Riverwalk Village Plans Would Bring Elevated Health Care to Hoover

A health care and wellness-focused development is being planned for the Riverchase area of Hoover.

Riverwalk Village is to be a mixeduse community that includes medical offices, walking trails and green spaces, as well as housing and retail areas.

“The city of Hoover is excited to unveil this project. It will be a significant development for the metro area,” Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato said in his announcement, made with Regions Bank and Healthcare Resources.

“Riverchase is a beautiful, Class A office park (that) has been an important part of our city’s development,” Brocato said. “As the global economy changes, it is smart planning to reimagine what these areas can become. Riverwalk Village’s combination of wellness, business, residential and clinical care will help propel Hoover into our next chapter.”

The new development will be on a 90-acre tract near Riverchase Parkway that includes 450,000 square feet of existing corporate offices. It will include the Riverwalk Health & Wellness Center, which will offer a wide range of health care services for all stages of life, from pediatrics to geriatrics.

“Providing high-quality access to health care is a defining metric in a city’s mission to building and sustaining a high quality of life for its residents and visitors,” Hoover City Council President John Lyda said. “Riverwalk Village will be a transformative project for the Riverchase area of Hoover that will offer additional, state-of-the-art access to care and serve as a catalyst for commercial and residential investment through the creation of Hoover’s first health and wellness-centered development.”

Development company Healthcare Resources is under contract to purchase the site.

The Hoover Health Care Authority, which was established by the city in 2021, is working on the project. The authority’s vision is to create, develop

Race

From Page One took Wednesday to review the signatures on that candidate’s petition and determine that there were not enough signatures from District 5 voters for her to qualify.”

Each aspiring candidate had to submit a petition signed by at least 100 persons who live in the district they hope to represent.

The election to fill the seat left vacant by former Commissioner Steven Ammons, who stepped down to become CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance, will be July 18. A runoff, if needed, will be Aug. 8.

The new commissioner will serve almost a full term – through the end of Ammons’ term in fall 2026.

The district includes much of southside Birmingham and Mountain Brook, eastward to include the Grants and promote a forward-looking innovative medical district in the city where health care providers, health research companies and clinical educators can thrive with knowledgeable and motivated partnerships, according to the statement. It also said the authority anticipates more announcements in the coming weeks about major initiatives to complement the Riverwalk Village project.

“Hoover needs enhanced health care opportunities to keep pace with our continued growth. The Hoover Health Care Authority is excited to have great partners as we expand the availability of innovative wellness, diagnostic, treatment and restorative services for our residents and visitors,” authority Chair Alan Paquette said. “This unique campus will elevate the quality of life across our city and neighboring communities.”

The project represents an expansion and re-imagining of Regions Bank’s North and South Buildings. Regions, one of the largest employers in Shelby County, will maintain a significant presence in the new development.

“We’re proud to build on our longterm commitment to Hoover while helping strengthen the community by supporting these additional services and public greenspaces,” Brett Couch, head of Regions Corporate Real Estate and Procurement, said in the statement.

While health and wellness will be a prime focus at Riverwalk Village, the development also will include a central greenspace with a variety of other amenities and community spaces in a parklike setting to enhance the quality of life in Hoover and surrounding areas. Developers also are talking about working with the city to create miles of trails to improve walkability and connectivity, linking the northern and southern parts of Hoover.

“We are excited about Riverwalk Village, what it will offer to current Hoover residents and the potential for what it can become,” Christy Roddy of Healthcare Resources said. “The future of health care is focused on integrating prevention and wellness as part of overall patient care. This site is uniquely positioned to be able to bring those aspects to the community.”

Mill area and Leeds.

Most District 5 polling places are the same for the special election as regular elections, but five were changed.

Hoover Senior Center is under renovation, so those persons will vote at Hoover Recreation Center, which is basically next door. Fullness Christian Fellowship is hosting Vacation Bible School; its voters will cast their ballots at Shades Mountain Community Church.

Mountain Brook Community Church is also having Vacation Bible School. Those voters will vote at Cahaba Heights Baptist Church. Edgewood Elementary School is undergoing a lot of renovations this summer. Those residents are going to vote at Homewood Library.

Each voter affected by the above changes received a card from the Board of Registrars, telling them where to vote in the special election.

The development team includes Healthcare Resources in conjunction with Corporate Realty and Home Communities Company, as well as Brasfield & Gorrie, Goodwyn Mills Cawood, and Earl Swensson Associates.

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By June Mathews

A groundbreaking ceremony on June 27 officially marked the beginning of a $2.7 million project to make improvements to Jemison Trail.

The cost will be shared by the city of Mountain Brook, the Friends of Jemison Park and other donors.

City leaders have allocated $1.4 million over the next three years to the project. The Friends of Jemison Park recently presented a check for $1 million to the Mountain Brook City Council toward the group’s goal of matching the city’s contribution.

“I want to thank the City Council for stepping up and doing a public/private partnership with the Friends of Jemison Park,” Mayor Stewart Welch said in his introductory remarks. “Thank you for your dedication to Jemison Park. It is Birmingham’s signature park.”

Sally Worthen, president of the Friends of Jemison Park, said, “I’m so happy today has come. It’s going to be so great for the city of Mountain Brook, as well as for Birmingham.”

Worthen, who also expressed appreciation to everyone involved in the funding efforts, has lived across the street from the park since 1986 and became president of the Friends group about four years later. Organized in 1973, the Friends group seeks to continue the vision of Mountain Brook founder and developer Robert Jemison Jr., for whom the park is named.

The trail closed June 26 and will remain closed for approximately six months while the work is being done. Renovations include replacing the concrete walkways with asphalt for a more runner-friendly surface, widening paths and rerouting sections of the walkway along Shades Creek that are prone to flooding.

When completed, the 1-mile Jemison Trail will be 1.5 miles long and ADA compliant.

“What we’re doing now is helping the park go through the next few years,” said Joel Eliason of Nimrod, Long & Associates. “As more people discover the park, it gets more use, and we’re seeing more effects of that. So we’re trying now to mitigate some of those effects and make sure that this park is