by Lynette Filips

   The months (and years) go by quickly and thus another month has passed with seemingly nothing having moved forward with the projected demolition of the doomed buildings in the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corporation’s (OBCDC’s) revitalization plan for the northwest corner of Memphis Ave. and Pearl Rd.  Sheets of new plywood are visible on some of the windows on the building exteriors, but the northern half of the former St. Luke’s United Church of Christ complex, the two Greenline buildings, all of Pearl Road United Methodist Church (PRUMC) and the pre-Civil War house south of PRUMC are all still standing. And PRUMC is still conducting its Sunday worship services in the sanctuary it created decades ago in part of its school building. 

   PRUMC, however, is moving toward securing a temporary worship space when they must vacate their 4200 Pearl Road home. And since January 9th when they viewed that potential new space in the former Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 8235 Memphis Avenue in Brooklyn, the members of the congregation are feeling much more positive about the forced move. It’s just west of St. Elias Melkite Greek Catholic Church, 8023 Memphis Ave.

   PRUMC’s trustee Tom Hite found the space, and along with the man who is PRUMC’s treasurer, he has been in negotiations with the building’s owner. (The building has some issues which must be addressed before the City of Brooklyn will issue an Occupancy Permit for it.) Interestingly, the current building owner is St. Elias Melkite Church. An online search of the address brings up former “for sale” ads, “for rent” ads, and a catering business in that location after the Lutheran church sold the property to St. Elias. 

   Some of the reasons that PRUMC congregation like what will likely become their new temporary worship space are that it’s close by, it’s in a good location, and it’s a church (not a storefront).  It has a beautiful sanctuary space, like their own, and comparable “church” areas — a Sunday School classroom, an office, a meeting area, plus a good parking lot.

   But presently they have no idea when they might move there. We can assume that the rent will not be inexpensive, but no doubt that is all included in the deal PRUMC made when they gave their building to OBCDC. They will need to bring the altar and cross from their current church to the new space as the sanctuary is empty. But having those things there will help it to seem more like home. 

   The Historical Society of Old Brooklyn (HSOB) is also still in negotiations for a new space. At this point they do not want to name the hoped-for site, but it is in Old Brooklyn — as it must be!  Complicating their situation is that the president has been majorly ill for months.

   Some of the other officers and members of the Historical Society of Old Brooklyn have stepped up to the plate and are conducting business as the Relocation Committee. One good thing is that they are not responsible for the cost of moving the contents of the Museum and the monthly fee at the storage facility. As it is, they are a small, unsubsidized organization and will ultimately need assistance from still undetermined sponsors to be able to afford the monthly rent in a new location. The subsidy they are receiving per the terms of the move will not last long and the alterations they will have to make to the potential building will be expensive. 

   I have not read anything online about OBCDC receiving the $13 million in TIF (Tax Increment Financing) money they requested from the County via the City last Spring. (They may even have a bigger deficit than that by now). Nor have I heard that they’ve secured any more parking places for the apartments.

   I need to learn how to request documents from the Public Record for the project. My understanding is that it can be done via the City of Cleveland’s website through the Law Department. Apparently, anyone can do it. No matter which way this project ends, we will want to have the records of all the proceedings related to it in the Historical Society of Old Brooklyn’s archives. 

   Since I have repeatedly seen the following monetary amounts for OBCDC’s Memphis Pearl Project, I feel comfortable reporting them here.  These were posted online on June 11, 2025 — 

• In July of 2023 Cuyahoga County Council awarded them $250,000 of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds — a GRANT. 

• In August of 2023 Cleveland awarded them a $3 million Community Development GRANT. 

• In September of 2023 Cleveland City Council awarded them a $2.5 million pre-development GRANT. 

• In October of 2023 they secured a $19 million LOAN from the AFL/CIO pension fund. HUD (the federal government’s department of Housing and Urban Development) insured it, which is why the project is now bound by HUD regulations. (What are the implications if OBCDC defaults on the loan and HUD takes it on?)

• In August of 2024 the Cuyahoga County Land Bank in combination with Ohio’s Department of Development awarded them a $2,042,027 Ohio Brownfield Remediation GRANT. That is the money which supposedly required the start of demolition before the end of the 2025 calendar year. 

   Now do the math.  If it’s a $41 million project, there’re still over $14 million needed to complete it. (And a big chunk of loan money to repay.)

   OBCDC’s new executive director, David Robinson, spoke about the organization at the January meeting of Old Brooklyn’s Crime Watch group.  During the “Question and Answer” period he mentioned that March is when to realistically expect that the demolition of the 4-1/2 buildings will start.  Time will tell.  I still think that adequate parking and funding should be in place before OBCDC is allowed to demolish any neighborhood buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

   Till next month, if you want to refer back to any previous Plain Press articles about this historic Old Brooklyn corner, access them on the Plain Press’ website, https://plainpress.blog or on the Historical Society of Old Brooklyn’s website, www.oldbrooklynhistory.org. In time the HSOB also hopes to be able to share news on its website about its progress transforming another building into a museum.