Cleveland Medical Mall

LMN ArchitectsDesigners added a glass canopy for a car drop-off area along St. Clair Avenue and propose a larger one for a bus drop-off to West Mall Drive.

With Steven Litt / Plain Dealer Reporter

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The latest design plans for Cleveland's medical mart and convention center won approval Thursday from the city's Design Review Committee. But panel members told architects they want more details on plans for the parklike malls above the convention center.

Committee members appeared pleased with the underground convention center and above-ground showroom for medical equipment. But they wanted more explicit plans for how Malls B and C near Cleveland's lakefront will function as public space. Concerns include lighting, utility connections for outdoor events and public art displays.

The committee serves as an adviser to the city Planning Commission, which today will review the plans of Seattle-based LMN Architects.

Committee member Thomas Zarfoss said expectations are for the two structures and the Mall area to be world class. "We're getting two out of three, but we're getting a Mall that's bare bones, " he said.

LMNOther evolving elements in the design include enclosures for convention center stairwells, which will rise a story above the mall and provide bleacher-type seating.

While Cuyahoga County owns the convention center and medical mart, the city will retain ownership of the surface of the malls, which it wants to become a much more vibrant public park and a catalyst for other development nearby, especially housing.

Several committee members said public art displays should be incorporated into the mall plans.

To meet the project deadline of opening in 2013, contractors have commenced construction even before the design is complete. Ground was broken this month on the $465 million medical mart and convention center, which is being financed with tax money.

In November, Chicago-based MMPI closed a deal with Cuyahoga County to build and operate the medical mart and convention center for the next 20 years. Under a deal with the county, the city made the project possible by agreeing to sell the existing convention center below Malls B and C to the county for $20 million.

The city has been concerned with the public aspects of both buildings. Officials would like to have the medical mart become a fresh, animating force on the west side of the Mall.