Topic: Cleveland: University Hospitals Expansion (University Circle)

[oallostavros]

Here are some pics of the two most recent additions to CWRU/UHs research infrastructure.

[CornerCurve]

Just saw this on cleveland.com and thought I'd post it. I'm not sure how much will be newly announced construction and how much was previously announced. I just know I like how "$1 billion construction and building renovation plan" sounds.

By Regina McEnery
Plain Dealer reporter

University Hospitals Health System will announce on Wednesday a $1 billion construction and building renovation plan that will result in a new cancer hospital, a new nursery for the sickest infants and expansion of clinical services at a number of satellite centers.

[mrnyc]

^you beat me to it! all i can say is wow those are some very significant building and expansion plans. much of it is spread around satellite offices, but i cant wait for the details, renderings and of course cranes in the air on the main campus.

[StrapHanger]

I'm going to reserve judgment on whether this is unqualified good news.  UH does a much better job than the Clinic of using its scarce real estate (not tough) but I think it is out of necessity, not out of sensitivity to the neighborhood: this could mean the end of the the Cozad house and East 115th.  Maybe if UH didn't use so much land building huge parking garages that literally cast their shadow on the rapid tracks...

Still, sounds like a lot of new jobs.

[mrnyc]

^you really think this means teardowns? ugh. what is it that big institutions cannot do more creative build arounds?

[StrapHanger]

Mere speculation and suspicion on my part but I believe the only reason UH didn't knock down E115 before was UCI agreeing to renovate and manage the houses there.  The state of the Cozad house sort of speaks for itself (I think it is owned by UH).

I imagine UH is quite envious of the Clinic's seemingly endless supply of real estate (and perhaps even the sh!tty suburban schlock it permits).

[3231]

Straphanger,

1. While it may seem like the Clinic has a lot of space, their expansion plans are ambitious.  They will have a land shortage.

2. I don't mind that UH builds their garages next to the rapid tracks.  It blocks the freight train noise (which come every 20 minutes) and it keeps them from fronting on major streets.

Now onto the projects..

UHHS

The new Cancer center will go in either of two places: at the corner of Euclid and Cornell (best option imho) or at Cornell and E.115 (this option would knock out 2 or 3 homes on E115).  UH should also be announcing a new emergency room building and are looking into a hotel/conference center.  The old nurse dorms (the pretty building that faces Euclid with all the window unit A/Cs stickinng out) will be torn down at some point.  The support walls are many and the rooms are tiny--in other words, its functionally obsolete (and it makes for some horrible office dynamics). They were going to put the new emergency room at this location. This would have been horrible from an urban design standpoint.  Luckily, they were convinced to put it elsewhere.     

Cozad House

UH owns the property, but I am not sure if they own the house.  Don't worry, this house won't be touched (unless things have radically changed).  There is a group that is actively working to restore the home and turn it into some sort of Underground Railroad musuem.   

[X]

Are the old nurse dorms in the yellow brick colonial building that is set back a bit?  If so then it would be a real shame to lose.  It is a beautiful building that lends a real sense of dignity to the area, even if it is obsolete.  It reminds me of something that might be found on Harvard or Yale's campus.

[3231]

X,

You are correct. I was really sad when I found that out. However, it is just one of these 'yellow brick colonial' buildings.  Lakeside Hospital, the grandest building on the campus, will not be touched.  Hanna won't be touched either. Those are the same style as the nurse dorms (yet, much larger).  Originally, UH was going to put the emergency room and entrance where the nurse dorm building is. Also, they were going to put a parking lot infront of it.  A six foot cement wall would separate the surface parking lot and the Euclid sidewalk--you couldn't have dreamed it up any worse than that.  Now, they are considering the nurse dorm building as  a possible location for the hotel.  If it were to go there, it would open up onto Euclid.   

Interesting thing about the nurse dorms: Most of the rooms are tiny.  Supposedly, there is lot of jealousy about which departments get the bigger rooms.  It has caused a lot of internal problems.  If they could knock out walls and renovate, they would. 

[3231]

Along with the construction...

Besides the construction jobs, UH plans on adding about 1000 workers in the next 5 years to staff these buildings.

