News that UAB Medical West is considering a location near Stadium Trace Village is a significant development. This selection – if confirmed – would mean that the newest world-class hospital in the United States is choosing Jefferson County, Alabama, and specifically the City of Hoover for its new site. The proposal is also generating additional interest for our property. The prestige that this facility would bring to the area is already helping us attract best-in-class tenants and sets the stage for increased property values in Hoover. The life-saving UAB investment will also add an even greater quality of life to a truly great city.
William Kadish, Director of Development
Stadium Trace Village
Broad Metro LLC, a Lawrence Kadish entity
bizjournals.com
Relocating Medical West to the city of Hoover could create 576 new jobs and eventually have an economic impact of $100 million annually, according to a new study.
The study, by Keivan Deravi, professor of economics at Auburn University at Montgomery, was presented to the Hoover City Council on Monday. It comes as Hoover makes a play to serve as the host for a future replacement hospital for Medical West, an affiliate of UAB Health System currently located in Bessemer.
Specifically, the study assessed the impact of building a new hospital at a prospective location for the project would be between Stadium Trace Parkway and Interstate 459. UAB already has one major project in Stadium Trace Village in the works that will consolidate several existing health facilities into one complex, but the hospital would be a separate project.
The CEO of Medical West said the hospital has considered multiple sites, but no decision has been made. Medical West has made no secret of its long-term plans to build a replacement facility for Medical West, which has been located in Bessemer for more than five decades.
“Medical West considered twelve sites in West Jefferson County as potential locations for a new hospital,” said Medical West CEO Keith Pennington. “The land owned by the UAB Health System in McCalla and the Hoover site are the two that best meet Medical West’s needs in our mission to deliver sustainable health care to the residents of this area. The hospital continues to evaluate all options.”
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said landing a hospital would mark a pivotal moment for Hoover and its economy. The city is the largest in Alabama without a hospital.
“If we are able to land this project, it will definitely align with our vision to diversify our economy from a retail base into the health care industry and make metro Hoover and western Jefferson country into a destination for world-class medical care,” he said. “We look at this not only as an economic boost, but also a quality of life enhancement for our city and the western side of Jefferson county. In cities all across America, medical institutions are considered anchor intuition and play a major role in the social and economic vitality in the city.”
The study estimated the project would cost an estimated $412 million and would create 1,700 construction jobs.
“You are going to have a large amount of (construction) employees coming in, hotels are going to be filled up, so you are going to have a lot of (ancillary sales) back and forth for two years,” said Deravi. “And as a result of it, there is going to be a an infusion of a huge amount money in a short period of time, you will see that without any question.”
The study was based on a 500,000-square-foot hospital with 220 beds. The current Medical West in Bessemer has 310 beds.
The facility itself would be estimated to employ 1,000 and eventually create an additional 576 jobs. By the fifth year of operation, approximately $35 million in additional wages and salaries will be generated in the process, according to the study.
The project would be estimated to have a $2.2 million impact on Hoover’s sales and property taxes by its fifth year of operation. The study noted that figure doesn’t encompass all taxes levied by the city.
Brocato has previously proposed the city providing $20 million in incentives for the project. A vote on those potential incentives has not been scheduled, nor has a timeline for a future decision by Medical West.
“In order to properly serve the residents of west Jefferson County, we need to build a modern hospital to replace current MedWest inpatient offerings, as well as repurpose the current MedWest facility to best care for Bessemer residents in a sustainable way,” Pennington said. “We are in the process of gathering information and considering options, and we will make a decision once we have all the information.”