Crain's Cleveland Business features news about Goodwill Opportunity Center on grounds of former St. Vincent Charity Medical Center

Friday, July 11, 2025

Tags: Sisters of Charity Health System , St. Vincent Charity Health and Healing Hub

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Announced on Thursday, July 10, Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio has been named the initial partner to redevelop two acres of the former St. Vincent Charity Medical Center site into a Goodwill Opportunity Center. The partnership marks a step for the Sisters of Charity to reactivate the space and serve Cleveland's Central neighborhood. Crain's Cleveland Business wrote an article about the news and about the larger picture of the health system campus.

The following story appeared on the Crain's website July 10. It can also be accessed here (subscription required).

Sisters of Charity names first tenant for former hospital site

by Elizabeth Schanz
Crain's Cleveland Business

Sisters of Charity Health System named the first tenant for the former grounds of St. Vincent Charity
Medical Center in Cleveland, currently undergoing demolition to open up seven acres on the campus.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio has been named the initial partner to
redevelop two acres of the site into a Goodwill Opportunity Center. The partnership marks a step for the Sisters of Charity to reactivate the space and serve Cleveland's Central neighborhood.

"Central is a neighborhood rich in history, resilience, and potential," said Anne Richards, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, in a statement. "We are honored to be part of these early discussions and remain committed to partnering in ways that advance community-driven solutions and expand access to resources, training, and opportunity."

Determining demolition
St. Vincent Charity Medical Center was established in 1865 as Cleveland's first permanent general hospital. The facility, at 2351 East 22nd St., shuttered its emergency room and inpatient services in 2022. The building's other services — including urgent care, occupational health and the cafeteria — ceased last year, Ideastream reported.

Prior to demolition of the building, Sisters of Charity officials spoke with about 30 prospective tenants to relocate into the patient care towers, Sister Judith Ann Karam, public juridic person for Sisters of Charity Health System and congregational leader of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, told Crain‘s. However, the infrastructure of the medical facility, including oxygen and medical gases in the walls, led to feasibility hurdles in redeveloping the existing space.

The Sister of Charity Health System board voted last summer to approve $12 million for the demolition, Michael Goar, president and CEO of Sisters of Charity Health System, told Crain’s. The monthly holding cost to keep the former medical center intact would have cost over $1 million per month — a “hefty price tag," he noted.

The demolition is now slated for completion at the end of this month.

Sisters of Charity has since pivoted from the traditional hospital model to taking a holistic approach to health disparities— differences in health, disease, injury, violence, or opportunities because of social and economic inequities. To fill the void the closure left, the nonprofit has established partnerships across the campus known as the St. Vincent Charity Health and Healing Hub, located along East 22nd Street and Community College Avenue.

Goodwill is the latest partner in this effort and the first to be announced for the demolition site.

"This collaboration (with Goodwill) will amplify our commitment to healing the whole person, and our stated mission of extending the healing ministry of Jesus to God’s people," Karam said in a statement. "For nearly 175 years, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine have adapted to meet the needs of our
communities-and this effort is a continuation of that legacy. Since 1865, the Sisters of Charity have served the Central neighborhood and never left it."

New life for the open space
Sister of Charity connected with Goodwill Industries over the last four to five months to discuss the nonprofit's focus areas and what the organization could bring to the property.

The proposed Goodwill Opportunity Center— a facility that provides free employment and career services — on the vacant space fit the needs of the community and the larger Sisters of Charity service portfolio, Goar said.

"They have an amazing track record of programs that help people recover (from) their current life
circumstances, retrain them in other spaces, an opportunity for them to be a productive individual in our community,” Goar said. ”So they have the whole system set up for a job retraining program that we were lacking. That's not our forte."

Additionally, Goar said Goodwill expressed interest in exploring food insecurity issues, a topic Sisters of Charity has been involved with through its Mission Kitchen program, launched in 2021 to provide meals to the surrounding community, and work with its anchor school, Marion-Sterling of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

In terms of development, Goodwill plans to establish an 80,000-square-foot, two-acre facility on the former hospital site, Goar said. Exact plans for the site will be determined after Goodwill conducts an "engagement tour" with community members, partners, and stakeholders.

Once conversations are completed, slated for the later part of the summer, Goodwill will pursue funding for the development and begin to develop a site plan. The expected costs and timeline to completion will be determined.

"Goodwill looks forward to continuing this dialogue and is grateful to be part of a community that is deeply committed to its residents and lasting positive change," Richards said in a news release.

With Goodwill as the first named tenant for the soon-to—be-empty property, five acres of real estate remain open for partnerships.

Goar said the goal is to fill up the property sooner rather than later, but prioritizes a deliberating vetting process, which includes community input and finding the best fit for the Sister of Charity mission.

"We are looking for partners, once again, with a common vision of serving all God’s children in a very intentional way, making sure our community benefits from their presence," Goar said, noting commercial properties on the site might not fulfill this mission and the organization is looking at nonprofit partners.

While potential organizations have approached the organization, the remaining tenants are yet to be determined. Goar noted that the property‘s future is driven by community interest, and although no exact plan has been determined. the space could become multigenerational housing or other types of units.

"We want to make sure that we provide adequate services and also down the road, we might have a future plan. 80 we want to make sure that there is sort of give and take as we kind of move forward," Goar said.

Larger picture of the Sister of Charity campus
Over the course of the last year, Sisters of Charity has established and expanded services and
partnerships to strengthen the "hub-and-spoke model with the Sisters of Charity Health System at the
center," according to the release.

For instance, the health system has a variety of its own services, including pharmacy services, outpatient services, and meal access.

Additionally, Joseph and Mary's Home — a space for unhoused individuals with medical needs — was
recently renovated and will formally reopen this month. Rosary Hall, which offers addiction treatment services located on the fourth floor of the Sisters of Charity Health System building at 2475 East 22nd St., will expand next year. The health system will add the Sr. lgnatia Gavin Center for Addiction Medicine on the second floor of the building.

Other collaborators in the health and healing hub are The Centers, which provides behavioral health services and detox center, and Neighborhood Family Practice, which provides primary healthcare. Additionally, the Women Religious Archives Collaborative (WRAC) will break ground this month on a heritage center to celebrate and remember the history of religious women.