The Homewood City Council Monday unanimously approved a proposal to transform part of the old Brookwood Village mall into a new location for Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center.
The plans call for a new 131,000-square-foot medical facility in the old Belk department store space at Brookwood Village.
There is no timetable for when work would begin on the project.
Paul Darden, who represented the ownership, said the project is important to the future development of the property.
Once a mainstay of Birmingham shopping, Brookwood Village has been largely vacant for the past five years, after several stores and restaurants closed.
The mall opened its doors in 1974, surrounded by some of the metro Birmingham’s wealthiest communities. It was home to Alabama’s first Chick-fil-A and was originally anchored by Pizitz and Rich’s.
Renovations occurred in the 1980s and in 1991. But the most dramatic facelift came in 2001, when a streetscape was added along the front of the mall, featuring stores that open to the street and several restaurants that have become local favorites.
Since the mall closed, several ideas have been floated to repurpose it, including a mixed-use development option or a residential facility with townhomes or condos.
As he did at a planning meeting last year, resident Jeremy Love spoke in opposition to the plan, saying that he felt the property deserves a more comprehensive plan for development.
Council members agreed that they would like to see more of the property redeveloped, but they feel Andrews Sports Medicine is a potential catalyst for more tenants.
Councilman Carlos Aleman likened it to the celebrated line from “Field of Dreams”: “If you build it, they will come.”
“An anchor will only make that area more vibrant,” he said.
Councilwoman Jennifer Andress said the project was very important, as Brookwood Village has been a “keystone piece of property” for not only Homewood but Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills.
“We’re sitting across the street from a big, empty hulk of a building that has been empty for five or six years, and we hear from our constituents every day for something to happen there,” Andress said.
“Something is going to happen at that property. Do I wish it was all happening at the same time?…I do. I also think it’s time to get moving.”
Councilwoman Barry Smith said she feels that having Andrews Sports Medicine “will attract a really impressive clientele and that will spur further development.”
The council also set a date of June 9 for public hearings related to the proposed Creekside development by Samford University.
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