Medina approves zoning to allow for residential development of old high school and Sacred Heart
Photos by Tom Rivers: The old Medina High School on Catherine Street now has a zoning option to be redeveloped for residential use. The school is currently used by the Calvary Tabernacle Church, Orleans County Christian School and for a clothing depot run by the Medina Area Association of Churches.
MEDINA – The Village Board approved zoning on Monday that would allow for residential redevelopment of the old Medina High School on Catherine Street and the Sacred Heart church complex on Ann Street.
The new “Planned Residential Development” zoning allows for adaptive reuse of larger structures located within a residential area. The new zoning is a “floating zoning classification” for the two sites, which means the zoning wouldn’t be designated unless a project to repurpose the large buildings becomes a reality.
Code Enforcement Officer Marty Busch said prospective developers have looked at both sites. But without the planned residential development zoning, the buildings couldn’t be converted into apartments or condos, Busch said.
“Without (the zoning), they are going to sit, sit, sit,” Busch said about the two sites. “It will be hard to sell them.”
There have been potential buyers for the Sacred Heart site, “but they walked away because of the zoning,” he said.
The Sacred Heart church complex on Ann Street also is included in the “Planned Residential Development” zoning for Medina.
