Episcopal Press and News

Trinity Commons to Serve as Spiritual Center for Downtown Cleveland

Episcopal News Service. October 7, 2002 [2002-227-5]

A two-year, $9.8 million project to restore the campus of Cleveland's Trinity Cathedral and create an environmentally friendly spiritual, cultural and community oasis for downtown Cleveland is nearing completion. Trinity Commons, located at Euclid Avenue and East 22nd Street, will be dedicated November 8 as part of the 186th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.

'We envision this landmark facility as a resource to be shared by everyone in the community,' said Bishop J. Clark Grew II of Ohio. 'Trinity Commons is more than a restoration and modernization of Trinity Cathedral's campus, although that part of the project was desperately needed. It also will serve as a vibrant center for cultural and artistic events as well as a comfortable gathering place for downtown Cleveland, the Quadrangle community and the nearby student population.'

A joint venture of Trinity Cathedral and the Diocese of Ohio, Trinity Commons combines 56,000 square feet of renovated space in the Cathedral Hall, Parish House and diocesan Church House (the historic former Rorimer Brooks building) with 11,000 square feet of new construction. It includes meeting rooms, classrooms, offices, a youth hostel, an art gallery, green space and retail space. Cafe Ah-Roma, a privately owned coffee shop, and Sacred Path Books and Art, a diocese-run bookstore, will occupy storefronts facing Euclid Avenue.

The project was designed to preserve the architectural and historic quality of the cathedral while modernizing the building and enhancing the use of the surrounding property. The facility will be accessible to people with disabilities and will offer state-of-the-art audio-visual communications technology, including capabilities for distance learning and sharing of information with remote locations throughout the diocese.