ORANGE, Ohio – The village is seeking to purchase a 37-acre property south of Harvard Road and west of Brainard Road for use as a public park and a potential new fire station.
On Wednesday (June 11), two ordinances were introduced to Village Council related to the purchase of the land that is part of the former Weintraub property.
One of the ordinances authorizes an agreement with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy to purchase 35 acres of the land for use as a public park and permanent green space.
“In order to do this, there is grant funding that has to be put in place,” Mayor Judson Kline said. “When the grant funding is in place, we will then be able to purchase the land, using the grant.”
The second ordinance would allow the village to acquire the remaining two acres of that property for the purpose of constructing a new fire station.
The potential station would be at the southwest corner of Harvard and Brainard roads.
The land is part of the Orange Place South Development District, which was made possible when a zoning amendment to establish it passed by a decisive margin in March 2024.
Village Law Director Stephen Byron said the agreement to purchase the land to preserve the 35 acres for the public park is contingent on council approval and that the village receives sufficient grant funding.
The agreement to purchase the land for the potential fire station is contingent only on council approval, Byron said. He said there is no grant funding in place for that project at this time, but there may be grants available later that the village can apply for.
Treasurer Dana Kavander said an adjustment will be made to this year’s budget, pending council’s approval, to increase the village’s capital improvement fund by $175,000 for the purchase of the two acres for the potential fire station.
Kline said the ordinances separate the two components of the property: 35 acres for the park and two acres for the potential fire station.
“We have to separate those out now because once they go into the conservation easement, we can’t claw them back to make use of them for some other purpose,” he said. “So we have to segregate the two pieces of land so that we can have control of that property.
“If for some reason we don’t develop the fire station, we can expand the conservation easement for that property. But we want to preserve our right to be able to do it.”
Council President Brent Silver asked why it was necessary for the village to purchase the land, as he thought it was being given to the village by the developer of the project.
Omni Senior Living, based in Solon, is developing the mixed-use project, which also includes the construction of more than 200 housing units, mostly for adults 55 and older.
“The agreement called for the village to work with the (Western Reserve) Land Conservancy to obtain funding for the purchase of the property,” Byron said. “They agreed to sell this property to the village for conservation purposes.”
In May, Kline explained that the village had to apply for a Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program grant for the purchase and protection of the 35-acre property.
“The land conservancy can’t apply for the grant,” he said. “So it’s being applied for under the Orange Village name.
“When the grant funding comes in, then the land will be able to be purchased, and it will be turned over to the land conservancy for the installation of a conservation easement on it. Then it will come back to Orange as a park.”
Council authorized Kline to submit an application for the grant on May 14.
Council is expected to vote on both ordinances on third reading, likely in August.
Update on Village Hall renovation
Also on Wednesday, Kline said five architectural firms are being considered to develop designs and budgets for the renovation of Village Hall and the potential new fire station.
He said a team of village officials, including himself, will meet Friday (June 13) to make a determination of firms to be recommended to council for consideration.
“These are well-regarded architectural firms from around Greater Cleveland,” he said. “All have great reputations and have done really wonderful work, and we’re fortunate they all want to participate in working in Orange Village.”
Kline said the plan is to recommend several of the firms to council for its consideration in July.
The need for the renovation and expansion of Village Hall has been discussed since previous mayor Kathy U. Mulcahy, who stepped down at the end of 2023, was in office.
It has been determined that the village needs more space at its municipal center for police officers and firefighters due to the limitations of Village Hall, built in 1995.