Turkish American Cultural Center to Open in Lakewood

Lakewood is getting a little more culture.

Turkish culture, to be more specific.

The Turkish American Cultural Center is set to open its doors in Lakewood on March 18.

Ersin Isbilir, the acting director of the new facility at 13303 Madison Avenue, said the center will open its doors to the public on March 18.

The building — the former — is the perfect fit for the organization, Isbilir said. 

In addition to hosting gatherings for its members, the center will host , meetings and social events.

“We are inviting our community to show the off the facility,” he said. “This is for the Turkish community. We still have some work left inside, but after that we will open our doors to the Lakewood community.”

A ceremonial grand opening event is slated for March 18.

According to property records, the nearly 15,000-square-foot property was sold to the Scioto Education Foundation for $232,000 in December.

This will be the second Turkish American Cultural Center in the Cleveland area — the other one’s on the East Side in Highland Heights.

Isbilir estimates that there are between 200 and 300 people of Turkish descent living in Lakewood, but added that the west side of Cleveland boasts a large Turkish population. 

“The Lakewood facility will serve the West Side,” he said. “We love Lakewood. It’s a nice area.”

Meanwhile, city officials are happy to have them.

“There’s a fairly substantial Turkish population in Lakewood,” said Dru Siley, the city’s director of planning and development. “This is a just another positive comment on our variety of businesses and cultural and social institutions that are looking at our city for their home base.”