Work beginning on nursing home expansion

April 13--ATHENS -- After months of silence, work has started on a $3 million expansion of Athens Rehabilitation Center and SeniorCare on Market Street.

The project is expected to bring 20 to 25 jobs to the city.

City Planner Mac Martin said the project had "gone quiet" for months but is again moving forward, and Mayor Ronnie Marks said the nursing home is beginning street work under an agreement with the city.

"They had backed off the project. I don't know what for, but they are ready to roll now," Marks said.

Greg Wooten, vice president of business development for Northport Health Services, which manages the nursing home, said the project could be completed as early as October.

The project will add about 10,000 square feet to the nursing home. Last year, the Athens City Council agreed to vacate a portion of Malone Street to accommodate the expansion.

Under an agreement with the city, the nursing home will spend $210,000 to $220,000 improving and extending nearby Strange Street to compensate for the vacated portion of Malone.

In October, the council voted in favor of a $65,000 incentive for the nursing home, payable once the improvements to Strange Street are completed.

Marks described the incentive as more of an infrastructure investment than incentive, noting the city will get an improved Strange Street and more jobs out of the deal.

The Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for 3 p.m. today.

The nursing home expansion is the latest in a series of recent investments in health care infrastructure in Athens.

Athens Limestone Hospital is spending an estimated $28 million to build and equip an outpatient surgical center at U.S. 72 and Greenfield Drive.

Traditions Senior Living is completing an $8 million assisted-living facility in the same area and plans to break ground in May or June on a $3 million project to build assisted-living patio homes on adjacent property.

Construction also is underway on a more than $2 million medical specialist building on Greenfield Drive. That facility eventually will house Dr. Keith Hill'sValley ENT Associates, Dr. Steve Mallette'sMallette Dermatology, and Dr. Gregg Moody's Comprehensive Ophthalmology.

All three practices are presently located elsewhere in Athens.

evan.belanger@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2439. Twitter @evanbelanger.

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