Heights Libraries Will Not Extend Coventry PEACE Inc. Lease

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — The Heights Libraries Board of Trustees chose not to extend the lease of Coventry PEACE Inc. on Wednesday night.

The board held a special meeting to consider the lease and the future of the Coventry PEACE campus. In a 6-1 decision, the board voted against extending the lease. The board also voted to allow Heights Libraries leaders to explore other options for the property.

The Heights Libraries bought the former school building, the surrounding grounds and parking lot in 2018. Multiple organizations were already renting space in the campus. The tenants formed a management organization, Coventry PEACE Inc., and the Heights Libraries signed a 15-month lease with the group in October 2020. The tenants' hoped they would sign a 99-year lease with the library system in January 2022.

Instead, the lease between Coventry PEACE Inc. and the Heights Libraries will expire on Dec. 31, 2021 and will convert to a month-to-month lease starting Jan. 1, 2022.

"Obviously, we are very concerned with this decision and are lacking any clear details on what the path forward may be. We are already working on setting up meetings with library representatives and key advisors," Coventry PEACE Inc. said in a statement sent out Wednesday night.

“We are truly saddened by this decision, and it was not an easy one,” said Board President Dana Fluellen. “We appreciate all the effort Coventry PEACE Inc. has made to achieve financial stability, but in the end, it wasn’t enough, and the library needs to focus its resources on its own needs, and the needs of the broader community.” 

Heights Libraries Director Nancy Levin said the library system could not use any more public money to support Coventry PEACE Inc.

“We had high hopes that Coventry PEACE Inc. could achieve independent economic sustainability,” Levin said. “We understand that the last two years have been incredibly challenging for small businesses and nonprofits, but we can’t use any more public money to support CPC. The library has other projects it needs to focus on, including improvements to the PEACE Park and playground that will benefit the whole community. Now our hope is to work together with the important nonprofits that make up the PEACE campus on a proper future for the Coventry School Building and use of Library resources.”