A lot of structural square footage is getting demolished next to Downtown Cleveland. So are viable structures with the potential to be converted to new uses. Instead, the potential will rest with acres of newly vacant land next to downtown that will become a canvas for something new to be designed. Those designs are getting underway (czoningservices.com). CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM.
More demos coming, more land for a do-over
Demolition crews got to work this week taking down St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, 2351 E. 22nd St,, where the southeast side of Downtown Cleveland meets the Central neighborhood. But it won’t be the only demolition in this area in the coming years.
Instead, it’s the just the start of what will likely be a lot of demolitions to occur in this area of the city, taking down buildings that many questioned why they couldn’t be repurposed. In total, more than 40 acres in the urban core are now in need of a new land-use vision — and that’s coming, too.
Starting work at the back of the hospital buildings, crews for Independence Excavating Inc. of Brecksville are working their way to their fronts in demolishing all but 18,000 square feet of the 449,338-square-foot hospital campus. The only part to remain is the vacated Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC) assessment building at the end of a skywalk over East 22nd.
There is a lot of soon-to-be vacant land in this portion of the Campus District. Not to mention a large amount of underutilized land including empty parking lots and roadway configurations that will change as a result of impending reconstruction of the Central Interchange of Interstates 90 and 77. It’s a big canvas for planning a big do-over.
A lot of land — more than 40 acres — is in play on the southeast side of Downtown Cleveland. The red-shaded areas are where demolitions are occurring or could soon occur in the coming years. But other underutilized properties exist in this area, too, and are part of a Campus District masterplan process now getting underway (Google).
“Campus District is working with all the anchor institutions and stakeholders to develop a comprehensive masterplan for the entire neighborhood, including the site of the St. Vincent Charity Medical Center,” said Campus District Executive Director Mark Lammon.
Some new uses are already getting ramped up. For example, the HCC ambulatory building may become a new branch of the Neighborhood Family Practice which is seeking a new Federally Qualified Health Center site in Cleveland’s Central Neighborhood.
The brick building is connected by skywalk to the St. Vincent’s former medical office which is being converted into the new headquarters and behavior health facility for The Centers For Families And Children. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center closed in 2022 after 157 years of inpatient services. The age of its to-be-demolished buildings range from 40-60 years old.
“Proceeding with demolition of the facilities comes after extensive evaluation,” said Mary Rose Sullivan, executive director of marketing and communications at the Sisters of Charity Health System. “It was determined that, because of the high maintenance costs of the aging facilities, an adaptive reuse is not financially feasible or sustainable.”
What you see in the foreground is what you will soon see in the background too — greenspace. The except is the skywalk at left over East 22nd Street and the brick building at the end of it. This building may be converted into a new Neighborhood Family Practice (Google).
Instead, the Sisters of Charity Health System is pursuing a Health and Healing Hub initiative for the immediate area which includes the Neighborhood Family Practice branch as well as a Women Religious Archives Collaborative (WRAC) Heritage Center.
The 30,000-square-foot WRAC archives facility, proposed to be constructed at 2490 E. 22nd, is estimated to cost $16 million. The first of its kind in the nation, it is due to start construction this spring on a 1.5-acre abandoned parking lot. Building Department records show a construction permit is pending but hasn’t been issued yet.
After that, more demolitions are coming, including the vacant, 1931-built Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center, 2163 Cedar Ave. It is to be demolished soon and, once cleared, its 4.5-acre site will be used for two years by the Ohio Department of Transportation for the $250 million reconstruction of the Central Interchange.
So far, the only new construction due to start soon in the Health and Healing Hub envisioned by the Sisters of Charity is the Women Religious Archives Collaborative Heritage Center, to be located on East 22nd Street. Permits are pending for the start of construction here. This will be the first of only four such heritage centers nationwide (Bostwick).
“The upcoming demolition of the former Juvenile Court Complex and the construction of the East 22nd Street Bridge will be transformative for the neighborhood by relinking the neighborhood back into downtown,” Lammon said.
Across I-90, Cleveland State University is weighing responses to its request for qualifications from developers on what to do with the 10-acre Wolstein Center arena site. Those responses had to be submitted earlier this month for renovating, repurposing or replacing the 34-year-old arena with new uses like academic, research, athletics, residential, and community engagement growth.
In the coming years, the vacated former Juvenile Justice Center site may figure into what may be the largest housing development in or near downtown. The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) is seeking to replace its 88-year-old, 18-acre Olde Cedar housing projects, 2202 E. 30th St. — yet another pending demolition.
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