City examines plans for new medical facility

During its regular meeting on Oct. 7, the Hoover City Council approved an agreement that could bring a freestanding ER to the city.

Hoover Executive Director Allen Pate said the Council's agreement with Hoover Investment Partners LLC paves the way for UAB Medical West to construct and operate an 18,000-square-foot emergency medical facility off State Highway 150 near The Grove shopping center.

Pate said the Council, by approving the agreement, will place $875,000 in an escrow account where the money will be held until the City closes on the property.

The center, which Council Member John Lyda said was proposed to have 10 ER rooms, two trauma rooms and see 12,000 to 15,000 patients each year, was given a tentative timeline of June 2015 for completion. 

The council also held a public hearing prior to the meeting to discuss the terms and conditions of a 2011 Redevelopment Agreement between Riverchase Galleria and Riverchase Anchor Acquisition, LLC. The 2011 agreement stated that the developers would receive 50 percent of excess sales tax rebates. Mayor Gary Ivey said this public hearing was the next scheduled step in the ongoing Riverchase Galleria remodeling process.

The council also authorized maintenance agreements for several ALDOT road projects around the Riverchase Galleria that are intended to ease traffic flow. These projects include the resurfacing of Patton Chapel Road, which connects to U.S. 31 and is set to open in early November. Additional projects, which are slated to begin this spring, include bridge modifications and resurfacing of Lorna Road, resurfacing and additional lanes on Alabama Highway 150, I-459 and on I-459 northbound ramps.

In other business, the council authorized a preliminary engineering agreement for Ross Bridge Parkway sidewalks from Deer Trail to Deer Valley Elementary School.