Cincinnati Children's to leave aging Oak Building, site to be demolished
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center will vacate the Oak Building in Avondale by the end of June, bringing a close to 20 years of medical research at the site and moving 150 employees to nearby locations.
The Oak Building, Oak Professional Building at 620 Oak St., a nearby utility building and the already closed June Street Garage, collectively called the Oak Campus, will be demolished, officials said.
Cincinnati Children's: Lighting technology aims to improve circadian rhythms
Avondale development: Uptown Gateway lands $150 million in private funding
No timeline has been set for demolition. The future use of the 6 acres – along Interstate 71 and adjacent to the Uptown Innovation Corridor being developed by the University of Cincinnati and others at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and I-71 – also has yet to be decided.
The Oak Building once was the site of Bethesda Oak Hospital, which opened in 1926 and closed in 2000. The location then was acquired by Cincinnati Children's.
Hospital officials announced the move Tuesday morning, saying the aging Oak Building is no longer cost-efficient to operate.
“While the Oak Building served its purpose over the past 20 years, we look forward to accommodating these employees at nearby locations operated by the medical center,” said Dr. Evaline Alessandrini, chief operating officer of Cincinnati Children’s, in a statement. “Given the critical nature of our academic mission, we have worked closely with our research teams to minimize or eliminate disruptions to their work.”
What's in Cincinnati Children's Oak Building?
The Oak Building is the location of the Gamble Vaccine Research Center, which has been at the forefront of clinical evaluation and research of COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children. The center has 65 researchers and currently houses clinical trials involving about 3,500 volunteer participants. Its outpatient studies will move to the Schubert Research Clinic on the first floor of the Clinical Sciences Pavilion at the Burnet Campus. Its overnight studies will move to the Academy Building on Reading Road, officials said.
Support local journalism. Subscribe to the Enquirer today to access all of our content online at https://cm.cincinnati.com/specialoffer.
Cincinnati Children's has these plans for its other Oak Building-based research centers:
The Laboratory for Specialized Clinical Studies will move to Location R at the Burnet Campus. It provides lab testing to support clinical trials or investigations related to infectious diseases.
The Discover Together BioBank will move to Vernon Place. The BioBank houses research samples such as blood and related information. Researchers work with the samples to seek treatments or cures for diseases.
The Center for Simulation and Research will move to Vernon Place. It provides educational opportunities for healthcare professionals and medical students, caregivers and patients. On average, the center provides 13,000 learning experiences per year.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Children Hospital to vacate Oak Campus, move employees
