Cleveland Clinic announces next phase of Cleveland Innovation District plans

CLEVELAND — Cleveland Clinic has announced its newest plans for the next phase of the Cleveland Innovation District. 

This month, 45,000 square feet of remodeled space for laboratories is opening, which is just the beginning of the new plans for research at Cleveland Clinic. 

Officials announced on Wednesday that in 2024 they will launch the construction of two new research buildings, which will be dedicated to scientific investigation. The new spaces will significantly increase the laboratory research space on Cleveland Clinic’s campus. 

The new buildings will serve as home to the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health.

The project will create 296,000 square feet of space on Cedar Avenue and East 100th Street. The building will feature laboratories, classroom space, offices, a cafe, as well as green space and walking paths to the new entrance to the southeast section of the main campus. Officials say that construction on the buildings are expected to be completed in 2025. 

“These new state-of-the-art research facilities will provide the infrastructure and technology necessary to grow Cleveland Clinic’s research efforts,” said Serpil Erzurum, M.D., Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Research and Academic Officer. “They will be a tremendous resource for our scientists in the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health, enabling them to expand their vital work in preparing for the next pandemic, and discovering and developing critically needed new therapies and vaccines.” 

Additionally, the Cleveland Innovation District partnership will do the following: 

• Recruited research leaders: Cleveland Clinic has recruited world leaders in immunology, cancer biology, vaccine development, immune-oncology and pathogen research, as well as technology development and education.
   
• Job creation and education: Cleveland Clinic has already created nearly 1,000 new jobs. In collaboration with Cleveland State University, the health system has created courses and degrees for new workforce demands. Since 2021, nearly 2,000 degrees and certificates were awarded in programs such as phlebotomy, cardiac ultrasound and diagnostic medical sonography.
   
• Opened Cleveland Clinic BioRepository: The first new building in the Cleveland Innovation District, the 22,000-square-foot facility increases and centralizes storage capacity for biologic samples. This allows researchers to study human tissue samples more effectively for the purpose of developing new treatments and advancing personalized medicine. Since opening in 2021, the BioRepository has collected more than 140,000 biospecimens from 10,000 patients.
   
• Launched Partnership with IBM: The partnership aims to advance the pace of discovery through high performance computing. This spring, the two organizations unveiled the first quantum computer dedicated to healthcare which is located on Cleveland Clinic’s main campus.  

• Community investment: Cleveland Clinic continues to collaborate with other community organizations to revitalize the Fairfax neighborhood. A new  $52.8 million development that includes a 40,000-square-foot Meijer grocery market and 196 apartment complex on East 105th Street and Cedar Avenue is expected to open later this year. Additionally, Cleveland Clinic has provided funding, along with other organizations, for an 82-unit apartment development – the Aura at Innovation Square.  

“JobsOhio and our State partners invested in the Cleveland Innovation District to spur the next generation of Ohio leaders while establishing the state as a global leader in healthcare, life sciences, and technology. Collectively, the region’s dynamic healthcare and higher education research institutions will serve as a magnet to retain and attract elite talent from home and around the world to Northeast Ohio,” said J.P. Nauseef, JobsOhio president and CEO. “In this case, the rapid pace of development being led by Cleveland Clinic on its main campus is bringing cutting-edge research facilities to the Cleveland Innovation District. These facilities are critical for the advancement of the pioneering research being led by Ohioans and eventually brought to scale worldwide.”