The MetroHealth System Breaks Ground on New Main Campus Hospital

Community leaders and government officials lauded The MetroHealth System Monday evening at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new hospital on its West 25^th Street main campus. The 11-floor, 386-bed hospital is the next major step of MetroHealth’s campus transformation and will open to patients in 2023.

"This new hospital celebrates our community, lifts our neighborhood, honors our neighbors. And it will welcome all who seek care and compassion," said MetroHealth’s President and CEO, Dr. Akram Boutros.

More than 200 people attended the ceremony held in a tent near the new hospital’s construction site.

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown was among the attendees. “Thank you for treating everyone who walks through these doors at Metro with dignity,” he said. “It’s a philosophy we need more of in this city.”

U.S. Senator Rob Portman provided a video with remarks about the new hospital and MetroHealth’s Office of Opioid Safety. “This new hospital, along with the efforts to transform Metro’s main campus will certainly be an anchor to revitalizing the West 25^th Street neighborhood in Cleveland.

“I remember being impressed with MetroHealth’s comprehensive approach to this (opioid) crisis and I’m impressed to this day by its results. MetroHealth is doing great work in the community to continue to help turn the tide of this drug epidemic.”

Local government officials in attendance included Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish, Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley and Cuyahoga County Council President Dan Brady.

“This investment will allow MetroHealth to continue in its mission to provide high-quality health care for everyone …” Mayor Jackson said. “It will also allow for economic growth and community development not just in the immediate neighborhood but in the entire city of Cleveland.”

Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish added, “This transformation is great for the neighborhood, and in our entire community, it’s an economic generator and that’s very positive. Cuyahoga County is extremely proud to support this new hospital being right here on West 25^th Street, and we’re grateful for MetroHealth and Dr. Boutros for making this happen.”

All patient rooms will feature floor-to-ceiling windows and space for family members. A large main lobby with an open community area is designed for local performances and community gatherings. The internal environment will reflect the outdoors and natural landscape of Cleveland, with earthy tones, indoor vegetation and an abundance of natural lighting. The building is designed with the goal of achieving high levels of environmental and wellness standards, including LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver and WELL Building certifications.

Additional transformation plans call for turning nearly half the main campus into green space with connections to the Towpath Trail and RTA bus lines.

“This isn’t just MetroHealth’s future. This is your future,” said Dr. Boutros. “This investment has already sparked the revitalization of our West Side neighborhood. It’s already creating jobs. It’s already bringing hope to thousands of people who felt left out of America’s rebound from the Great Recession and Cleveland’s great renaissance. It is clearly so much more than a hospital.”

MetroHealth launched its campus transformation in 2015, with the demolition of the Northcoast Behavioral Health Care Facility and the construction of a two-story addition to the existing Critical Care Pavilion. That addition, which opened in 2016, was completed on time and under budget. A new 1500-car parking garage opened for employees in 2018. In early 2019, demolition of the Southpoint garage was completed, opening the site for the new hospital.

The campus transformation is being financed by nearly $1 billion in revenue bonds that the hospital issued on its own credit in 2017. It is believed to be the largest self-funded public hospital project in the nation. No taxpayer funds are being used in the construction.

MetroHealth is committed to diversity and strengthening the local economy. To date, 26 local businesses have been hired to work on the project, and 10 are minority- or women-owned.

Over the course of its nine-year timeline (2014-2023), the campus transformation will support more than 5,000 jobs and result in nearly $900 million in economic benefit for Cuyahoga County, according to a 2017 report from Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs. The project could generate more than $95 million in additional local, state and federal tax revenue.

Turner Construction Company leads the construction management and HGA leads the design, planning, architecture and engineering of the project. Hammes Company, the nation’s leading health care facilities development company, is the owner’s rep for the campus transformation.

In 2018, MetroHealth announced a five-year campaign to raise $100 million for core aspects of the transformation. The campaign, “For All of Us,” supports the development of green space, endowed professorships and programs for the community.

More information and images of the hospital can be found at metrohealth.org/transformation.

For a virtual tour of the hospital, click here.