Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center Update

Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center and Cuyahoga County have selected the Cleveland office of Turner Construction Company and Cleveland-based URS as the design-build team for the Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center, as presented at the Cuyahoga County Commissioners regular meeting on Thursday. Turner Construction Company will serve as the design-build contractor and URS will fulfill the role of architect of record for the project. Currently, LMN Architects has been creating conceptual plans and design development drawings as the design architect. LMN will handle the first two phases of a three-step design process.
 
As LMN completes the conceptual plans and design development drawings, Turner will partner with URS to bring the design to 100 percent completion. Under this arrangement, LMN is responsible to MMPI and the county, ensuring greater control over the quality of the final product. As the architect of record, URS will be responsible for completing the final blueprints from which the project will be built and will answer directly to Turner Construction Company as the design-build contractor. The county and MMPI selected Turner after issuing a competitive request-for-proposal to four firms for the design-builder role, reviewing proposals, and conducting final interviews.

About Turner Construction Company
The nation’s leading builder, Turner Construction Company has deep roots in Cleveland dating back to 1962 when the firm completed Erieview Tower and has been a key component in building some of the area's most prominent projects. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum draws nearly a million visitors a year from around the globe. The 63-story Key Tower serves as the headquarters of one of the nation's largest bank holding companies and is the tallest building in Ohio. In addition, Turner provided construction management services for the 21,000-seat Quicken Loans Arena and the Cleveland Browns hired Turner to upgrade its suburban training facility, which includes an indoor practice field. Turner also managed construction of the original Browns training facility.

Turner has managed the restoration of the downtown Playhouse Square Center, the largest theater restoration project in America. Today, the Playhouse Square Center's showcase theaters - Hanna, Palace, State, Allen, and Ohio - comprise the second largest performing arts complex in United States, after New York's Lincoln Center, for which Turner also provided construction management services. Moreover, Turner renovated the main building of the nationally recognized Cleveland Public Library, one of America's largest open-stack libraries, and constructed a ten-story library annex named for retired U.S. Representative Louis Stokes.

At the vanguard of Cleveland's growth has been the expansion of its world-class medical institutions, particularly Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland. Turner managed the construction of an eye institute, research institute, cancer center, emergency room, and other key facilities for the Cleveland Clinic. At University Hospitals, Turner’s work includes construction of an eight-story, 244-bed addition to the Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

About URS
Cleveland-based URS is serving as the program manager for the $160 million expansion and renovation of the Cincinnati Convention Center, assisting the city in managing the architect-engineer team and the construction manager, as well as the program’s budget and schedule. In Columbus, URS recently completed comprehensive planning, architectural design and engineering services to modernize the seven-story, 260,000-square-foot John W. Bricker Federal Office Building. URS has also been involved in prominent projects including Millennium Park in Chicago and the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Land Acquisition Finalized
The county will announce on Thursday that the land agreements will be finalized for construction of the Medical Mart on the corner of St. Clair and Ontario Streets. The county has obtained an option to purchase the Sportsman’s Restaurant property which will be exercised just prior to the start of construction. The county has previously obtained options to purchase the Justice Center parking garage and the 113 Building. The project is scheduled to break ground this fall with a completion date in 2013.

About Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center
Cleveland Medical Mart & Convention Center, headquartered in the Penton Media Building in downtown Cleveland, will integrate state-of-the-art permanent showrooms with world-class trade show and conference facilities in a single structure designed specifically for the medical industry.

About MMPI
MMPI is a trade show and property management firm, specializing in managing buildings devoted to wholesale showrooms and commercial office space. MMPI produces more than 300 trade shows, market events and conferences each year.

MMPI manages The Merchandise Mart and 350 West Mart Center in Chicago; Market Square, the Suites at Market Square, Hamilton Market, Plaza Suites, Furniture Plaza and the National Furniture Mart in High Point, N.C.; the Architects & Designers Building, 7 W New York, and Piers 92 & 94 in New York City; the Boston Design Center in Boston; the L.A. Mart in Los Angeles; the Washington Design Center in Washington DC.