Heights Libraries is pleased to announce that on Wednesday, May 10, the City of Cleveland Heights Planning Commission approved the Library’s revised conditional use permit for renovations to the Coventry PEACE Park. This allows Heights Libraries to move ahead with its construction timeline for the public park, with the understanding that it will provide the Commission with additional plans for lighting, the walking path, and the new trees at a future date.
Based on community feedback from the early design concepts, presented to the public in June and July of 2021 online and at public meetings, the new PEACE park designs include over 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 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 the Fund for the Future of Heights Libraries (FFHL), the Heights Libraries foundation. The FFHL began fundraising in October 2022 and has so far raised roughly half the funds needed to complete the Park, including a $100,000 donation from the FRIENDs of Heights Libraries.
“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.”
There will be another community open house on August 10 to discuss the new design at the Coventry Branch Library. 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 in June 2024.