[X]

X,

You are correct. I was really sad when I found that out. However, it is just one of these 'yellow brick colonial' buildings.  Lakeside Hospital, the grandest building on the campus, will not be touched.  Hanna won't be touched either. Those are the same style as the nurse dorms (yet, much larger).  Originally, UH was going to put the emergency room and entrance where the nurse dorm building is. Also, they were going to put a parking lot infront of it.  A six foot cement wall would separate the surface parking lot and the Euclid sidewalk--you couldn't have dreamed it up any worse than that.  Now, they are considering the nurse dorm building as  a possible location for the hotel.  If it were to go there, it would open up onto Euclid.  

Oy Vay!  A six foot concrete wall!  That's not urban design, that's an insult.  Thank god they aren't doing that.  A hotel at least has the possibility of being a nice street front use.

I'm glad to hear that it is just the one building will go.

[StrapHanger]

Thanks for all the detailed info and insight Wimwar.  UH and the Clinic are among the biggest (I think the Clinic is the biggest) employers in the county so their health and growth in the city is always good economic news, even if not always for the immediate neighborhood.  My reaction to the parking garages is purely viceral, I can appreciate their buffer value.

That said, while it may be poised for some change, I think University Circle has a long long way to go; at this point I think it is highly overrated as anything more than a conveniently clustered set of institutions, some scattered interesting buildings, and an unevenly pleasant, but not extraordinary, college campus.  I love walking around the place but am always amazed how few others seem to share that view based on the empty sidewalks.  While I applaud the macro economic effects of the new jobs, I don't see hospital expansion doing anything other than reinforcing the current status as bland institutional ghetto.

A hotel fronting Euclid on the nurse dorm site is good news though (I like the existing building a whole lot but it has a very akward setback from Euclid).  And I am very hopeful about MOCA's move which promises to bring some interest in design to the table.  The last renderings I saw for UCI's (aborted) development on the beach were depressingly bad and I am relieved they were never realized.

[CornerCurve]

Here's the article PD article via cleveland.com

Regina McEnery
Plain Dealer Reporter

Greater Cleveland's second-largest health-care system is embarking on a $1 billion building spree that will significantly expand emergency room services and bring Northeast Ohio a free-standing cancer hospital.

[urbanlife]

Here is the graphic:

[KJP]

If that's the design for the Cancer Hospital, then I think the UH architects have been hanging around the Clinic's architects for too long. Yet another design that doesn't create sidewalk activity -- especially on Euclid Avenue. It doesn't front the street. Where's the opportunity for sidewalk-level mixed use?

What ever happened to architects understanding how to create urban-friendly designs? Did they all die off by the 1950s? This isn't rocket science, but it sure is frustrating.

[StrapHanger]

Agreed.  Euclid doesn't need any more front lawns.

[Map Boy]

I thought that (new cancer hospital) site was going to be the hotel?

[StrapHanger]

From Wimwar's description I think the site being considered for a future hotel is the planned lawn in front of the new parking garage to the right of the entry drive.

For an interesting comparison, here is a map of the Longwood Medical Area in Boston: http://www.hms.harvard.edu/about/maps/lmamap.html

[WoollyBear]

I know buildings that are built on the street create sidewalk traffic, but I don't know if those have a place in a hospital setting. If I have cancer and am staying in a hospital, I think I rather see a nice manicured lawn, then asphalt. I know some of you might not agree, but there has to be some method to their madness.

[X]

How about a nice tree-lined street with planters, public art, well thought out street furniture, and lots of people going about their daily business.  You are assuming that urban=unpleasant and unhealthy.

[3231]

If that's the design for the Cancer Hospital, then I think the UH architects have been hanging around the Clinic's architects for too long. Yet another design that doesn't create sidewalk activity -- especially on Euclid Avenue. It doesn't front the street. Where's the opportunity for sidewalk-level mixed use?

What ever happened to architects understanding how to create urban-friendly designs? Did they all die off by the 1950s? This isn't rocket science, but it sure is frustrating.

I believe that its only a massing.  The site for the cancer center has not been selected as of yet.  UH already knows that this sort of design is not what is desired.  We should know more in the next few months.

Also, the hotel location is just a concept.  But, there is definite interest in building a hotel/conference center somewhere in the immediate area. 

[the pope]

re cozad: nice to see its seemingly safe

re the UHHS graphic: who the hell makes a graphic with the orientation south, i was so confused for a good 30 seconds.....

