Hoover in talks with UAB Medical West about relocating hospital from Bessemer

The $300 million project that Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato on Monday announced the city is pursuing is the relocation of UAB Medical West hospital from Bessemer to Hoover, sources tell the Hoover Sun.

The hospital relocation is not a done deal, but Hoover officials are in talks with UAB about such a move, according to those sources.

Brocato declined to name the entity the city is trying to attract, citing a confidentiality agreement, but he asked the council to consider committing $20 million to provide land, building site preparation, utilities and traffic improvements to help lure a $300 million project he said would bring more than 1,000 jobs to the city.

“It involves the single biggest investment in our city since the construction of the Riverchase Galleria,” Brocato said. “While this is not a retail project, it’s something that will fundamentally change Hoover for the better. We can’t afford to miss out on this opportunity.”

The mayor said he expects to see an announcement about the project in the next 30 to 60 days.

Keith Pennington, CEO of UAB’s Medical West hospital in Bessemer issued a statement on June 6 that said the hospital has proudly served residents of western Jefferson County — including Bessemer, Fairfield, Hoover, Hueytown, McCalla, Midfield, Tannehill, Vance and other communities — for more than 50 years and the hospital remains committed to the people of west Jefferson County.

“While we have made no secret of our long-term intention to construct a replacement hospital for the current Medical West facility, no decision has been reached on how, if, when or where that project might be undertaken,” Pennington said. “We will continue to evaluate our plans for the future of Medical West so we can best fulfill our mission, which is to provide the highest quality care to all of our communities in a patient-focused environment.”

Other UAB facilities in Hoover

Three years ago, Medical West opened a freestanding emergency department in Hoover near the intersection of Interstate 459 and John Hawkins Parkway. Then in April of this year, UAB announced plans to relocate its clinic at 2321 John Hawkins Parkway (near Lake Crest) down the highway to the Stadium Trace Village development on the other side of Interstate 459 at the entrance to Trace Crossings.

The current clinic has about 9,000 square feet of space, and the new medical office building will have 39,000 square feet and house a variety of medical services, including primary care doctors, obstetrics, gynecology, oral surgery and other specialties, UAB spokesman Bob Shepard said.

Sources indicate the city of Hoover is eyeing land next to Stadium Trace Village for the UAB Medical West hospital and that Hoover is considering adjustments to the John Hawkins Parkway exit on I-459 to take traffic off I-459 more directly into Stadium Trace Village and the potential hospital site.

City Council responses

Several City Council members with whom the Hoover Sun spoke would not confirm that UAB Medical West is the project the city is considering. However, Council President Gene Smith said he does have a lot of questions and concerns about whether the city should spend $20 million or more to bring a $300 million investment with 1,000 jobs to the city.

He wants to know how the entity the city is pursuing will benefit the city and whether it will pay property taxes or generate other revenues for Hoover. “I’m wanting to hear the return on investment. I haven’t been provided that information yet,” he said.

Smith said he also wants to know if other incentives or tax abatements are being sought.

Councilman Curt Posey said, at first glance, any project that involves a $300 million investment in Hoover and 1,000 new jobs for the city would be great. That will mean 1,000 more people who will be eating in Hoover restaurants and shopping in Hoover stores, he said.

Putting $20 million into making a project like that a reality should be worth the investment, Posey said. “We did the same with the Galleria,” he said.

Still, Posey said he would like to see an economic impact study before making a final commitment to invest that much money. “It’s not my money. It’s the taxpayers’ money,” he said.

Posey noted that this project, as well as others mentioned by Brocato on Monday night (a new I-459 interchange near South Shades Crest Road, modifications to the Riverchase Galleria to make it more of a town center, a fine and performing arts center, a library branch in eastern Hoover, bicycle and pedestrian paths and a tourism and cultural program) were presented only as opportunities for the council to consider. The mayor wants people to think about how to make the future better, he said.

Councilman John Greene, who was out of town on vacation when the mayor made his presentation Monday, declined to comment about the $300 million project but issued a written statement about the mayor’s proposal for tax increases to help eliminate projected budget deficits, cover routine capital projects and pay for projects that residents have requested.

“I am a fiscal conservative, so raising taxes of any kind goes against my natural instinct,” Greene said. “The citizens of Hoover elected me to be a good steward of their tax dollars and to safeguard their financial investment in our city, so I take seriously any action that will encumber our city with debt or increase citizens’ tax burden.”

Greene noted that, two years ago, he voted against borrowing up to $80 million to build the sports complex next to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium when the proposal clearly showed the complex woud not be expected to break even, much less turn a profit, for three to five years.

“That deficit is contributing to the budget problems we are now facing, so I am very leery of the city taking on any additional large debt and asking the citizens to finance those new projects with tax increases,” Greene said. “The bottom line is that I will study the mayor’s proposal in the light of how each requested tax increase will meet the standards of fiscal responsibility, sound financial judgment, and benefit vs. burden for Hoover citizens.”

Councilman Casey Middlebrooks said he still has questions about both the mayor’s proposed tax increases and the proposal for the city to invest $20 million or more to help lure a $300 million project. “I haven’t made up my mind yet on that,” he said.

He is concerned, however, that a city representative would leak out information that, if true, could jeopardize the deal by being made public too early, he said.