White Hat buys 5 Cleveland parish properties

Investor groups affiliated with White Hat Management of Akron recently bought five former Cleveland chuches and school buildings from the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland for a combined $2.6 million, public records show.

Property records show that investors linked to White Hat bought the St. Procop church, school and rectory, at 3181 W. 41st St., and the former Corpus Christi church and school, at 4850 Pearl Road, on June 10. On Monday, investor groups closed deals for the former St. Rose of Lima church, school and administrative building at 11401 Detroit Ave.; the former Annunciation church and school at 4697 W. 130th St.; and the former Sacred Heart of Jesus property, at 4300 E. 71st St.

Schools run by White Hat already were leasing space at Annunciation, St. Rose of Lima and Sacred Heart of Jesus. Now White Hat plans to move its Hope Academy Lincoln Park school from Tremont to the St. Procop property. And the company plans to open a new school, Pearl Academy, at the former Corpus Christi property.

The diocese put roughly 50 churches up for sale and has sold 25 properties across eight counties, spokesman Robert Tayek said. The diocese expects to release a report on the sales in early fall.

White Hat, a for-profit management company, runs 45 schools in five states, mainly under the Hope Academies and LifeSkills brands. The company leases space from the diocese at several sites, including Our Lady of Lourdes, an active parish in Cleveland, and St. John the Baptist on Brown Street in Akron, whose parishioners have appealed to the Vatican to spare it from closing.

See the Plain Dealer story.