Social Security Office to Remain in Lakewood

On Monday, March 9, 2009, Mayor Ed FitzGerald and Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich held a joint press conference to announce that the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office will remain in Lakewood. The SSA will be relocating from their current site at Lakewood Center North to a new site located at 17513 Detroit Avenue. This is the current site of Lakewood Christian Church. SSA had been looking for a new site since 2002 and searched all of the western suburbs. Congressman Kucinich and Mayor FitzGerald strongly advocated for them to stay in Lakewood.

Lakewood will benefit by retaining 100 jobs and keeping the $4.4 Million payroll in Lakewood. In addition, the sale of the church will turn this non-taxable property into a taxable property. Lakewood will gain from more than $120,000 in new property tax for the city and the schools.

The site will be redeveloped to house the Social Security Administration Field Office. This is a $5 Million dollar development project and the Social Security Administration is projected to move in 2010.

“This is great news for Lakewood,” stated Mayor Ed FitzGerald. “I want to thank Congressman Kucinich and our Planning and Development Department for working so hard to keep the Social Security Office here in Lakewood.” “In these tough economic times, we are happy to be retaining these jobs and gaining the additional tax benefits of turning this site into a taxable property.”

In 2002, the Social Security Administration announced that they would be seeking a new location to meet their needs and they would be searching the entire west side of Cleveland. Congressman Kucinich persuaded the Social Security Administration to strictly adhere to Executive Order 12072, giving local officials greater influence in locating federal offices, and limiting their search to Lakewood. They searched for 7 years to find a suitable location in Lakewood and were having difficulty finding a location to meet all of their needs. In early 2008, the City of Lakewood’s Planning and Development Department made it a priority to find the Social Security Office a new home within Lakewood. Within six months, the City found three potential sites which met the needs of the Social Security Administration and would be beneficial for Lakewood.