467 Richmond, the former Methodist Episcopal Church at the corner of Richmond and West Ferry, has been owned by developer Rachel Heckl since 2014. Heckl planned to create a community arts center in the space, but there has been no progress on the site since COVID. The beautiful Medina sandstone church was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2008. The site has been surrounded by a chain link fence for 4+ years, to keep pedestrians from the massive holes around the property. Ms. Heckl completely fails to maintain the grounds of the property, which becomes overgrown during the summer and the sidewalks are fully iced over all winter. This year marks eleven years since Heckl has acquired the property, seemingly with good intentions of restoring a key anchor in the neighborhood, but it’s become very clear that she lacks funding, vision, and follow through. She should not be entrusted with this important community asset.

We certainly can appreciate the investment Heckl made into structural work in the building, shoring up the foundation and roof. However, we have serious concerns about the long-term viability of the performing arts center she’s proposing after 5+ years of inaction at the site. 

Our frustrations chiefly lie with what an eyesore the property has become. We know that supporters of the project will point to the church as being “abandoned” from 1999 on, but Elmwood Village residents can confirm that throughout that period, the lawn was routinely manicured, the sidewalks were shoveled, and there was no unsightly chain-link fence separating the beautiful building from the sidewalk. In the past five years, we’ve watched the building deteriorate and all momentum cease. Although anecdotal, the number of rodents, skunks, and other vermin throughout the neighborhood have substantially climbed over the past few years — a vacant, decaying church seems like a perfect site for these critters to spawn. 

We understand that COVID presented a challenge to Heckl, as it did so many of us. The outlook for funding the project is simply bleak. KeyBank has already retracted their loan, M&T Bank is actively divesting from their CRE portfolio, and the appetite for HTC, LIHTC, and other state and federally subsidized loans and tax credits will continue to wane under the new administration. All that is to say, there are few if any prospects for funding this project. This isn’t even to mention that most of the major community foundations are shifting their focus on the east side and investments in racial equity. Heckl’s project simply lacks a solid vision and framework to win grant funding over the countless worthy causes, backed by experienced, strong leadership that we have in this city. 

Thus, we are respectfully asking that Heckl puts up the building for sale to someone with access to the necessary funding and development experience to get any project on the premises across the finish line. We are frankly disappointed and at our wits end seeing what was once such a beautiful building turned into a neighborhood eyesore. (Not to mention what a liability it’s become for us walkers since the sidewalks are never plowed and always iced over). Heckl can argue that her ownership is better than the church sitting abandoned, but to any outsider, the church is all but abandoned at this point. No new owner could neglect the building any further than it’s been over the past five years under Heckl’s ownership. She has become no better than any of the other slumlords that exploit our community. 

We thank Ms. Heckl for attempting to invest in the community and for reinforcing the church. She should feel no shame in moving on and selling the property. We appreciate her initial efforts but acknowledge that it is time for a change and time to move on. We will never forget the summer of 2016 when the church was draped in cloths as part of a beautiful art installation. That’s the building our community wants back and, frankly, deserves.