Cleveland, OH
Avon Isle, a former dance hall and community center listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will soon be renovated. File photo
Avon
By Rebecca Turman
Avon City Council members voted Monday night to move forward with renovations to Avon Isle by awarding a $475,460 contract to Ross Builders Co. Inc., the lowest bidder.
In July, the Ohio Historical Society announced the National Park Services listed Avon Isle, which served as a community center and dance hall, on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Ohio Historical Society provided a brief history on Avon Isle in a July 19 announcement:
“For more than 50 years, Avon Isle served as the hub for recreational and social activities for Avon and surrounding communities. Built in 1926, it served as a dance hall until 1959 and then hosted community functions until the 1970s. The pavilion is architecturally intact and remains in its historic setting within Avon Isle Park. Avon Isle embodies the characteristics that make it an excellent representation of recreational dance pavilions associated with this early- to mid-20th-century America. During this time, social dancing was a major recreational and social activity. Avon Isle was one of hundreds of dance halls that sprang up early in the 20th century in Ohio. While many dance halls were built in proximity to newly popular amusement parks, Avon Isle never housed permanent amusement park rides. Its natural park-like setting may have contributed to its continued use and survival.”
Just before Avon Isle was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Avon Mayor Jim Smith initiated discussions regarding renovations to the building, located at 37080 Detroit Road.
During the Nov. 8 City Council work session, Ron Landig, president of RWL Architects, explained a full exterior renovation to Avon Isle would cost $310,000, per Ross Builders’ bid.
The city has received approximately $171,000 from a Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) grant, which will be put toward the project cost.
At Monday night’s meeting, Bill Belloma, of RWL, said the grant would help cover the project cost of Phase 1 – the exterior work and waterproofing the membrane of the basement.
Belloma estimated it would take 110 days to complete exterior renovations.
Phase 2 of the project would possibly include some of the alternates included in the total $475,460 bid – new dressing room/toilet areas, making the first floor handicap accessible, new toilet rooms and new plumbing utilities.
Phase 2 of the project would make the building “functional,” Belloma said.
“We could back away from some of the add alternates,” Smith said at Monday’s meeting, adding he’s hoping more grant money will be available when the city is ready to begin Phase 2. “Phase 2 will make it an operational building.”
City officials won’t know until March what additional grant funding will be available through NOPEC, Belloma noted.
“It will be a very nice building,” Smith said. “This thing will be used all the time once it’s completed.”
Contact Rebecca Turman at rturman@2presspapers.com
Tags: Avon
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