University Hospitals Cleveland Main Campus (UH CMC) has recently announced plans to demolish 12 historic buildings that line E. 115th St. These houses are sandwiched between UH CMC and the Wolstein Research Building, and are owned by UH CMC. Students may also recognize these buildings as the ones neighboring Little Italy.

In 2000, UH leased the majority of the houses to University Circle Inc. (UCI). The non-profit organization helped to manage and maintain the houses since then, which included leasing the properties to prospective tenants. Over the years, though, UCI began returning these houses back to UH until UCI fully terminated the Master Lease in 2022. Still, since the time UH leased these houses to UCI, the management has been poor, leading to the buildings’ deterioration. By late 2024, the public utilities had been completely disconnected for at least 12 of the UH-owned houses. This past month, UH has decided to move forward with the demolition of these houses in favor of facility expansion. Specifically, UH wants to create a new building, or collection of buildings, called the “Healthcare Center of Excellence.”

UH has made many claims as justification for this demolition. For one, they claim that the houses are not historical landmarks and only contribute minor architectural or historical character to the surrounding area. The targeted buildings along E. 115th St. were built in the 1800s and 1900s, making some of them almost two centuries old. They are not officially considered historical landmarks, but they still hold historical significance. They also state that these buildings have no economic potential, and that the buildings are in too poor of a condition to be saved otherwise. It is ironic; the reasons that UH cites for razing the buildings are products of their neglect through the past decades.

UH is not alone in its expansion. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF), which is already quite notorious for displacing the underserved population in its goal to reach farther heights, also has its own demolition plans. The clinic plans on adding a new “E” building to its main campus, collecting yet another letter of the alphabet. To do this, the CCF plans on tearing down three residential properties on Cedar Avenue and E. 90th St.. Like UH, the CCF highlights the deteriorating state of the houses as justification for tearing it down. Put bluntly, both hospitals see these buildings as an obstacle in the way of the two hospitals making money.

This discourse brings a larger question to the surface: does preserving tradition impede on progress? How do we balance conservation with change? To start answering this question, one must first consider the definition of progress. What is progress? Progress, put simply, is a type of change that is positive or beneficial. With this definition, however, we must also consider the beneficiaries. In the case of the demolitions, there seem to be few tangible beneficiaries. Of course, the ones behind the demolitions will say that everyone will benefit, or that it will be for some greater good. In reality, it is maybe just the higher-ranking officials of UH and CCF that will reap any direct benefits and see an uptick in their income. It is unclear for the rest of the general public who will really gain anything from this change. If “progress” only benefits a small handful of people, can we really call it that? The changes being heralded by UH and CCF are little more than a capitalist facade. They are one more advancement for the hospitals to brag about and another way for them to attract interest.

But, what about progress for the sake of progress? Specifically, what about progress in science and medicine? After all, much of science is trying to understand the world around us and to improve the human experience. The hospitals are using the excess of medical progress to explain away the demolitions. However, medical progress is inherently flawed. Historically, what is defined as medical progress has come with a steep cost—the cost of life. It is almost ironic that the field of saving lives has caused countless other lives to end.

This is all to say that progress at the expense of destruction is not progress at all. True progress is not supposed to be easy. However, wiping out an entire cluster of houses to make way for a new building is easy. Not working within medical guidelines is easy. On the other hand, asking for multiple perspectives and thinking critically takes more time and consideration. To all of the future scientists, doctors, engineers and lawyers at Case Western Reserve University, remember to not be swept away in your endeavors to improve the human condition. It takes effort to do good. This is an effort worth taking, and it allows us to make the type of change that really counts.