By Anne Ruisi
Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato outlined the city’s achievements in 2022 and offered an outlook for 2023 at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce’s State of the City Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency – Wynfrey Hotel on Jan. 18.
“We will not rest on our laurels,” the mayor said. “We are planning and investing in the future to make sure we’re a great place to live for the next generation so that our kids and grandkids have economic opportunities and choose to continue to call Hoover home.”
The mayor’s lengthy address covered a wide range of developments in the city, which he described as an “economic engine for the region and the state” and which quickly is approaching 100,000 residents.
Public Safety
• The police department achieved national accreditation in 2022 and the fire department did so in 2021, fulfilling one of the mayor’s first goals when he took office in 2016, he said. Departments undergo an intense process to achieve accreditation, and Brocato said more city departments will begin the process of earning national accreditation in their fields.
• Hoover has bought property to replace the city’s first fire station, which is in an alley behind Green Valley Drugs, Brocato announced. He said the new, modern Fire Station 1 will be on U.S. 31 in front of the drug store.
• Among the vehicles purchased for the fire department fleet are two new ladder trucks that exhibit school pride. One truck is painted Spain Park High Blue and is stationed in Inverness at Fire Station 7. The other is painted Hoover High Orange and will be stationed at Fire Station 11 next to the Hoover Met.
Quality of Life
As public safety is important to the viability of a city, so quality of life is important to the vitality of a city, Brocato said.
• The city continues to reinvest in current parks and, when opportunities arise, to buy new land to add to Hoover’s amenities, the mayor said. One such purchase he noted is the Old Concrete Plant on Old U.S. 31 on the Cahaba River. The city will work with a developer to create uses that capitalize on the enjoyment and responsible uses of the Cahaba River.
• The Hoover Met Complex is “really becoming a shining star in Alabama, the Southeast and the United States,” the mayor said. More than 82,000 people in the community used the Met’s recreational fields and courts and more than 375,000 participants and athletes visited the complex last year.
• The city’s investment in the Hoover Met keeps paying dividends. Total economic impact for fiscal year 2022 was more than $55 million and it generated almost 70,000 hotel room nights throughout the region. Those numbers are expected to go up as the city continues to host the SEC Baseball Championship and prepares to host the Move United sporting event in 2023 and 2024, the mayor said.
• This year, the city will complete the installation of pickle ball courts at Veterans Park, join with the school system on a $9 million project to add artificial turf to the city’s ball parks as well as the baseball and softball fields at Hoover’s two high schools, finish building out the Bluff Park Pavilion, start renovations at Russet Woods Park and give the vestibule at the Hoover Senior Center a face lift that also will provide an extra layer of security for guests and employees.
• The first phase of Fleming Park will begin with 43 acres along the Cahaba River donated by Signature Homes. A pavilion, outdoor educational space and more amenities are included in the plan that will cover 130 acres.
• The Hoover Public Library is thriving, Brocato said, with programs and events that draw internationally acclaimed authors to the annual Southern Voices festival and Grammy Award-winning performers for concerts.
Economic Development Drivers
Brocato noted The Birmingham Business Journal just featured Hoover in a cover story calling the city the metro area’s next boomtown. He said there are good reasons for that recognition, among them:
• Hoover provides a predictable business climate and place where potential new businesses can attract workers.
• The city’s Building Services Department issued more than 6,000 permits last year with the value of work almost $600 million. The number of new home permits issued was 317, and the value of those homes was more than $195 million.
• The city is working with the Commercial Development Authority and the Industrial Development Board to position the U.S. 280 corridor as a technology hub. It also is working to develop an Innovation District Mixed Use Redevelopment Strategy for the area, the mayor said.
• The Downtown Redevelopment Authority is working to establish architectural guidelines to create a more cohesive look for Hoover’s central business district. Brocato said part of that district is what the city imagines to be a downtown Hoover. City officials are “working with the Patton Creek ownership to create just that” and are in final discussions with owners to create a town square atmosphere, complete with a new Center for the Arts, the mayor said.
• Brocato noted Riverchase continues to see growth in the life sciences sector. Bio Horizons, one of the largest suppliers of dental implants in the world, recently expanded, as did the National Computer Forensics Institute in the city. The institute is the nation’s premier law enforcement training center on cyber and electronic crimes. This year it will begin a multi-year, $23 million expansion that will let the center increase student population from 4,500 to 10,000 a year, Brocato said. The institute’s annual economic impact is about $6.4 million.
Retail Business
• Retail is alive and well in Hoover, Brocato said, pointing to the more than 1,000 new business licenses issued last year.
• In fall 2022, ground was broken on the Village Green at Stadium Trace Village Amphitheater.
• Riverchase Galleria continues to attract millions each year, Brocato said. New businesses have opened in and around the Galleria and there is a 126-room hotel under construction. Belk’s and Sears are both in the final stages of leasing space.
Financial Climate, Schools, Civitan
“I am happy to say the city of Hoover is in a very strong financial position currently – actually, the strongest financial position we’ve ever been in our history,” Brocato said.
Because 2021 was an “exceptional fiscal year,” the city invested an additional $30 million to significantly increase interest revenue, he said.
Brocato also lauded Hoover’s school system, which last year received an “A” rating for all 16 schools and continues to attract young families. Only six school systems in Alabama achieved that rating.
New businesses and organizations continue to come into Hoover, Brocato said, such as Civitan International, which has 30,000 members worldwide and has moved its headquarters to the Meadow Brook Business Park.
