ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown’s Cleveland Elementary School is set to be knocked down and fenced off after its new owner called it a “hot spot" and "magnet for crime."
City council members last week approved a permit for Community Action Lehigh Valley to demolish the school that was built in 1883.
That vote overrode the Allentown Historical and Architectural Review Board’s denial of a demolition permit a week prior.
“Despite our investment in a security system, the building remains a magnet for crime, posing a significant risk to the community."Dawn Godshall, Community Action Lehigh Valley executive director
CALV bought the facility from the Allentown School District for $320,000 in 2023. The organization is aiming to raise about $20 million to build a state-of-the-art youth center on the North Ninth Street property.
But the property will remain a fenced-off empty lot until money is raised and construction starts.
CALV Executive Director Dawn Godshall on Sept. 18 told Allentown council members the vacant school is a “hot spot for criminal activity, including drug use and vandalism.”
“Despite our investment in a security system, the building remains a magnet for crime, posing a significant risk to the community,” she said, urging members to approve its demolition.
“An empty, secured lot is far less inviting to criminal activity than a dilapidated, empty building."Dawn Godshall, Community Action Lehigh Valley executive director
Knocking down the building is “a crucial first step” to “immediately reduce crime and improve safety for the neighborhood,” Godshall said.
“An empty, secured lot is far less inviting to criminal activity than a dilapidated, empty building,” she said.
'Beyond repair'
Councilman Daryl Hendricks said he’s never enthusiastic about knocking down historic buildings in the city, but the former Cleveland School “is beyond repair,” he said, voicing his support for overriding HARB’s demolition denial.
CALV explored projects to rehabilitate the 141-year-old school, but it would cost about $10 million to bring it up to current building standards, according to Mark Eastburn, an attorney for CALV.
Crews would have to install an elevator, remove asbestos, update electrical systems and make other upgrades, he said.
And “this building is simply not compatible” with CALV’s plans, he said.
The nonprofit is hoping to end its ongoing youth-center capital campaign next summer, Godshall said.
The center is set to include sports fields, classrooms, theater and studio space, and other facilities. CALV officials last year said it should be completed by 2027, though that timeline depends on the success of its capital campaign.
The project stands to get $1 million of Allentown’s American Rescue Plan Act money after council approved that distribution as part of the city’s 2024 budget.
