Work to transform the former site of Carraway Methodist Medical Center is slated to begin next spring.

Corporate Realty wants to turn the former hospital site into a multi-use development complete with office, retail, entertainment, hotel and residential space. The Lovelady Center currently has the site under contract. Corporate Realty plans to buy the site by the end of this year, said Brian Wolfe, chief development officer for Corporate Realty.

“Our hope is that we can close sometime before the end of this year that way we can proceed toward the start of construction,” Wolfe said.

Corporate Realty has been working for two years to build a site plan for Carraway. The site plan includes 7.2 acres of residential space, 30.8 acres of retail, dining and hotels and 9.3 acres of business space.

The plan also includes connecting Carraway Boulevard to 25th Street north via 15th Avenue North.

Site plan for the redevelopment of the now abandoned Physicians Medical Center Carrway site and part of the Druid Hills neighborhood. (photo from the Urban Renewal and Redevelopment Plan for the Druid Hills Neighborhood).

Last fall, Corporate Realty held an open house where they invited members of the surrounding neighborhoods to get their input on the redevelopment of the Druid Hills neighborhood and former Carraway site. More than 16,000 postcards about the event were mailed to residents and property owners near the site. About 300 people attended the open house.

Many residents were interested in affordable, family-style restaurants, grocery stores and farmer’s markets in the development. The development will include both single and multi-family homes.

Unfortunately, the hospital structures must be demolished due to years of vandalism and exposure to the elements. The existing parking decks are still in good shape and will be used at the development.

“It’s sad because several buildings that we felt like we wanted to try to salvage and reuse in a way. It’s better to just demolish the buildings and start over,” Wolfe said.

The iconic star on top of the hospital will be preserved in some way, however Wolfe said he doesn’t have a concrete plan for exactly how.

“Right now, we’re still going through the due diligence process. It’s like when you’re buying a house, there’s an inspection period. There’s some environmental work, some survey work and other things to do to check under the hood before closing,” he said.

“We feel like that momentum is going to help catalyze this area into a very sought-after district for people to go before and after events. Top Golf already has shown us it’s an attractive place if you put in the right ingredients,” Wolfe said. “It’s accessible to interstate and it’s quite available for those in all parts of Birmingham to come to the site and use it.”

The more than 50-acre former hospital site runs along Carraway Boulevard, between 13th Avenue North and 20th Avenue North. The hospital was at 2401 15th Ave. N. Most of the site is zoned institutional and would require rezoning before it can be redeveloped.

History of the site:

Physician’s Medical Center Carraway closed in October 2008 after encountering a series of financial issues that led to the hospital filing bankruptcy twice. About 1,000 people lost their jobs when the hospital closed. The closure put Carraway among one of more than 20 hospitals that have closed since 2000.

After the hospital closed, some supporters of the Lovelady Center bought the site and gave it to the group around 2011. The Lovelady Center is a faith-based shelter, recovery and re-entry center for women.

However, the deal didn’t work out. The facility was too big for Lovelady to manage and area residents had concerns about the Lovelady being in their neighborhood. It was also difficult to properly secure the site, so it quickly was vandalized. The location also would require rezoning for Lovelady to use it.

“It was sad to watch how the property went down. There was no way to really lock down the facility and all our effort had to be on the ministry,” said Lovelady Board Chairman and Chief Operating Officer John McNeil.

“(Corporate Realty) has an exciting plan to breathe new life into that neighborhood,” he said.

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Photos of the inside of Physicians Medical Center Courtesy of Abandoned Birmingham.