District announces new prospective tenant for Millikin

A historic photo of Millikin Elementary School. Photo courtesy Cleveland Heights Alumni Foundation.

In a Jan. 10 news release, the CH-UH City School District identified the Heights Youth Theatre (HYT) as a potential tenant for its former Millikin School building. It also announced plans to explore installing a playground on the property, for neighborhood use, and moving some district staff to the building.

The release suggests that efforts to come to a lease or sale agreement with Mosdos Ohr Hatorah, a private school in Cleveland Heights, may be at an end: “After years of trying to reach a mutually beneficial agreement with . . . Mosdos Ohr Hatorah for the use of the former Millikin School facility proved ultimately unsuccessful, the CH-UH school district plans on moving forward with other plans that will bring activity and use back to Millikin.”

In August 2012, the board of education voted to authorize a nonbinding proposal for leasing the Millikin building to Mosdos. Proposed terms were for an initial 30-year lease at $1 per year, then two consecutive 10-year lease options, at “fair market rent.” The proposal stipulated that Mosdos would make at least $1.5 million in permanent improvements to the school within the first 18 months. Mosdos would be responsible for all taxes, maintenance, insurance and utilities.

In an Oct. 1, 2013 statement, Ron Register, CH-UH board president, said that Mosdos notified the district in March 2013 that construction estimates—$3.4 million—were greater than the private school had anticipated. Mosdos then offered to purchase the property for $215,000. [Separate 2012 appraisals commissioned by the district and Mosdos estimated the value of the property at $770,000 and $600,000, respectively.]

Register said in October that the board had agreed “to negotiate with Mosdos to sell the property with the expectation of receiving a fair market value and has set a timeline of Oct. 15.” Angee Shaker, director of communications for the district, confirmed on Jan. 14 that the board discussed Millikin at its Oct. 15 executive session meeting, and said, “Unfortunately, the district and Mosdos weren’t able to come to an agreement. Negotiations with Mosdos have concluded at this time.”

“We were disappointed that we weren’t able to reach an agreement with [Mosdos] after all this time, but we feel very good about the direction we are heading,” said Register in the district’s Jan. 10 release. “The latest plans are to bring the Heights Youth Theatre into Millikin, along with our trades and grounds staff. We will work closely with the Cleveland Heights planning department as these changes are implemented.”

The district must seek approval from the City of Cleveland Heights for any nonschool use of Milllikin.

Former CH Mayor Edward Kelley, quoted in the district’s release, said, “My first choice would have been Mosdos Ohr Hatorah for the Millikin site. However, it is time to move forward and I am pleased that Millikin will be put to good use again. The Millikin neighborhood is strong and family oriented. The Heights Youth Theatre has found a good home.”

HYT currently uses Wiley Middle School auditorium for its rehearsals and performances, but will be displaced by school facilities renovations.

Shaker said HYT “typically does four productions during the school year and some workshops. They take place between September and May.” She noted, “The district would like HYT to be a long-term tenant. . . . The next step is for district and CH city officials to discuss if this is a viable option.”

According to the release, Steve Shergalis, CH-UH director of business services, met with Pam Fine, HYT director, to discuss alternative locations: "During these meetings, Millikin was identified as a very real option for the relocation of Heights Youth Theatre. After touring Millikin, Fine stated that the building’s large gymnasium and existing stage area could accommodate [HYT's] program very nicely with some renovations. ‘We are committed to staying in the Heights. We’re going to have to do some fundraising and work out all the details, but if we can make this happen, we’d be thrilled to move into the Millikin building,’ stated Fine.”

The Jan. 10 release does not outline any preliminary terms for any future lease between the district and HYT, nor does it indicate whether the district or HYT would be responsible for any necessary renovations, or if those costs might in some way be shared. The release mentions only the building's gymnasium and stage as potentially being used by HYT.

The district’s 2012 appraisal, prepared by Charles M. Ritley Associates, touched on some building condition issues, noting, “Although the building continues to be heated, it has not been subject to an ongoing maintenance program and the structure requires significant repairs prior to re-occupancy.” The appraisal referenced a 1989 asbestos management plan, prepared for the BOE, which “depicts the location of [asbestos containing materials] including classrooms, hallways, the gymnasium, kitchen and an office.” The appraisal also observed that “tile floor covering is damaged and/or missing in many hallway areas. Some portions of wood flooring in the gymnasium [have] buckled due to earlier water damage caused by a roof leak and [need] repair.”

The district’s news release raises many questions, and several follow-up questions that the Observer e-mailed to Shaker remain unanswered. Among those questions were:

  • Can you reveal current lease terms for HYT leasing Wiley—is it a per/production lease; per/year lease; other? 
  • Do you anticipate terms of leasing Millikin to HYT would be similar to terms of leasing Wiley to HYT?
  • If it had leased Millikin, Mosdos would have been responsible for renovation costs. Can you confirm that the district would be responsible for renovation costs, if it leases parts of Millikin to HYT? 
  • Is the district concerned that making renovations to gymnasium and stage area for HYT use would be piecemeal? Do they fit in with any long-term plan for the Millilkin building? Is there a long-term plan for the Millikin building?
  • Are renovations to other areas required for HYT to be able to use the gymnasium and stage? (What about other areas that would have to be accessed by [the] public attending any performances, and students rehearsing—for example, renovations to parking lot, public entrances, restrooms?)

In her reply, Shaker wrote, “Most of the HYT questions cannot be answered until we have conversations with the city. Which is our next step.”

Kim Sergio Inglis

Kim Sergio Inglis is editor-in-chief of the Heights Observer. She lives in the Shaker Farm Historic District in Cleveland Heights.

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Volume 7, Issue 2, Posted 4:44 PM, 01.30.2014