Medical building big boost for city

Friday, May 11, 2007

By STEVE DOYLE

Times Staff Writer steve.doyle@htimes.com

$30 million tower most expensive project yet in new tax district

A $30 million medical office building breaking ground today represents the largest private investment so far inside a new city tax district.

The four-story Governors Medical Tower will rise from an empty lot at Governors Drive and Gallatin Street, directly across from Huntsville Hospital. At 124,500 square feet, it will be a tad smaller than Sam's Club on University Drive.

The land is owned by Huntsville Hospital and therefore exempt from property taxes, but the building will be taxable because it is being paid for by private investors including Inkana Development and the Spine & Neurosurgery Center, a medical practice on Rand Avenue.

Inkana, based in Birmingham, is run by former Huntsville Finance Director John Blackwell and his sons.

Huntsville Hospital will own about 20 percent of the building and plans to move its Center for Pain Management there from the nearby Franklin Medical Tower, said Rudy Hornsby, the hospital's senior vice president of support services.

There's a good possibility the hospital will also relocate part of its outpatient surgery program to the tower, "but it's not a done deal yet," Hornsby said Thursday.

Governors Medical Tower is the most expensive commercial construction project announced so far inside Tax Increment Finance District 4, eclipsing a major addition to the Surgery Center of Huntsville on Madison Street and an overhaul of the old SCI headquarters on Clinton Avenue, said city Planning Director Dallas Fanning.

The sprawling tax district, created last September, covers most of downtown and northeast Huntsville.

Fanning estimates that the office tower will generate $225,000 a year in property taxes for the city - enough to leverage about $3 million for public improvements within the tax district. If the building opens as planned in early 2009, it would be added to the tax rolls in October 2009.

"This is a great investment in downtown," Fanning said, "and at the same time affords debt service" for the tax district.

The city plans to borrow about $35 million for improvements within the district and repay the debt with growth in property taxes as the area becomes more valuable. On tap: a rebuilt Lee High School; extensive renovations to the Madison County Courthouse and the Von Braun Center; a new wing at the Huntsville Museum of Art; and a U.S. 72 service road over Chapman Mountain.

With an energy-efficient roof and more plants than concrete outside, Governors Medical Tower promises to be easier on the planet than many office buildings. A pedestrian walkway over Gallatin will let doctors and patients go from there to Huntsville Hospital without stepping outside.

"In my opinion, this will be one of the premier spots on the (Huntsville Hospital) campus," Dr. John Johnson of the Spine & Neurosurgery Center said Thursday. "We're going to have the latest technologies all under one roof."

Other tenants announced so far are Tennessee Valley Pain Consultants and the Digestive Disease Center.



Medical building big boost for city Friday, May 11, 2007 By STEVE DOYLE Times Staff Writer steve.doyle@htimes.com $30 million tower most expensive project yet in new tax district A $30 million medical office building breaking ground today represents the largest private investment so far inside a new city tax district. The four-story Governors Medical Tower will rise from an empty lot at Governors Drive and Gallatin Street, directly across from Huntsville Hospital. At 124,500 square feet, it will be a tad smaller than Sam's Club on University Drive. The land is owned by Huntsville Hospital and therefore exempt from property taxes, but the building will be taxable because it is being paid for by private investors including Inkana Development and the Spine & Neurosurgery Center, a medical practice on Rand Avenue. Inkana, based in Birmingham, is run by former Huntsville Finance Director John Blackwell and his sons. Huntsville Hospital will own about 20 percent of the building and plans to move its Center for Pain Management there from the nearby Franklin Medical Tower, said Rudy Hornsby, the hospital's senior vice president of support services. There's a good possibility the hospital will also relocate part of its outpatient surgery program to the tower, "but it's not a done deal yet," Hornsby said Thursday. Governors Medical Tower is the most expensive commercial construction project announced so far inside Tax Increment Finance District 4, eclipsing a major addition to the Surgery Center of Huntsville on Madison Street and an overhaul of the old SCI headquarters on Clinton Avenue, said city Planning Director Dallas Fanning. The sprawling tax district, created last September, covers most of downtown and northeast Huntsville. Fanning estimates that the office tower will generate $225,000 a year in property taxes for the city - enough to leverage about $3 million for public improvements within the tax district. If the building opens as planned in early 2009, it would be added to the tax rolls in October 2009. "This is a great investment in downtown," Fanning said, "and at the same time affords debt service" for the tax district. The city plans to borrow about $35 million for improvements within the district and repay the debt with growth in property taxes as the area becomes more valuable. On tap: a rebuilt Lee High School; extensive renovations to the Madison County Courthouse and the Von Braun Center; a new wing at the Huntsville Museum of Art; and a U.S. 72 service road over Chapman Mountain. With an energy-efficient roof and more plants than concrete outside, Governors Medical Tower promises to be easier on the planet than many office buildings. A pedestrian walkway over Gallatin will let doctors and patients go from there to Huntsville Hospital without stepping outside. "In my opinion, this will be one of the premier spots on the (Huntsville Hospital) campus," Dr. John Johnson of the Spine & Neurosurgery Center said Thursday. "We're going to have the latest technologies all under one roof." Other tenants announced so far are Tennessee Valley Pain Consultants and the Digestive Disease Center. © 2007 The Huntsville Times © 2007 al.com All Rights Reserved.