[X]

You'd lose half of the renderings of the new buildings if they oriented the graphic north.

[KJP]

re the UHHS graphic: who the hell makes a graphic with the orientation south, i was so confused for a good 30 seconds.....

Was that before or after your bottle feeding? 

[zaceman]

hmm im not too terribly excited about the demolition of the dormatories for a parking garage.  thats really terrible.

[the pope]

^yeah, i just realized the loss of the old dorms and hanna hospital....icky

[3231]

^I agree about the dorms, but Hanna is a 50s eyesore.  There is another Hanna building on the premises that is beautiful.  The beautiful one stays, the dumpy one goes.

My wife might be working at UHHS next year.  She said that Hanna is very poor inside and that the emergency room is embarrassing. 

[3231]

Well, it does appear that the Cancer center will be on the Euclid parcel.  That's good news, in my opinion.  Now lets hope that they bring it all the way to the sidewalk.

[the pope]

yeah, that parcel has been vacant for far too long

[KJP]

Is this something new & different, or old & rehashed?

http://cleveland.cox.net/cci/newslocal/local?_mode=view&view=LocalNewsArticleView&articleId=1645119&_action=validatearticle

Local Hospital Getting A Billion Dollar Makeover     
07-26-2006 11:56 AM

(Cleveland, OH) -- University Hospitals Health System is undergoing a one-billion-dollar expansion project, while the hospital is growing it's name is shrinking. Beginning in September, the name of the second largest health system in Cleveland will be known only as University Hospitals. The main facility will become Case Medical Center, University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University have a long standing relationship and recently signed a new affiliation contract. Patients, visitors and hospital staff will also see a new shield shaped red logo instead of the old blue lettering.


Copyright 2006 Metro Networks Communications Inc., A Westwood One Company 

[3231]

The Case Medical Center is new (Crains had a big story on it this week). Case is trying to get everyone in UC to include their name.  The name switch for UH makes sense. 

The billion dollar thing is old news.

[3231]

UH’s main campus to bear Case name
Entire hospital system rebranding with streamlined identity, new logo
 
By SHANNON MORTLAND

6:00 am, July 24, 2006



It took years of internal wrangling, but Case Western Reserve University finally will have its name on a hospital — and University Hospitals of Cleveland will have a whole new identity.

As part of a new branding campaign, UH will change the name of University Hospitals of Cleveland to Case Medical Center and will refer to its entire health system only as University Hospitals, said Jeff Boutelle, senior vice president of marketing and communications at UH.

The name change comes just several months after UH inked a new affiliation agreement with Case. As part of the agreement, four entities will become part of Case Medical Center. They include the Case medical school, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case Research Institute and UH’s faculty practice, which is made up of the 750 doctors who are on the Case faculty and practice at UH.

Though the UH name was well-known throughout the region, it wasn’t distinguishable from the 71 other health systems across the country that also refer to themselves as “university hospitals,” Mr. Boutelle said.

“Our challenge was to specify who we are,” he said. “Which university are we talking about?”

 
The Case Medical Center name also will give UH and Case more of a national identity and will signify the 50-year affiliation between the two entities, Mr. Boutelle said.

Dr. Ralph Horwitz, dean of Case’s medical school, said the renaming of University Hospitals of Cleveland was a big part of the affiliation agreement between the university and the hospital system. The renaming was a major sticking point between the two institutions and was one reason the affiliation agreement was not completed sooner.

“It was an important element for both of us,” Dr. Horwitz said. “It gives us an important presence in a clinical program and it’s important for the care of the patients who come to our facility.”

A hospital that sports the Case name only can help in the recruitment of students and faculty, Dr. Horwitz said, because it elevates the stature of the university’s medical and research program.



Fall unveiling set

The new names and a new logo now are being rolled out internally at UH, but will be launched publicly in late September or early October with an extensive marketing and advertising campaign, Mr. Boutelle said.

Though details of that campaign are still being ironed out, Mr. Boutelle said it will include TV, print, direct mail and billboard advertising. He was unsure of the cost of the campaign, but said it will be a “significant investment” and is expected to last four to six months.

