City of Hoover, school system plan $50 million in capital projects in 2024

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The city of Hoover and Hoover school system have more than $50 million worth of capital projects planned for 2024.

One of the biggest projects is the addition of a second northbound lane on South Shades Crest Road from South Shades Crest Elementary School to John Hawkins Parkway.

That project is still in the design phase, but the target date to begin construction is the summer of 2024, according to the city’s website. The additional lane is a joint project between Hoover and Jefferson County, with the two entities splitting the cost so far.

The estimated cost of adding the new lane was $3 million in 2017 but now has ballooned to $9 million, with Hoover and Jefferson County each planning to contribute $4.5 million. But the final cost won’t be known until the project is actually bid.

Here’s a look at the other projects that are expected to make progress in 2024.

PARKS AND REC PROJECTS

The city and school system also are investing more than $22 million in parks and recreation projects this year.

A $10 million project to add artificial turf to the baseball and softball fields at Hoover and Spain Park high schools and seven other fields at city sports parks is well under way.

The new turf installation at Hoover and Spain Park high schools is expected to be completed in January, said Shawn Calma, the vice president at Lathan Architects, which is overseeing the project.

Artificial turf also will be added to two fields at Hoover Sports Park East, two at Hoover Sports Park Central and two at the city sports complex at Veterans Park by March and another field at Shades Mountain Park by September, Calma said.

The city is joining with Shelby County to add eight pickleball courts and 45 to 50 more parking spaces at Veterans Park. That project costs $1.3 million, with Hoover putting in $900,000 and Shelby County contributing $400,000, and is expected to be complete by February, said Jehad Al-Dakka, the city’s chief operations officer.

The city is exploring the possibility of adding up to 24 more outdoor pickleball courts at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex, but city officials have not yet determined the best spot for them, Al-Dakka said. They considered converting some of the tennis courts at the Hoover Met for pickleball use but decided against that, he said.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs funded a $500,000 grant to the city for new pickleball courts at the Met Complex, but more funding must be found before the project can proceed, Al-Dakka said.

Because the project is still in a conceptual stage, there is no timetable set for that to happen, he said.

The city does plan to spend $60,000 to resurface 12 of the 16 tennis courts at the Hoover Met Complex, Parks and Recreation Director Erin Colbaugh said.

Another big project at the Hoover Met Complex is the resurfacing and redesigning of the upper parking lot for the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and Finley Center.

That project has been divided into two phases. The first phase is the parking lot directly in front of the stadium and down the third base line. Brasfield & Gorrie has begun that work and should have it done by May 1, a little before the SEC Baseball Tournament, Al-Dakka said.

The second phase will be the remainder of the parking for the stadium and the parking lot for the Finley Center, which run together. That job will begin after the SEC Baseball Tournament is over and could stretch into fiscal year 2025, which begins Oct. 1, Al-Dakka said.

The contractor has coordinated schedules with events planned at the Finley Center to avoid the biggest events on the calendar, Al-Dakka said.

In addition to replacing the asphalt surface, Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood has redesigned the parking lot to add new islands and curbs in an effort to better control traffic flow and improve safety. All the light poles in the parking lot also are being replaced.

The City Council budgeted $700,000 to renovate the Hoover Lake House on Municipal Drive. The lake house in years past has been used for various social events and meetings but currently is closed. It’s in need of interior renovations, and that project is still being designed, Colbaugh said.

The Hoover Recreation Center is slated to receive a new gym floor and basketball goals, but that work won’t begin until after basketball season ends in February, Colbaugh said.

Other parks and recreation projects include:

  • Improving drainage and adding parking at Russet Woods Park (estimated $250,000, including $150,000 from the Jefferson County Commission)
  • Renovating the concession stand and restrooms at Riverchase Sports Park to increase the capacity of the restrooms and adding a covered shed for field maintenance equipment (estimated $300,000)
  • Rebuilding the dugouts at fields 5 and 6 at Hoover Sports Park Central, adding restrooms at the lower portion of the park, redoing the entrance to the softball fields and replacing rotten wood in the football area (estimated $430,000)
  • Installing new scoring tables, renovating the batting cages and painting the roof of the B hub building at Hoover Sports Park East (estimated $79,000)
  • Replacing power equipment at Shades Mountain Park, adding concrete at the batting cages and paving a storage area (estimated $385,000)
  • Adding new signs at the entrances to all parks (estimated $47,000)
  • Adding a pavilion and renovating the gym at Sertoma Park next to Green Valley Elementary School (estimated $64,500)
  • Replacing the playground surface at Blue Ridge Park next to Shades Mountain Elementary (estimated $70,000)
  • Replacing a wooden bridge at Georgetown Lake and repaving part of the walking path (estimated $85,000)
  • Replacing four pedestrian bridges in the Moss Rock Preserve nature park (estimated $60,000)
  • Doing initial work to begin creating a new passive park next to Loch Haven Dog Park (estimated $40,000, including $20,000 from state Rep. Mike Shaw’s discretionary money from the Legislature)
  • Improving stormwater drainage at various parks (estimated $47,000)
  • Updating the bride’s room and pavilion kitchen at Aldridge Gardens (estimated $100,000)

