Lakewood Family Health Center4.jpg

Large glass windows would face onto Belle and Detroit avenues from the planned Cleveland Clinic Lakewood Family Health Center, according to recently unveiled renderings from project architects. This is a view looking west. The canopy runs along Belle. See additional renderings below this story.

(Bostwick Design Partnership)

Robert Bostwick, president of Bostwick Design Partnership, describes the exterior design of the planned Cleveland Clinic Family Health Center in Lakewood.

LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- The Cleveland Clinic Family Health Center and emergency department planned for Downtown Lakewood would consist of mostly glass windows facing Detroit Avenue to the north and Belle Avenue to the east, according to plans recently unveiled by architects.

Meanwhile, the south side of the building and the west side facing St. Charles Avenue would have considerably smaller windows and as yet undetermined building materials.

The use of large glass windows on the north and east sides would convey transparency and allow residents walking and driving in downtown Lakewood to see inside the building. It would convey a "wellness message," architects from Bostwick Design Partnership said during a May 12 Architectural Board of Review meeting.

See the Bostwick Design Partnership's presentation below this story.

The glass windows covering the front of the building would allow pedestrians and drivers to see inside the health center's waiting rooms and public areas where patients and medical staff interact, according to the architects. The other two sides of the building would have fewer and smaller windows to protect patient privacy in examination rooms and other private areas.

The three-story, 62,000-square-foot family health center would be built on the site of the soon-to-be-demolished Lakewood Professional Building on the southwest corner of Detroit and Belle avenues. The Cleveland Clinic will spend $34 million on the building.

The medical office building is closing in connection with the shutdown of inpatient services at Lakewood Hospital.

The parking garage behind the building also would be demolished and replaced with a two-story parking deck, although details on the parking have yet to be revealed.

Information about building materials and a color pallet for the proposed Family Health Center will be detailed at an upcoming Architectural Board of Review meeting, possibly in June, architects said.

Robert Bostwick, Bostwick Design Partnership president, told the board and public that many details concerning the building's design have yet to be worked out.

"We are a long way from concluding our design," Bostwick said.

As detailed at a meeting last month, patient drop off would be handled on Belle Avenue, where a two-lane drop-off area would be constructed. A 10-foot public sidewalk would separate the drop-off area from the building. That size was increased from 6-feet at the request of the architectural review board. The sidewalk area will be covered by a canopy.

Ambulances would drop off patients from St. Charles Avenue, according to the plans, which drew complaints and concerns from several residents about ambulance traffic on the street. Ambulances going to the existing emergency department at the former Lakewood Hospital use either Belle or Marlowe avenues.

Several residents raised concerns about having only one entrance to the emergency department and questioned why a second entrance couldn't be built off either Belle or Detroit. Some residents felt Belle would be a better choice for the entrance. Architectural Board of Review members said they would invite Fire Chief Scott Gillman to a future meeting for his input on whether a second or different entrance might be needed for city ambulances.

Residents also requested a traffic study be conducted before any final decisions about the ambulance entrance are finalized.

Several Architectural Board of Review members continued to urge Cleveland Clinic architects to add a building entrance off Detroit Avenue. At last month's meeting, the architects said the only entrance would be off Belle because the Clinic would like to limit access for security. A security office will be built near the entrance.

Board member Amy Hanley said she hoped there was "room for compromise" on the issue of a Detroit entrance.

"I think there's a little more work to be done," she said.

As previously announced, the first floor would consist of an emergency department and an imaging department. The imaging department would offer X-rays, CAT scans, mammography, and ultrasound. The second floor would house family medicine and primary care physicians. The third floor would house medical specialists.

Next month's Architectural Board of Review meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. June 9 at Lakewood City Hall in the second-floor auditorium.

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