Cleveland plans to demolish the J. Glen Smith Health Center to make way for a new Glenville high school near the corner of East 113th Street and St. Clair Avenue.
The city Department of Public Health and the MetroHealth System, which both operate out of the center, say they will relocate their services elsewhere in the area when the building shuts its doors. City officials discussed the plans with Cleveland City Council’s health committee Monday.
The shuffle is one ripple effect of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Mayor Justin Bibb’s move to consolidate schools across the city. The plan, known as Building Brighter Futures, calls for selling Collinwood High School and building a new school and YMCA recreation center on the current Glenville site.
The city offers vaccinations, birth control and screenings for sexually transmitted infections at the J. Glen Smith Center, according to Health Director Dr. David Margolius. MetroHealth’s services include pediatrics, obstetrics and primary care.
Margolius estimated that his department sees fewer than 3,000 patients per year there, although he said MetroHealth’s patient volume is larger.
The health center would close in fall 2027, when demolition is expected to start for the Glenville project, according to Margolius.
MetroHealth could relocate to the Eastside Market, a city-owned grocery store in Glenville that is searching for a new operator. The hospital system submitted a proposal to the city outlining the possible relocation, a MetroHealth spokesperson said.
“MetroHealth remains committed to serving Glenville,” spokesperson Tim Magaw told Signal Cleveland in an email.
Meanwhile, Cleveland is looking for 4,000 square feet of space on the city’s Northeast Side to relocate its public health services, Margolius told council on Monday.
A reshuffling of the East Side’s health map
Council Members Kevin Conwell and Michael Polensek, who both represent the northeast part of the city, said residents were concerned about losing the health center.
Polensek said he was “mortified” by plans to close and demolish the J. Glen Smith Center. The Ward 10 council member said he goes to that center for vaccinations.
“What’s the game plan for the East Side residents?” he asked. “Where are they supposed to get health assistance? I mean, does Mayor Bibb have a plan for the Northeast Side of the city? I don’t think he does.”
MetroHealth is “not going anywhere” from the Glenville neighborhood, Margolius replied. The city has considered relocating its own services to the building that housed Hannah Gibbons Elementary School, a shuttered school in the Collinwood-Nottingham neighborhood, he said.
“We’re going to continue to give you your flu shot on the Northeast Side of Cleveland,” he told Polensek.
It’s not the only health shakeup on the East Side. Conwell pointed to the financial problems at Northeast Ohio Neighborhood Health Services, also known as NEON.
“If J. Glen is not there, and then NEON falls apart, then what do you got?” Conwell said.
“NEON has already fallen apart,” Margolius replied. He suggested the city would consider using its buildings once they became available.
School demolitions to cost millions
The J. Glen Smith Center is tied up in a larger proposed land swap between Cleveland and CMSD. The center abuts the current Glenville High School campus.
Under the swap, CMSD would receive the J. Glen Smith property and a few land bank parcels from the city. In exchange, the school district would give City Hall two closed school properties on the West Side: Newton D. Baker and Walton.
CMSD’s board has approved the swap, which is now awaiting a vote by City Council.
Cleveland plans to build a new fire station on the Walton land, according to James DeRosa, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Capital Projects. The city would redevelop the Baker property into housing, he said.
It is expected to cost about $1.3 million to demolish the Walton building, he said. He estimated that the Baker demolition will cost between $1.3 million and $1.5 million. Cleveland will also be responsible for razing the J. Glen Smith Center, he said.
The city is applying to the Cuyahoga Land Bank for a grant to help with school demolition costs, DeRosa said.
Council questioned why the city, rather than the school district, was left with the demolition bill. DeRosa pointed to CMSD’s financial hardships and said that Bibb didn’t want to leave neighborhoods with boarded-up school buildings.
