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Will Health Care Reform Pass?
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Three cities sign economic deal. They will share pre-building costs and potential tax revenue
By Cheryl Powell and Katie Byard
Beacon Journal staff writers
Published on Friday, Apr 25, 2008
Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson and Stow are offering to purchase and fix up property along state Route 8 and Seasons Road to lure a new full-service hospital.
The economic deal, announced on Thursday, is part of the cities' efforts to land a 100-bed hospital that Summa Health System and a group of area doctors want to start building this year in Summit County's affluent northern tier.
Rather than compete against each other for the economic boon a new hospital could bring, the three mayors decided to sweeten their offers by sharing the costs as well as the potential tax revenues.
''We will share in the investments, the risk and we will also share in the benefits,'' Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don L. Robart said.
The mayors signed off on memorandums of understanding on the venture during a news conference Thursday at the medical offices of Dr. Robert Kent. Kent, a Cuyahoga Falls
doctor, is spearheading the new hospital initiative for Western Reserve Hospital Partners, a group of about 100 area physicians.
Though Summa and the doctors still haven't picked the location for their new $100 million hospital, sites in Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson or Stow near the future state Route 8-Seasons Road interchange on the Stow-Hudson line are the first choice, Kent said.
Michael Rutherford, Summa's chief financial officer, agreed that properties along the Seasons Road corridor ''came out on top.''
''We've determined the Seasons Road interchange area is the best area for a hospital,'' he said.
Rutherford called the incentives being offered by the three communities ''significant and very attractive.''
Summa and the doctors plan to select a hospital site within 60 days.
At least two other northern Summit communities have expressed interest in the project.
Blow to Macedonia
The news of the hospital was a second blow to Macedonia, which learned last week that efforts to keep the Norandex facility and its 90 employees from moving to Hudson had failed.
''This has been a bad week,'' Macedonia Mayor Don Kuchta said.
Kuchta said that two years ago, he tried to attract Summa to property considered for a soccer stadium and retail complex, south of Highland Road and east of state Route 8. And earlier this year, he spoke with representatives of Western Reserve Group and Summa about property on Route 8, near Interstate 271.
Boston Heights Mayor Bill Goncy said he doesn't know how Thursday's announcement will affect the village's effort to attract a hospital to 100 acres at the former Boston Hills Country Club, on state Route 8 and Hines Hill Road.
Goncy said the property ''is a good site with highway access.''
Earlier this month, Boston Heights Village Council agreed to the development of the former country club property for retail and professional office buildings and possibly a hospital.
The agreement — approved in Summit County Common Pleas Court — settled a lawsuit filed last year by Boston Hills Property Investment after residents filed referendum petitions to overturn council approval of a commercial and retail complex on the former golf course.
Regardless of where a hospital is built in northern Summit County, ''all the communities could benefit,'' Goncy said. ''It would be nice to know that we have a hospital closer, that we could get to quicker.''
Zone will stay
Even if another community gets the hospital, Robart said, Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson and Stow plan to create a joint economic development zone on about 80 to 140 acres near the future Seasons Road interchange.
''Heaven forbid it would go elsewhere — and I don't anticipate that — we could still work together to develop that area,'' he said.
The agreement among Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson and Stow calls for the cities to split equally any tax revenues generated from the hospital and related developments near Seasons Road.
Kent estimates the new hospital likely will employ more than 600 people and generate annual revenues of $150 million to $200 million.
Stow Mayor Karen Fritschel called the cooperative deal and its potential economic gains ''a tremendous boost for our communities.''
The three mayors agreed for their cities each to contribute about $1.7 million for the long-awaited Seasons Road interchange construction, which is expected to start in January and be completed in August 2010.
The cities also would share equally the cost of the hospital property, according to the agreement. The three communities are seeking $5 million in state funding in May to help finance the land acquisition, as well as other improvements needed for the property.
In addition, the deal calls for the mayors to pursue tax incentive agreements with their school districts. The new hospital will be a for-profit facility, meaning it will be required to pay property taxes unless tax breaks are granted.
If Summa and the doctors select a site within the designated area, Stow would provide water and Cuyahoga Falls' city-operated electric utility would provide the electricity. Summit County would supply sanitary sewers.
''We feel it will show to the entire community that a regional community hospital is very viable,'' Hudson Mayor William A. Currin said.
Health-care competition
Hospital systems from Akron and Cleveland increasingly are competing for patients from northern Summit County, which boasts some of the region's fastest growing and most affluent communities.
From 2000 through 2006, northern Summit County communities collectively gained 4.5 percent in population, while the rest of the county's population dropped 1.2 percent, according to U.S. Census estimates.
Thursday's announcement came one day after Akron General Medical Center President and Chief Executive Alan J. Bleyer confirmed plans to expand an outpatient center off state Route 8, near Steels Corners Road, in Stow and possibly add inpatient hospital services to the campus.
Last year, the Cleveland Clinic announced plans to build a $71.5 million, outpatient medical center and 24-hour emergency department on state Route 91 near Interstate 480 in Twinsburg.
University Hospitals in Cleveland recently opened its UH Twinsburg Health Center, with outpatient diagnostic, primary-care and specialty services and an urgent-care center.
In addition, Summa and Akron Children's Hospital share an outpatient medical center that's attached to the Summa Wellness Institute, a medically based fitness center in Hudson.
The fate of Summa's Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital after the new hospital opens in northern Summit County in the next few years hasn't been determined.
Summa is evaluating the best location for services among all its hospitals, Rutherford said. In addition to Falls General, the health system also owns or is affiliated with Akron City, St. Thomas, Barberton, Wadsworth-Rittman and Robinson Memorial hospitals.
Robart said Falls General ''will remain a viable facility within our community in some capacity.''
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3852 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com, Katie Byard at 330-996-3871 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. Staff writer David Knox contributed to this story.
Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson and Stow are offering to purchase and fix up property along state Route 8 and Seasons Road to lure a new full-service hospital.
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