Sylvia Korey’s lived this ruling before, but that doesn’t numb her shock. More than 1,000 miles from her home in Hunting Valley, Korey was visiting her daughter in Florida when she got a call from her attorney.
“My mouth was open and I couldn’t talk for a minute,” Korey says of when he relayed the verdict. “I could not believe it. I could not believe that the judge has been here at the house. He has seen the property. He has seen what we were talking about.”
Yet on Feb. 24, the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas decided against Korey’s proposition to convert her 55,000-square-foot mansion in Hunting Valley, Roundwood Manor, into condominiums. Again.
In the end, “it is the same court, the same judge and the same decision that they made two years before,” says Korey.
Completed in 1927, Roundwood Manor, an architectural masterpiece by Philip Small, was the home of brothers O.P. and M.J. Van Sweringen, the developers behind Shaker Heights, Shaker Square and the Terminal Tower complex. Korey, its sixth owner, has been looking to downsize since 2002, but the manor’s immense size continually deterred buyers, regardless of its charm, history and grandeur.
For the second time, Korey appealed to the court to allow condominiums in Roundwood Manor, as the Village of Hunting Valley digs its heels deeper on a 1938 ordinance that permits only one family per every five acres. Roundwood Manor sits on 7.69 acres.
Without this allowance, Korey fears the worst will befall one of Cleveland’s most historic assets.
“It will probably be demolished,” Korey says. “Picked like by vultures and sold for piece.”
Korey is especially dismayed after the painstaking lengths Roundwood Manor’s proponents went to prove the invaluable landmark’s preservation would be a benefit to Hunting Valley, leaving her to question if the manor’s historical value was considered.
“Going into the hearing we were in a really good place,” Korey says. “I wouldn’t have dedicated seven years of my life to saving Roundwood Manor if I didn’t believe that we could win.”
Hunting Valley, and specifically Roundwood Manor’s Daisy Hill neighborhood, holds fast its principle of rural charm. Korey says, for the hearing, a drone was flown over the village to illustrate the area’s beauty. The village’s argument, says Korey, was condominiums would cause noise and traffic, which Korey says is not true.
“I really believe with all my heart that repurposing this house would cause no one any harm at all,” Korey says. “That drone could go over the village again and over Roundwood Manor and nothing would change.”
From the Cleveland Restoration Society to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, local historians to social media, Korey continues to receive an outpouring of support. She holds dear words of encouragement, convinced the deciding power is held by an opposing few. As of Jan. 31, 2022, the total amount the Village of Hunting Valley has spent on Roundwood Manor’s case is $382,574.49, according to records released by village officials.
Korey is unflappable on the phone with Cleveland Magazine. She lists the day’s blessings —March sunshine, warm temperatures and a second cup of coffee. What can she do but take it one step at a time? While appealing is an option, she is leaving the door open to anything that would secure the manor’s future — any legal option that’s noncommercial, per Hunting Valley Village restrictions.
“Saving Roundwood Manor is a moral imperative,” Korey says. “Not only for Roundwood Manor, but the precedent of other historic buildings.”
