Vacant 100-year-old house restored by Case Western Reserve University to serve as Wade Park Community Engagement Center

Case Western Reserve University, with funding from The George Gund Foundation and American Rescue Plan Act, has restored a home built in 1924 that has been sitting vacant in Cleveland’s Magnolia-Wade Park Historic District. Now the home to the university’s Office of Local Government and Community Engagement Center, the space will also offer programming for the community.

According to an article on Case Western Reserve University’s website, Eric W. Kaler, the university’s president, explained why this was an important project for the university to undertake. He is quoted as saying, “One of our three institutional priorities is to enhance our engagement with the surrounding community. This center enables us to work each day alongside local residents, fostering more robust partnerships between us and promoting more effective collaborations that will strengthen our shared neighborhood.”

In 2021, Case Western Reserve University established its Neighborhood Advisory Council, which includes students, faculty members, members of the community surrounding the university, and community organizations. The Neighborhood Advisory Council was established in order to keep the university abreast of the needs of the communities of Cleveland and East Cleveland. The Wade Park Community Engagement Center will be the place in which the Neighborhood Advisory Council meets, as well as where its offices are.

The Neighborhood Advisory Council will have a hand in determining what exactly the Wade Park Community Engagement Center will offer in terms of community programming. Currently, among the expecting offerings of the Center are health clinics and screenings, hosted in conjunction with community partners and the schools of medicine, nursing, and dental at the university; School of Law clinics like the Wills Clinic and the Second Chance Re-entry Clinic; private space for community members to use for virtual job interviews or telehealth appointments; youth programming that will connect the community’s children with mentors in the form of university students and faculty; and workshops for local businesses and entrepreneurs. 

Julian Rogers, who serves as the associate vice president of Local Government and Community Relations, said of the new space, “The center is a place where CWRU faculty, staff and students can come together with residents and community members. They can learn from each other while creating opportunities to enhance education, build relationships and improve outcomes.”

The Wade Park Community Engagement Center is located at 11310 Wade Park Ave.

For more information about Case Western Reserve University, visit the school’s website.