The health system will replace its blue nameplate with a red logo and signage. In the shape of a shield, the red logo is supposed to symbolize the strength, protection and academic portions of UH. The three white, horizontal stripes represent the hospital system’s mission “to heal, to teach and to discover.”

A curved, black line that protrudes over the top of the shield and the red dot in front of it are intended to signify a healthy, hopeful and vital person and UH’s commitment to patients, employees and the community. They chose the color red to show confidence and boldness.

The logo will be seen at all UH locations, but will include the Case Medical Center name when seen on the main campus, Mr. Boutelle said. UH will take a year to replace all the signs throughout its system, beginning in October, he said.



The public sets the tone

UH hired Denver branding firm Monigle Associates Inc. to conduct market studies and to create a new logo and identity. The public, however, already had done much of the work on the name.

“Ultimately, people called us University Hospitals and they know us as University Hospitals. They shorthand us as UH,” Mr. Boutelle said.

The suburban outpatient centers now will be called health centers and the health system’s outlying hospitals will be renamed medical centers, a moniker that Mr. Boutelle said connotes a higher level of clinical care. He said many hospitals are beginning to call themselves medical centers.

All the suburban locations also will begin to incorporate the names of their geographic locations, such as Chagrin Highlands Health Center, Mr. Boutelle said.

All marketing and internal communications will adopt the same look throughout the UH system, he said. In the past, each location was given the autonomy to create its own marketing style, but that resulted in brochures that had a different look at each hospital.

“We’ve done an awful lot of work to really articulate what is the UH brand, who we are, what we stand for, what makes us unique and what is our promise to the community,” Mr. Boutelle said.

[3231]

UH gets $1M gift
Related Links 
University Hospitals of Cleveland
 

 

By SHANNON MORTLAND

3:19 pm, August 10, 2006



University Hospitals of Cleveland has received a $1 million gift from a Beachwood and Palm Beach, Fla., resident to improve pulmonary and critical care medicine.

S. Darwin Noll, chairman and owner of the Cardinal American Corp. manufacturing firm in Independence, donated the money in honor of Dr. Hugo Montenegro, a pulmonary and critical care specialist at UH and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

The gift will establish The S. Darwin Noll Clinical Discovery Fund in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine to support clinical research and education in pulmonary medicine.

“We are so grateful for friends like Darwin Noll who express their appreciation for the extraordinary care they receive at University Hospitals,” said Thomas Zenty III, UH’s president and CEO.

[musky]

From Crain's:

UH selects architects for Vision 2010 project

By SHANNON MORTLAND

11:02 am, October 17, 2006

University Hospitals has chosen the architectural firms for the building projects that are part of its Vision 2010 plan, the health system’s $1 billion construction and renovation initiative.

While local architectural firms will be hired to do engineering, production, and drawing work, all of the main architectural firms are from outside Greater Cleveland.

On the UH Case Medical Center campus, Cannon Design of St. Louis, Mo., will design the new cancer hospital. OWP/P Inc. of Chicago will renovate and expand the Center for Emergency Medicine, and Parkin Architects Ltd. of Toronto will design the new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Design of the Twinsburg Health Center will be done by Columbus’ Moody Nolan Inc., while HKS Inc. of Dallas will design the new 200-bed hospital and outpatient medical office building in the Chagrin Highlands area.

Local construction companies and contractors will be hired to oversee site preparation and demolition and Ozanne Construction Co. of Cleveland will coordinate pre-construction projects.

[blinker12]

As the University Circle thread has become a little unwieldy, I thought it would be a good time to start a thread dedicated to University Hospitals' upcoming projects. The article featured renderings but they don't seem to be online.


3 projects fail to put UH's best foot forward on Euclid
Sunday, April 15, 2007

By Steven Litt
PD Architecture Critic

Euclid Avenue, once home to the mansions of Millionaires' Row, is becoming the backbone of Cleveland's new economy.

Big investments are under way, bolstered by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority's $200 million rapid transit bus line, now under construction.

Cultural institutions, the city's two big universities, the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals are spending more than $2 billion on projects that could redefine Cleveland as a city of education, medicine and the arts.

But with the city losing population steadily and suffering from concentrated poverty, it's crucial that every institution strive for the best in architecture and urban planning to make Cleveland a more attractive place to live and work.
sculpture.

more at http://www.cleveland.com