On Detroit Avenue, between Belle and Marlowe, is a large stretch of land commonly referred to as “The Pit.” The Pit has been vacant since the destruction of Lakewood Hospital in 2020. The area has gone from being a graveyard to a hospital, to a site of chemical exposure, to the empty plot of land it is now. The Pit has caused controversy throughout Lakewood, with many wanting to see something done with the space.
Before becoming a hospital in the nineteenth century, the area was a run-down cemetery. The cemetery had been neglected for decades before its eventual closure. Thirteen to fourteen bodies were buried there in total. Near its closure, the tombstones lay flat on the ground, and trash littered the graveyard. It is unknown when the cemetery officially closed, but Lakewood Hospital replaced it in the early twentieth century.
Lakewood Hospital opened its doors in October 1907 and was the first hospital in the Cleveland suburbs. The hospital would run smoothly over the next hundred years, taking substantial care of all residents. However, on Dec. 21, 2015, Cleveland Clinic and Lakewood Hospital Association officials announced the shutdown of the hospital. The hospital was due to be closed because of “declining patient volumes and revenues.”
The community was upset by this decision. A small association called “Save Lakewood Hospital” was created. The supporters of the association wrote letters to city hall and held rallies outside of the hall demanding that the hospital remain open. However, despite their efforts, Lakewood Hospital closed officially on Feb. 5, 2016. The building was later demolished in 2019-2020.

The removal of the hospital called for a new emergency room. The Lakewood Family Health Center was built to the east of Belle, leaving the area where the old hospital was dormant. Little did Lakewood civilians know the area would remain empty for many years to come and would become a staple of Lakewood.
The destruction of the hospital created a quite hideous scene right in the heart of Lakewood. The unattractive environment was not the primary concern of residents though. In September 2019, tetrachloroethylene was found under stones and in some soil. Tetrachloroethylene is a chemical that was used for dry cleaning until the 1970s and was found near the laundry room in the 1950s. However, when humans are exposed to tetrachloroethylene, they can experience dizziness, headaches, sleepiness, confusion, nausea, unconsciousness, and even death. The environmental remediation cost $1,725,000.
Casto Real Estate and Dimit Architects saw The Pit and decided to propose. They want to turn the area into a housing unit. On Oct. 29, 2024, the Lakewood City Council and the Lakewood Board of Education met to discuss this proposal. They outlined the deal as including 305 total housing units including 293 apartment units, 5 homes within the pit area, and 7 townhomes on Belle Avenue. The area will hold a 17,000-square-foot plaza and community space, 567 parking spaces, and design elements that promote walkability. At the end of the meeting, the deal was agreed upon. Two days later, on Oct. 31, 2024, Dimit Architects made renderings to visualize what the apartments would look like.
The communities’ response to this announcement was mixed. Some living nearby were excited to see a new development in their neighborhood.
“I’ve heard good things about Casto from people down in Columbus,” Lakewood resident Rory Blake said. “I’m excited to see what they do up here.”
Others took to Facebook on the page “The Lakewood Pit” to express their opposing opinions.
“In Lakewood, 23% of our city budget is funded through property tax,” said Lakewood resident Brian Higgins, “When the mayor and city council give away millions in property tax abatements you, I, and the rest of Lakewood pay to make up that difference.”
City Council President Sarah Kepple states that this project will create economic benefits for Lakewood citizens.
“There’ll be tax revenue that will come to both the city and the schools from this land,” said Kepple, “And because it was previously a hospital nonprofit, there was never any property tax from this property that would go to the city or the schools. And now there will be both property tax and taxes from the folks that are living and working there.”
Citizens have their ideas of what should be done with the space. While some are not opposed to the idea of housing being built there, they think the units should be more inviting to families to grow the population in Lakewood.
“If we want to keep developing Lakewood then why would they build apartments that don’t bring people to Lakewood,” asks Higgins, “they’re going to bring in young and single people. They’re not going to bring in families, which we need.”

However, President Kepple believes that these units will improve the Lakewood population.
“One of the elements that council definitely wanted and had the developer work on was that some of the units are three bedrooms,” said Kepple.
Long-time residents of Lakewood have seen the change in The Pit throughout their lifetime.
“The Pit should’ve been fixed a long time ago,” said Anne Taylor, a 30-year resident of Lakewood. “It’s really ugly and ruins the look of downtown.”
Kepple assures that the area will provide environmental and cosmetic benefits.
“This development also includes a public green space, which there’s not a lot of in that area,” said Kepple, “So when you have events downtown, there’ll be expanded space there as well as public restrooms there.”
Another popular idea is that it should become the new center for Lakewood’s Christmas tree. The area is not too far down the street from where the tree is now, the Marc’s Plaza, and has much more open land around it.
The land that The Pit now deforms has seen many lives over the past two centuries. Going through multiple transformations just to become the dull grass field it is now.