CH Planning Commission approves PEACE Park plans

The main play structure on the renovated PEACE Park playground will feature a large wooden cardinal, a climbing nest, and a slide. 

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On May 10, the city of Cleveland Heights' Planning Commission approved the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library System's revised conditional-use permit for renovations to Coventry PEACE Park. This allows Heights Libraries to move ahead with its construction time line for the public park, with the understanding that it will provide the commission with additional plans for lighting, the walking path, and new trees at a future date.

“This public park has been the heart of the Coventry Village neighborhood for at least 30 years, ever since the current playground was built by volunteers in 1993,” said Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin. “We are so happy, and proud, to be ushering in a new era for the park that will expand its use and make it more accessible to all members of the community, no matter their ages or abilities.”

Based on community feedback on the early design concepts—presented to the public in June and July of 2021, online and at public meetings—the new park designs include more than 100 new trees, a large pollinator garden, an accessible quarter-mile trail, a performance stage, and an updated playground featuring a large, cardinal-shaped structure that will include climbing features and a big slide.

The Fund for the Future of Heights Libraries (FFHL) is working with Earthscape Play on the PEACE Park playground design process. 

The park will also feature sustainable, nature-focused design concepts and construction materials, as part of the library’s commitment to the health of the local environment.

Funding for the $1.2 million PEACE Park expansion and renovation is being raised by FFHL, the Heights Libraries foundation. FFHL began fundraising in October 2022 and has so far raised roughly half the funds needed, including a $100,000 donation from the FRIENDs of Heights Libraries.

There will be another community open house at the Coventry Village Library on Aug. 10, at 4 p.m., to discuss the new design.

Levin said a groundbreaking for the new park design will take place in the fall, and that the library hopes to have the first phase of the park renovation completed by June 2024.