The school system has several other projects related to athletics and recreation planned in 2024 as well.

A $3 million project to construct new restrooms at the baseball and softball fields at both high schools is already underway. The new stalls will be equipped to handle six men and six women at the same time and should be completely installed by mid-February, said Matt Wilson, operations director for the school system.

Also, new lights are being added at Hoover High’s softball field and Spain Park’s baseball field, for a total cost of about $500,000, Wilson said. Those lights should be in use by the end of January, he said.

The school board budgeted $2.7 million to take down a hill and add more parking at Hoover High’s baseball field, but that project is still being studied to determine if it’s feasible to do in an affordable manner, Wilson said.

Construction of a two-story storage building and restroom facility at Bumpus Middle School, between the tennis courts and football field, is budgeted at $1.5 million. Athletic boosters also wanted other improvements, such as lighting for the track and athletic fields, but that was deemed too expensive, so the school administration had to narrow the list down to the most critical improvements, Wilson said.

Three elementary schools (Deer Valley, Green Valley and Shades Mountain) are slated to get new playgrounds this summer at a cost of $250,000 each.

The arts also are getting some capital money in 2024.

The Hoover Public Library plans to spend about $85,000 to replace the seating and carpet in the Hoover Library Theatre, which library Director Amanda Borden said is the original carpet and seating from when the theater opened in 1992. That work is slated to be done in August and should take two to three weeks, Borden said.

The Hoover Board of Education has allocated $1.5 million for renovations to the theater at Spain Park, including improvements to the lighting and acoustics, Wilson said. The school system plans to seek bids for that job in February, start the work in May and have it completed by August, he said.

 OTHER CITY PROJECTS

The Hoover City Council has budgeted $3 million to demolish a former bank building along U.S. 31 between Salvatore’s Pizza & Pasta and the Stone Creek Dental Care building and construct a new Hoover Fire Station No. 1, relocating it from behind the nearby Green Valley shopping center. The plan is to seek bids for the job in February, and construction should take 15 to 18 months, Al-Dakka said.

A $2.9 million project to repair a road (Lake Forest Circle) and dam that were damaged by heavy rain and flooding in Riverchase in October 2021 is almost complete and should be finished in January, he said.

Three sidewalk projects are scheduled to be done this year: 

  • A 3,000-foot sidewalk on Chapel Lane from Patton Chapel Road to Al Seier Road (estimated $691,000)
  • A 3,000-foot sidewalk from Top O’ Tree Lane to Guyton Road in Russet Woods (estimated $747,000)
  • A sidewalk on Al Seier Road and Sulphur Springs Road (estimated $200,000)

There are five stormwater drainage improvements planned:

  • Charlotte Drive (estimated $123,500)
  • Cornwall Drive (estimated $194,000) 
  • Quail Run Drive (estimated $122,000)
  • Al Seier Road (estimated $233,000) 
  • Savoy Street (estimated $365,000)

The city also is in the process of replacing two traffic signals on U.S. 31: one at the Hoover Commons shopping center for $290,000 and another at Patton Chapel Road North for $300,000. Those jobs should be finished by the end of January, Al-Dakka said.

Other budgeted projects for the city and school system include $2.7 million worth of repaving projects; $1.4 million worth of roofing projects at Rocky Ridge Elementary, Simmons Middle School and Spain Park; $1.3 million worth of heating, ventilation and air conditioning projects at Green Valley and Rocky Ridge elementary schools; $193,000 to extend the Interstate 459 southbound exit lane at John Hawkins Parkway; $150,000 for various bridge maintenance jobs; and $130,000 in updates at the Hoover Jail (such as plumbing and gates).