Cleveland Evaluates Proposals for 12 Surplus School Sites
Cleveland and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District have closed the submission window for a redevelopment process involving 12 surplus school properties scattered across the city.
The City of Cleveland’s Department of Community Development said comprehensive responses to its 2026 CMSD School Sites request for qualifications were due July 20, 2026. The city’s asset-redevelopment page now lists the submission window as closed and says the responses are being evaluated.
The process could affect vacant or underused public sites in multiple Cleveland neighborhoods, but it does not approve redevelopment plans or guarantee that all 12 properties will be redeveloped.
What the city requested
The request sought professional real-estate development teams interested in submitting adaptive-reuse and/or redevelopment proposals for the surplus properties. The city and school district are using a qualification and evaluation process rather than announcing final projects at this stage.
Teams first had to submit letters of interest by June 5, 2026. Comprehensive responses followed on July 20. The city has not identified how many teams submitted responses or named the teams that participated.
Because the properties are spread across Cleveland, the eventual review could touch more than one neighborhood and involve decisions related to land use, housing, community development and the future of former school facilities. The approved materials do not specify what uses are proposed for the 12 sites.
Separate process covers four landmark schools
The city’s asset-redevelopment information also identifies a separate request for qualifications involving four landmark school properties: the former Audubon, Mount Auburn, Central and Empire schools. Qualifications for that process were due June 10, 2026.
The listed properties vary in size. The former Audubon site covers 3.1 acres, Mount Auburn covers 1.6 acres, Central School covers 4.5 acres and Empire School covers 2.1 acres.
That landmark-sites process is separate from the 12-site CMSD School Sites RFQ. The city’s page does not state that a developer has been selected for those four properties.
One other site has reached a later stage
The city says the former Gracemount Elementary site has a project team selected and that due diligence is underway. That status is distinct from the 12-site RFQ, for which the city says responses remain under evaluation.
The difference matters for residents tracking possible changes near former school buildings. A selected project team at Gracemount does not mean teams have been selected for the 12 properties, and the city has not announced final redevelopment approvals for those sites.
What happens next
The next known step for the 12 properties is the city’s evaluation of the submitted responses. The source materials do not provide a date for final selections, identify preferred developers or describe specific redevelopment plans.
For now, the confirmed development is procedural: Cleveland and CMSD have moved 12 surplus school sites from an open solicitation into an evaluation period. Any future changes in use, ownership or construction would require additional announcements and project-specific action.
Sources
- Asset Redevelopment, City of Cleveland Department of Community Development
- File 98-2026: Westinghouse Redevelopment Project tax-increment-financing agreement, Cleveland City Council
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