, experience, and project visions for consideration.  The City hosted an informational webinar where interested parties could ask questions and learn more about the RFQ.  The City also offered interested parties the opportunity to tour each site during the RFQ process so the teams could see these sites in-person and be better equipped to submit high-quality responses.  Interested parties were also invited to a matchmaking session where new and emerging teams could meet with more experienced teams and explore possible collaborations as another way to strengthen the pool of potential responses.

The submission window closed in late July.  Submissions were highly competitive.  All responses were thoroughly evaluated based on how their prospective visions aligned with residents’ feedback, overall benefit to the community, the project team’s relevant experience, and other criteria outlined in the RFQ.  Several teams were then scheduled for interviews, which concluded earlier this month.  Of those who interviewed, 8 teams have been selected as project partners for 9 sites in multiple wards across the City.  Teams that were chosen have a strong track record, significant experience, and presented visions that were well-aligned with best uses identified by the community.  These resident-focused visions included senior affordable housing, social services, retail/community event space, and other projects.

"Many of these sites reside at the center of our neighborhoods, which is why outreach and engagement are at the core of every step in this process," said Ward 7 Cleveland City Councilmember Austin N. Davis. "With the project teams in place, we can start the hard work of reinvigorating these pillars of our community to bring more opportunities for stability and growth to every block."

The City is planning to move forward with project partners at the following sites, to be facilitated via mutually beneficial land exchanges between the City and CMSD:

• Former Michael R. White site (1000 E 92nd St., 6.6 acres) – ThirdSpace Action Lab
• Collinwood (15210 St. Clair St., 5.4 acres) – Winn Development + First Interstate
• Charles A. Mooney (3213 Montclair Ave., 4.6 acres) – MCM Company
• Former Kenneth W. Clement Boys’ Leadership Academy site (14311 Woodworth Ave., 3.4 acres) – The Finch Group
• Mary Church Terrell (3595 Bosworth Rd., 3 acres) – MCM Company
• Tremont Montessori (2409 W 10th St., 2.8 acres) – Sustainable Community Associates (SCA)
• Dike School of the Arts (2501 E 61st St., 1.9 acres) – Cleveland Metropolitan Housing Authority

The City is recommending project partners at the following sites, to be facilitated via a sale-leaseback between CMSD and the project partners:

• Bolton (9803 Quebec Ave., 2.3 acres) – Canopy Child Advocacy Center
• Hannah Gibbons-Nottingham (1401 Larchmont Rd., 3.2 acres) – Rehoboth Cares

The next step in the process will be the negotiation of the exchange of land between the City and CMSD.  Community feedback and participation will continue to be an integral part of the process moving forward.