Cleveland Clinic plans to demolish its Mellen Center at 1950 E. 89th St. in early 2027, ending the use of the longtime multiple sclerosis treatment and research hub. The change involves two relocations: Mellen Center care services are expected to move to the Clinic’s new Neurological Institute, while the health system’s police department is preparing to leave its current headquarters for a former pharmacy nearby.
The Mellen Center, also called the U Building, has 96,556 square feet in four connected components, according to NEOtrans. A demolition application filed by DLR Group principal Hans Walter says the buildings’ ceiling heights and layouts would make clinical reuse difficult. The filing did not include a demolition cost estimate, the outlet reported.
MS Services Moving to a Billion-Dollar Building
In early 2027, the Clinic plans to move the Mellen Center’s multiple sclerosis treatment and research facilities to its Neurological Institute on Carnegie Avenue, one block south. The $1.1 billion, 1-million-square-foot facility is the health system’s largest building, according to the Clinic. Construction was nearing completion, NEOtrans reported.
What the Neurological Institute will bring together
Cleveland Clinic says the Neurological Institute is scheduled to open in early 2027 and will bring neurological providers and services together under one roof, according to its Neurological Institute information page.
After demolition, the site is expected to be used for contractor parking in the near term, according to NEOtrans. Clinic officials are also considering a Central Utility Plant for the property, but that longer-term possibility has not been finalized.
Police Department Trading 1935 Station for a Former Rite Aid
The Clinic police department’s current headquarters occupies a roughly 13,000-square-foot section of the Mellen Center complex facing Euclid Avenue. Built in 1935, it is expected to be replaced next year by a police station in the former Rite Aid at 10090 Chester Ave. The 11,870-square-foot building, constructed in 2007 on Clinic-owned land, stopped operating as a retail pharmacy in September 2024.
Reported estimates for converting the former pharmacy into a police station have changed. NEOtrans put the renovation at about $3.5 million in a July report; its later report cited a November 9 construction permit issued to Mid-Continent Construction Co. of Bedford Heights that listed $4,526,100. The available reporting does not explain the difference or establish whether the estimates cover the same work.
Part of a Much Larger Campus Overhaul
The Mellen Center work is part of a broader transformation of Cleveland Clinic’s main campus, which spans the Fairfax, Hough and University Circle neighborhoods. Other projects include a $230 million Cedar Avenue emergency department expansion that requires the demolition of six structures, as well as one of two planned parking garages. Cleveland Magazine reported that the garages are budgeted at a combined $175 million and are designed for 1,500 and 2,500 cars, respectively.
The Clinic has begun planning another phase of its Main Campus master plan, according to the Cleveland Clinic Newsroom. Potential projects could add inpatient capacity, modernize facilities and expand specialty-care space, Cleveland Magazine reported. The magazine, citing sources who spoke to NEOtrans, said a new hospital bed tower may not begin construction until at least the early 2030s, after utility-plant moves and other demolitions.
Cleveland Magazine also reported, citing two sources familiar with the Clinic’s plans who spoke to NEOtrans on condition of anonymity, that the Clinic is assembling properties and meeting with potential general contractors for possible future campus development. Those sources described potential projects including a relocated hotel, a lab on Opportunity Corridor and new hospital bed towers. The Clinic has not formally announced those projects.
The possible utility-plant use of the Mellen Center site comes as the Clinic plans changes to its campus utility infrastructure. Cleveland Clinic anticipates eventually moving its Central Utility Plant from East 90th Street after completion of the emergency department expansion and East 86th Street garage. The existing plant was designed to provide emergency power to roughly 3 million square feet of inpatient facilities, and the main campus has since grown beyond that capacity. The old plant is expected to be demolished after a replacement is built; its site is being considered for inpatient facilities at least eight stories tall.
NEOtrans reporter Ken Prendergast has covered the Clinic’s campus redevelopment, including the earlier estimate for the former Rite Aid conversion.
