Hospital Demolition Clears Way for Mixed-Use Development

By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT

To make way for a major mixed-use development, demolition crews are bringing down the long-abandoned Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham. The campus, founded more than a century ago, has deteriorated significantly since shutting its doors.

“Carraway Hospital had operated for 100 years when it closed in 2008,” said Robert Simon, president and founder of Corporate Realty. “The buildings have remained vacant, and their condition has declined as they were subject to vandalism, the elements and neglect. In some cases, they were also just incompatible with the current preference for large, open spaces, as well as energy-efficient, environmentally friendly buildings.”

The developer is keeping a close eye on the multi-milliondollar demolition, which began in the third quarter of 2022.

“Every day, seven days a week, our team is watching each element of the process, making sure all elements are working together,” said Simon. “Clearly, the engineering and planning and schematics and demolition have to work in a schedule to reach target milestones. Our experts know what they are doing along the way.”

Demolition will clear the way for all forms of residential housing, as well as space for creative office, medical office, retail, hospitality and entertainment uses.

“We will take what had become a blighted area and create a site that will be fresh and lively and offer amenities that the nearby community has wanted and needed for a long time,” said Simon. “This will help revitalize the neighborhood, increase property values, encourage future investment, meet the needs of longtime residents and attract new residents to the area.”

Simon noted the main hospital building will be emptied and refurbished to provide housing that’s affordably priced for working families.

“In addition, there are four grand parking decks ready for cleaning and reuse,” he said. “That is key to the area for the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center [BJCC] and its properties. More than 1,900 structured parking spaces and many more surface parking lots will facilitate all that’s happening in this area. Mostly, we expect to have fresh and sustainable construction on newly designed buildings for this 50-plus acre site.”

According to Tommy Britt, founder and president of Cullman County-based Britt Demolition, the project is a good fit for his company, which is known for taking on difficult jobs that require high technical expertise.

“Our workflow follows the developer’s plan to remove the blight from the areas as quickly as possible,” he said. “We have demo completed on at least four of the buildings on campus and have much more to do.”

Approximately 40 percent of the demolition is finished, with workers committed to staying on schedule. Britt said the biggest challenge on the Carraway project involves traffic flow.

“We are surrounded by interstate on two sides and residential on two sides, so we take extra caution in our traffic patterns,” he said “Also, some of the technical work of demolition between buildings to be removed and ones that stay may allow only a few feet of space. That is tough, but we are geared to doing this kind of work.”

For the 14-member crew, weather also is an issue.

“In the cold, the machines get more difficult, and maintenance is harder to accomplish. Our workers are dedicated, but when it’s cold, it’s tough to deal with in the South.” see DEMOLITION page 6

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