Clinic committed to building in Avon — CEO
By Kevin Kelley
Westshore
Published Oct. 3, 2007

The Cleveland Clinic is committed to building a 170,000-square-foot facility in Avon regardless of whether a proposed interchange is built at I-90 and Nagel Road, according to Dr. Toby Cosgrove, chief executive officer of the local health care institution.

“One way or another we’re going to build there,” Cosgrove said.

Cosgrove made the comments at a Sept. 25 meeting of Fairview Hospital’s Community Advisory Board.

Cosgrove also confirmed that the 40 acres of land the Clinic plans to build on is being donated by The Richard E. Jacobs Group, which owns much of the land around the site of the proposed interchange location.

The Clinic began looking for a location to expand once it became apparent that it would outgrow its Clemens Road facility, Cosgrove said.

In addition, that building has problems with its foundation that are causing it to sink, Cosgrove told the advisory board. The building’s basement has flooded a handful of times within the past year, he told West Life. Any future owner of the Clemens Road property will likely have to demolish the building, he added.

Cosgrove said trying to find a new location has been a very frustrating experience, he said.

The Clinic attempted to find another location in Westlake, Cosgrove said. Preliminary plans of a medical facility at Crocker Park were even developed.

However, the Clinic could not find a location with enough space at the right price in the city, Cosgrove said.

“We just couldn’t find a site (in Westlake),” Cosgrove said.

Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough told West Life that Cleveland Clinic officials have assured him that the institution’s Columbia Road facility will remain open.

Clough has said he is not opposed to the Avon interchange per se. But he wants a commitment that funding will be available to maintain ancillary roads that may see an increase in traffic once the interchange is built.

The proposed I-90 interchange has created battle lines between suburbs and even counties. Several western suburbs of Cuyahoga County has expressed concerns about increased traffic the interchange may create. And officials from the cities of Cleveland and Westlake are concerned that an accelerated outmigration to Lorain County will cause them economic hardship.

Cosgrove said studies have indicated the interchange will have a negligible effect on suburban sprawl.

“I’m amazed that it’s risen to the level of angst that it has,” he said of the interchange controversy.

The governing board of NOACA (Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency), which has debated the interchange issue at recent meetings, will take the issue up again at its Oct. 12 meeting.

The proposed interchange will be constructed with local, not federal, funds. However, the project is located on the federal highway system and is therefore subject to the metropolitan transportation planning process. As the designated metropolitan planning organization, NOACA’s governing board must decide if this project should be added to the region’s transportation plan.

Fred DeGrandis, president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic Regional Hospitals, said a larger Avon family health center will better utilize Fairview and Lakewood hospitals.

“Not only is it good for the community, it’s good for our individual hospitals on the West Side,” DeGrandis said. “It’s not about moving out of Cuyahoga County.”

While Cosgrove said the Clinic is committed to the Avon site regardless of what happens with the interchange, the health care giant has been lobbying NOACA for its construction.

“The Clinic is looking to more adequately serve the citizens of Northeast Ohio,” Cosgrove said at NOACA’s Aug. 22 meeting. “A new facility in Avon will meet our expanding needs, and we anticipate that the new interchange will provide improved access to the new facility.”