In its formal application for re-use
of the Navy Supply Corps School property in Athens, the
University of Georgia on Jan. 17 proposed to create a health
sciences campus.
The proposed Health Sciences Center initially will build
on existing assets such as UGA health-related programs,
the clinical strengths of local hospitals and clinics in
the Prince Avenue medical district and the programs of
other institutional partners, including Athens Technical
College and the Medical College of Georgia.
“Building on these existing assets, new medical school
programs will be developed jointly by UGA and MCG as an
expansion of MCG’s accredited curriculum, which could
over time support the development of other facilities to
meet the expanding need for training physicians in Georgia,” the
proposal states.
“As the state’s flagship university, UGA recognizes
that it must bring its resources to bear on the serious
problems Georgia faces in sustaining an adequate supply
of physicians and other health care professionals,” President
Michael F. Adams wrote in the introductory letter to the
proposal.
The planned health sciences campus would “more than
replace the number of jobs lost from the departure of the
NSCS at approximately double the NSCS payroll,” says
the submission.
“In doing so, it will be a significant
economic driver for the Athens/Northeast Georgia area,
becoming the 16th-largest employer in Athens (the NSCS
is the 39th-largest). By 2015, it is expected to generate
a minimum of $37 million in additional wages paid statewide,
with $17 million in additional wages expected in Clarke
County.”
It continues, “The initial economic activity generated
by facilities development, increased enrollment, and expanded
need for goods and services is projected to produce an
additional $1.4 million per year in revenue to the Athens-Clarke
County government, a figure that would rise substantially
over time as the project develops. It is anticipated that
the new Health Science Center’s total annual impact
statewide will exceed
$100 million within the first decade of operation.”
The plan provides detailed plans for the use of existing
historic and other structures at the NSCS, and notes that
some structures not of historic value would be removed
and significant additional facilities constructed over
time. The campus would be developed in accord with UGA’s
main campus planning guidelines, including preservation
of the tree canopy. The NSCS campus would be reopened to
the public after being a secure military facility for many
years.
Other key points made in the application:
• While many other military bases involved in the
local redevelopment process are quite large in land area
and are amenable to multiple purpose re-use, the NSCS campus
is only 58 acres, a relatively small area, all of which
will be required to accommodate the several inter-related
programs in the health and medical fields which will be
part of the center. These include the UGA College of Public
Health; the MCG School of Nursing at Athens; allied health
programs to train non-physician health professionals; health
and risk communications; and continuing medical education.
The proposed Health Sciences Center would include a clinical
facility, a medical library, a student lounge, a medical
school administration building and faculty offices.
• Though the NSCS property is not expected to be available
until 2011, curricular and program developments for the
Health Sciences Center will occur prior to that date, with
the first class of 40 medical students projected to enter
the program in fall 2009 in a temporary location, with
classes of 40 new students added each fall thereafter.
Therefore, some transition and redevelopment activities
would be useful prior to 2011, if space becomes available
on the NSCS campus.
• The NSCS site is within the Prince Avenue medical
corridor that includes Athens Regional Medical Center and
nearby St. Mary’s Hospital.
• The property formerly was owned by the University
of Georgia and used as the State Normal School. It was
conveyed to the United States Navy in 1954 for the purpose
of building the Navy Supply Corps School. UGA will request
a deed transfer of the property from the United States
Department of Education through Public Benefit Conveyance. |
