Cuyahoga County council hears plan for $32 million behavioral health crisis center; resolution to be considered Sept. 23

The Cuyahoga County Committee of the Whole received a presentation Sept. 9 on a proposed comprehensive behavioral health crisis receiving center on the former St. Vincent Charity campus, including a request that council consider Resolution 2025-0241 — a proposed contract for capital funding — at its Sept. 23 meeting.

Eric Morse, president and CEO of the Centers for Families and Children, told the committee the project will renovate the Medical Arts Building on the St. Vincent campus to house a crisis receiving center, detox beds, and a larger outpatient clinic. “This project ... is 1 of, I think, the most important things that I, have the opportunity to be a part of in my, what, 30 year career,” Morse said.

Morse said the full project cost is $32 million to build and outfit the facility. He said the Centers have already been awarded $6.8 million in ARPA dollars administered through OMAS, and the proposal assumes an additional $7 million from the county’s opioid settlement fund; together those sources would bring the project to about $26 million, enough, Morse said, to complete the first and second floors on the timeline required by the state grant. He said the remaining roughly $5 million gap for the third floor is being sought from foundations and high‑net‑worth donors, and that the project team expects to apply for New Markets Tax Credits to close additional capital needs.

The center’s design calls for an urgent‑care‑style, 24/7 crisis receiving…