Construction workers labor atop what will be the Cleveland Clinic’s largest-ever building — the new Neurological Institute rising on Carnegie Avenue. It is one of several major building projects underway right now at the Clinic’s Main Campus near University Circle in Cleveland (KJP). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
Next projects, Canon facilities, more housing delayed
Cleveland Clinic’s three major construction projects at its Main Campus near Cleveland’s University Circle are progressing on or close to schedule, according to a Clinic spokesperson. However, at this point, it appears that any follow-on projects at or near the Main Campus may not be happening for a while, according to two sources familiar with the Clinic’s capital planning.
Those same sources also said that the Clinic’s three major projects — Cole Eye Institute expansion and renovation, Neurological Institute, and Mubarak Pathogens Center — are over budget. But that’s hardly surprising considering that most major construction projects worldwide have faced construction supply constraints and higher materials costs in recent years. Only recently have things started stabilizing.
While everyone has been talking about the new Sherwin-Williams headquarters downtown, mainly because it’s more than 600 feet tall, Cleveland Clinic’s largest-ever building project is roughly the same size when measured in square feet. The new Neurological Institute, on Carnegie Avenue between East 86th and 89th streets, will total 1,064,000 square feet on its 15 floors.
Angela Smith, senior director of corporate communications at the Cleveland Clinic, said the Neuro Building is on schedule to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026. With its large floor plates that are more than twice what one would normally see in a modern office building, the structure will host more than 2,000 workers, of which at least 400 will be local residents.
Cleveland Clinic’s largest single building project at its Main Campus is the 1-million-square-foot Neurological Institute on Carnegie Avenue. The steel skeleton is halfway up, but the building is still two years away from opening (KJP).
As the biggest piece of the Clinic’s $1.3 billion construction program throughout the entire health system, the Neuro Building will expand treatment of adult and pediatric patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. There will be 210 beds for inpatient care and 120 exam rooms for outpatient care. Sixteen operating rooms and surgical support facilities will be provided.
“There is 50 million pounds of concrete in the foundation, 24 million pounds of steel and more than 35 new apprentices opportunities for trade workers,” Smith told NEOtrans.
She also said the project, managed by Turner Construction of New York City, is guided by LEAN Integrated Project Delivery principals. This method combines lean management principles with a collaborative, aligned team and contract structure to improve the outcomes of construction projects.
Farther east at the Clinic’s Main Campus, work is well underway on the new Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health. As the largest building project, so far, to come out of the public-private Cleveland Innovation District, it is on target to be competed by early 2026.
The new Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health along Cedar Avenue is comprised of two buildings on either side of East 100th Street. Of those buildings, progress is farther along on the eastern one with the western one, nearest to the camera, just starting to go vertical. Note the rendering of the final product on the construction fence (KJP).
Rising on Cedar Avenue, on both sides of East 100th Street, the pair of new buildings totaling 296,000 square feet are being jointly funded by the Clinic and the state of Ohio. With construction managed by the Gilbane Building Co. of Providence, RI, the completed facilities will have research laboratories, classroom space, offices, café and a green space with walking paths, Smith said.
“It brings the state of Ohio and JobsOhio together with Cleveland’s health care and higher education institutions to create jobs,” Smith explained.
Farthest along in its construction is the expansion of the Cole Eye Institute, managed by Whiting-Turner Contracting of Cleveland. The 150,000-square-foot Jeffrey and Patricia Cole Building will open to patients in the spring of 2025 on East 105th Street south of Euclid Avenue. It will have 60 exam rooms for outpatient care, with three procedure rooms and eight operating rooms.
The new building will expand the Clinic’s eye care programs — pediatrics, imaging and research — available at the original, neighboring Cole Eye Institute, 2042 E. 102nd St. Once the new building opens, the existing one will go under the knife later in 2025. The existing building is 26 years old and measures 130,000 square feet.
Structurally built out, the expansion of the Cole Eye Institute is seen here as the green building at East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue. It extends behind the existing Cole Eye Institute, seen at right. The existing building will be renovated starting by about this time next year (KJP).
A source said that one project that is taking longer than Clinic officials had expected is the physical manifestation of a new partnership between the Clinic and Canon Healthcare USA Inc., announced last November. The project is very much alive behind the scenes but is slow-going, the source added. Smith said she did not have any new information to share about it.
Canon initiated a strategic research partnership with the Clinic to develop imaging and healthcare information technologies. As a result of the partnership, the two organizations said late last year that they expected to establish a comprehensive imaging research center. The center will potentially include a shared workspace in an existing building in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood, adjacent to Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.
While no specific location was identified, sources said the likely site would be the vacant, former IBM Explorys building at Cedar and East 105th. The building with offices and labs measures 41,630 square feet. It was built in 2018 and is owned by Geis Companies of Cleveland and Streetsboro. The building sets on land owned by the Clinic.
The Clinic is often entertaining proposals from other potential partners for new developments. Recently, city officials have noted in media reports that the city and the Clinic were working with a company they didn’t want to disclose publicly was seeking to develop “a campus” in or near University Circle.
If Canon Healthcare USA Inc. follows through on its partnership with the Cleveland Clinic, it could repurpose the 2018-built, former IBM Explorys building on East 105th Street with new research facilities. Canon and others may also be interested in the former neighborhood nearby for additional healthcare-related developments (Google).
NEOtrans has since learned that this is an international firm but it may have pulled back somewhat from its earlier, more aggressive development plans. Neither Smith or City Council President Blaine Griffin, whose sixth ward includes the Clinic, would comment on what, if anything, is being planned here.
Lastly, housing developments as follow-ons to the recent openings of The Medley and The Aura at Innovation Square are proving to be a mixed bag. At the site of a potential phase two for The Medley, at Cedar and East 103rd Street, the provision of a temporary parking lot for contractors building the pathogens center suggests that a phase two for the market-rate housing is not imminent.
On the other hand, efforts are already under way to secure financing for a second phase for Innovation Square. Proposed at 2287 E. 103rd St. is a three-story, $24.8 million apartment building with 67 affordable apartments. As with the first phase, the lead developer is the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corp., joined by St. Louis-based McCormack Baron Salazar.
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