![An illustration of what the new MetroHealth hospital will look like when completed. [MetroHealth]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6d1dce0/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1080+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F4%2F15%2FPhotos.png)
MetroHealth Medical System broke ground Monday afternoon for a new hospital, the cornerstone of plans to transform its main campus off West 25th Street in Cleveland and the adjacent Clark-Fulton neighborhood.
The new 11-story hospital and surrounding complex will feature a 1,500-space parking garage and be surrounded by green spaces. The transformation project, expected to be complete in 2023, will cost nearly $1 billion. MetroHealth generated most of the funds by selling hospital-revenue bonds in May 2017.
Dr. Akram Boutros, MetroHealth President and CEO, was adamant that this project would be a spark for neighborhood revitalization.
“This new hospital celebrates our community, lifts our neighborhood, honors our neighbors,” Boutros said at the afternoon ceremony. “It will welcome all who seek care here with compassion.”
A number of local politicians spoke at the groundbreaking, including Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish.
“This transformation also is great for the neighborhood and our entire community," Budish said. "It’s an economic generator."
Boutros, along with Cleveland City Councilwoman Jasmin Santana and Ricardo León, managing director of the Metro West Community Development Organization, spoke about the transformation project in depth Monday on The Sound of Ideas.
