FAIRHOPE — The USA Health physician office building now under construction in Fairhope is on schedule and should open this fall, hospital system officials said.
USA Health held a "topping off" ceremony Wednesday, March 30, to mark construction reaching its highest point. The setting of the beam, signed by local officials and hospital physicians and executives, was scheduled to be held during the ceremony but was postponed due to high winds.
Owen Bailey, chief executive officer of USA Health, said the event still marked a major step toward completion of the facility.
"This is a significant milestone in the construction of the 50,000-square foot physician office building," Bailey said. "In five months, we have gone from site preparation to reaching the highest point in the structure. It is exciting to see the progress as we strive to bring more access to academic medicine to the people in Baldwin County and the upper Gulf Coast."
Construction of a 25,000-square foot ambulatory surgery center in scheduled to begin later this spring at the site.
The site at the southeast corner of Alabama 104 and Alabama 181, is designated the Mapp Family Campus. The facility is named for Louis and Melinda Mapp who donated the eight-acre parcel to USA Health.
The three-story physician office building will include Baldwin Family Medicine and USA Health specialty care providers. Specialties will include neurology, cardiology and surgical specialties, including pediatric and adult gastroenterology and urology. The facility will also house a full array of imaging technology, including X-ray, ultrasound, mammography, CT and MRI.
The facility is expected to cost about $25 million with equipment, according to hospital system reports.