A familiar landmark in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood continued its fall to the excavator’s claw last week. Demolition workers have been taking down the main building of St. Vincent Charity Medical Center on East 22nd Street and Community College Avenue.
The seven-story tower opened in 1965, a century after the dedication of the hospital founded by French Catholic women religious from the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine.
Today, in the healthcare system’s 160th year, St. Vincent is transforming from an inpatient hospital to a health center focused on outpatient services. The hospital announced the end of inpatient care in 2022.
St. Vincent still offers primary care, outpatient mental health services, its Mission Kitchen, outpatient addiction treatment through Rosary Hall and care at Joseph & Mary’s Home for people experiencing homelessness, according to the hospital system.
Cuyahoga County is slating money for a new behavioral health facility run by The Centers on the St. Vincent campus. Goodwill has announced plans to set up an operation at the former hospital site.
Gateway tries to keep up with stadium bills
Up the street from St. Vincent, the landlord for Progressive Field and Rocket Arena is stretching its money to pay the bills for repairs at the 31-year-old stadiums.
The nonprofit Gateway Economic Development Corp. is spending through the $40 million that it received from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County last year. The $20 million set aside for the arena is spent. Another $13 million remains on the ballpark side.
Gateway put a share of the ballpark money into a high-yield bank account, earning $160,000 in interest so far. On the arena side of the ledger, Gateway took $1.7 million in savings from broadcast technology updates and slated it for upgrades to the elevators and escalators. There’s still a nearly $331,000 shortfall for the elevator project — meaning somebody, perhaps the city or county, will need to come up with more money.
Gateway holds its board meetings in a conference room in the upper-level law offices of Mansour Gavin. The windows there offer an aerial view of that other stadium that taxpayers shell out for: Huntington Bank Field.
