Ravenna to purchase old high school site for $315,000 for new city hall, safety center
Ravenna City Council confirmed rumors Monday that the piece of property they're planning to buy for a new city hall and safety center is the former site of Ravenna High School.
More: Ravenna eyes vacant land: Could new city hall, safety center be built on old Ravenna High property?
Council's Planning Committee has moved forward with the purchase agreement, which states that the property being purchased is the five-acre site at East Main and Clinton streets, the site where Ravenna High School once stood. The city would pay $315,000 for the property.
More: Work begins in Kent: Demolition begins on 98-year-old police station torn down for new Kent city hall
Mayor Frank Seman said the purchase price doesn't include fees such as closing costs, which the city would be required to pay.
"We've got two lawyers working on this now," he said, referring to the city's law director and legal representatives for the county.
The Port Authority, the county's economic development agent, agreed to market the site if the Ravenna School District would tear down the old high school, using state money reserved for demolition after the new high school on North Chestnut Street opened. The demolition took place over a period of months from 2012 to 2013.
The group has been trying unsuccessfully to market the land ever since.
Seman said recently that the city is in "immediate need" of expanded facilities for its safety forces. That need, he said, became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there wasn't enough space for firefighters to social distance.
The city's police station at 220 Park Way was built in 1920. The wing of the safety building that houses the fire department is newer than the rest of the building and t dispatch center was renovated in 2010.
The City Hall building at 210 Park Way originally was a supermarket. It was purchased by the city about 50 years ago.
Now, recent discussion about a potential expansion of the Portage County Courthouse next door has prompted talk about how long the city facilities can stay in their current location.
In 2013, the Port Authority hired the the Weston Development Co. to do a market study of the old high school property. Weston held a focus group with residents in Ravenna, asking them what they'd like to see become of the site. The company outlined four potential uses, including retail, medical, residential and government. At the time, residential and governmental uses were eliminated from consideration.
In 2014, the Port Authority partnered with RLC Partners of Cleveland to bring a community college to the site. However, the two parted ways after the developer was unable to secure a deal with Stark State College, which was to serve as the primary anchor to the site by establishing a regional campus there.
The news that Ravenna is considering new facilities for its government and safety forces comes on the heels of two Portage County cities making similar moves.
Kent is constructing a new city hall at the corner of South Water Street and Haymaker Parkway. This week, the city began demolition of its former police station to make way for the new city hall. In recent years, the city has built new stations for both its fire and police department.
Streetsboro also is in the midst of a city complex project that will include a new city hall. The project includes a new fire station, which opened in 2021. A new police station also was constructed in Streetsboro in recent years.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Ravenna plans to buy old high school site for safety center
