LAKEWOOD, Ohio - The West End of Lakewood slowly, but surely, is taking on a new appearance, thanks to construction of McKinley Place.
The housing development is rising on about three acres of property at Northland Avenue and West Clifton Boulevard, the former site of McKinley Elementary School. I attended kindergarten at McKinley in the 1950s. The venerable, old school - the building was about 100 years old - was decommissioned in 2008. It was used for storage for a few years before its demolition in 2014.
The city purchased the property from the school district for $500,000 in 2013 and agreed to build housing on the site - with no tax abatement. Liberty Development Co. is building townhomes there. The project was estimated at $12 million to $14 million.
According to the Facebook page for McKinley Place Townhomes, Phase 1, consisting of 18 townhomes, is sold out. Of the 22 units available in Phase 2, eight are sold. The page lists the starting price at $315,000 and indicates there are townhomes and condos available with three bedrooms with two full and one partial bathroom. Other amenities include rooftop decks, optional outdoor kitchens, two-car garages and private community green space. Howard Hanna Realty is the listing agent.
Pasta, please: Mark your calendar for the next West Park Kiwanis Club spaghetti dinner, 4:30-7 p.m. March 11 at the Cretan Center, 3852 W. 168th St., in Cleveland's West Park neighborhood.
Tickets are $7 for adults and can be purchased at the door, or in advance at West Park Massotherapy on Rocky River Drive, or from Kiwanis members. There will be a 50/50 drawing.
Dinner includes home-cooked spaghetti with meat or meatless sauce, salad, rolls, pastries and beverages. Carryout orders will be available.
Dinner proceeds will be used to support Kiwanis philanthropic causes.
The gift of life: Garfield Middle School will have a blood drive 3-7 p.m. March 6 at the school,13114 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, in honor of eighth-grader Jeremy Steinbrick, and all children fighting cancer.
Jeremy was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia last July. He has had 21 life-saving blood transfusions since his diagnosis. To honor his life and to give back, his family and the school are encouraging people to give blood.
Appointments are recommended and can be made online at redcross.org with the sponsor code Garfield Middle School. Those without appointments can still donate blood. Those unable to participate in this blood drive but who still want to donate can visit redcross.org to find another blood drive.
Local history: Fairview Park Historical Society will hear from Harold George at its next meeting. He will take members and guests on a tour of Civil War Monuments of Ohio, leading the audience through the state to locate and explain the significance of Ohio's Civil War monuments.
The meeting will be at 7 p.m., followed by the program at 7:30 on March 9 at Bain Park Cabin, 21077 North Park Drive, Fairview Park.
Autographed copies of his book, "Civil War Monuments of Ohio," will be available for purchase.
Night at the Races: Lakewood High School Athletic Boosters will have their 13th annual Night at the Races fundraiser 6-11:30 p.m. March 4 at St. Mary's Hall, 3256 Warren Road, West Park. Post time will be at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $30; a table of eight is $200 or a table of 10 is $250. Contact Karen Burks, 330-675-9036, or at karen.burks@covelli.com, or Kate Sala, 440- 623-0982 or k8sala88@gmail.com for tickets or more information.
Frostville's Event Barn will be the site of Olmsted Historical Society's pancake breakfasts on Sundays during March. Carol Kovach, special to cleveland.comPass the syrup: Olmsted Historical Society will have pancake breakfasts 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 5, 12 and 19 at the Events Barn at the Frostville Museum complex, 24101 Cedar Point Road, North Olmsted, in the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks.
Cost is $7 for adults, $5 for children 10 and younger. Breakfast includes unlimited pancakes, plus juice, a hot beverage and sausage. Additional sausages are three for $1; extra orange juice is 50 cents. Take-out orders are available.
Call 216-789-5298, or visit olmstedhistoricalsociety.org for more information.
Jaguar scholar: Congratulations to Margaret Seikel, a Rocky River resident and a senior at St. Joseph Academy in West Park, who is a finalist in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
She is one of 15,000 finalists being considered for 7,500 scholarships worth about $33 million.
Margaret is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. George Seikel. She is on the board of the Model United Nations, a member of the Ohio Attorney General Teen Ambassador Board and SJA Student Ambassador program. She also volunteers through the STARS program at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. In the classroom, Margaret has completed five AP classes, is taking three more this year and she earned the AP Scholar with Distinction Award.
Paperbacks for Prisoners: Although Metro-West Kiwanis Club dissolved last year, its members still meet twice monthly and they are continuing to pursue some of the club's charitable projects.
One of those projects, Paperbacks for Prisoners, collects paperback books for prisoners at the Cuyahoga County jail. In the past few months, the group has donated and delivered more than 400 books to the Rev. Neil Walters, the jail chaplain.
Only paperback books can be accepted. The jail population is about 80 percent men, 20 percent women.
For more information about the project or to arrange a pickup of donated books, call Courtney Kronk at 440-666-0681.
Seeking donations: Lakewood High School's after prom committee is seeking donations for the event. Contact Melissa Baus, 216-548-7596, for more information about the types of donations needed.
Jig and jog: Registration is under way for the sixth annual Irish Jig and Jog 5K. The event, hosted by West Park Station, 17015 Lorain Ave., West Park, will be at 10 a.m. March 25. It consists of the 5K and a 1-mile walk/run. Cost is $15 for the 1-mile event, $20 for the 5K. Cost increases to $23 after the first 50 registrants. Early registration ends at 11:59 p.m. March 23. Visit peaceracing.com/irish-jig-jog/ to register online for additional details.
There will be a post-race party, including brunch. NCAA tournament games will be on televisions. For more information, call Peace Racing at 216-538-8748 or send an email message to dano@peaceracing.com.
Save the date: Lakewood Department of Human Services, Division of Aging, will have its Intergenerational Tea Party at 4 p.m. March 22 at Lakewood Park Woman's Pavilion, featuring the American Girl Lea Clark. Entertainment will be by Jungle Terry and Friends.
There will be a doll and teddy bear parade, raffle prizes, a doll clothes store and drawing for a Lea doll, as well as sandwiches and goodies. Attendees should dress for a tea party and bring a doll or teddy bear.
Cost is $15 and seating is limited. Reservations with advance ticket purchase are requested. Call 216-521-1515 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for reservations.
NEOPC meets: "Virtual Reality, 3D Printing, Drones and More - the Future is Now" will be the topic of the Northeast Ohio Personal Computers group meeting 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 8 at Westlake Porter Public Library, 27333 Center Ridge Road. Jared Bendis, creative new media officer of digital learning and scholarship at Case Western Reserve University will be the presenter.
Visit neopc.org for more information on the group and its programs.
Lenten breakfasts: Lakewood Kiwanis Club will have a series of six Wednesday Lenten breakfast meeting at 7 a.m. at Rocky River Civic Center, 21016 Hilliard Blvd. Meetings are March 1 through April 5.
For more information on the Kiwanis or the group's programs and events, visit lakewoodkiwanis.com, send an email message to kiwanis@lakewoodkiwanis.com or visit the group's Facebook page.
Information, please: Readers are invited to share information about themselves, their families and friends, organizations, church events, etc. in Fairview Park, Lakewood, North Olmsted and West Park for the A Place in the Sun column, which I write on a freelance basis. Awards, honors, milestone birthdays or anniversaries and other items are welcome. Submit information at least 10 days before the requested publication date to carolkovach@hotmail.com.
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