New Cleveland Hospital Tops Out

MetroHealth hospital tops out in Cleveland. Image courtesy of Turner Construction Co.

MetroHealth has topped off its 11-story, 270-bed new hospital under construction that is part of a $1 billion plan to transform and modernize buildings on the 52-acre campus in Cleveland. Construction began on the new hospital in April 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in April 2022.

Jeff Abke, senior project manager with Turner Construction Co.’s Cleveland office, said in prepared remarks the hospital project includes a multi-level connector building that will attach to the existing Critical Care Pavilion, which was completed in 2016 in one of the early phases. A central utility plant and loading dock will be completed in unison with the new hospital.

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In addition to Turner, other construction management partners include Adrian Maldonado and Associates, Ozanne Construction, McTech and Donley’s. According to Abke, there are about 350 workers on site who have been working together through the pandemic to keep the hospital construction safely on schedule. A MetroHealth blog post noted the crews have installed more than 8.6 million pounds of structural steel for the building’s framework.

Project Details

Walter Jones, senior vice president, campus transformation, noted in the blog post that the job site will grow to about 500 workers in the coming months. He said the installation of the glass exterior-wall cladding had begun and would continue into next spring. The interior work on lowers floors is also underway, including plumbing infrastructure, ductwork and interior wall framing. Jones said the central utility plant construction is also moving along quickly with walls and roof in place. Cooling towers, water tanks, pumps, electrical switch gears, emergency generators and chillers have been installed. The old hospital will be demolished when the new building reaches completion. A 1,500-space parking garage has already been built.

The project is being financed by $946 million in hospital-revenue bonds that were sold in May 2017. No taxpayer money is being used for the project. A $100 million fundraising campaign led by the MetroHealth Foundation will support the campus’ expanded green space and community programs. Part of the health system’s transformation focuses on creating more green space at MetroHealth’s facilities through Cuyahoga County, including 25 acres of green space around the new hospital. MetroHealth has four hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers and 40 additional sites across the county.