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Commission approves one Regional One site purchase, delays another amid price and funding questions
Summary
The Board approved purchase of 126 S. Lauderdale for regional medical campus planning, while referring a separate purchase at 455 Union back to committee for further negotiation. Commissioners and hospital leaders discussed a state funding ask and a projected construction cost.
The Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved a contract to purchase property at 126 South Lauderdale Street for Regional One Health, and delayed action on a second property at 455 Union Avenue by referring it back to committee.
The commission approved item 36, a purchase from Chittum Family Limited Partnership, with a not-to-exceed appropriation raised to cover a higher negotiated purchase price and estimated closing costs. County attorneys said the substitute resolution reflected an increase of about $190,000 to the purchase price plus an additional contingency of roughly $50,000 for closing and transaction expenses, for a combined increase of approximately $240,000 to the previously proposed total. The amended total in the meeting materials showed a not-to-exceed figure of about $1,128,914.56 for the Lauderdale parcel.
Regional One Health CEO Reginald Coopwood and broker Daryl Cobbins told commissioners that the seller asked for the price increase for added comfort against possible future environmental liability, even though Regional One had obtained a clean environmental assessment for the parcel. Cobbins said the seller “felt like that increase in the purchase price would satisfy their concerns and their ability to address any issues should they come up in the future,” and added that the seller sought comfort despite an otherwise clean report.
Coopwood told the commission the hospital’s current high-level estimate for a rebuilt Regional One project ranges from $900 million in construction costs up to about $1.2–1.3 billion when furniture, fixtures and equipment are included. He said more detailed cost estimates should be available “mid to late summer” after programming and schematic design work finishes. He also said advocates planned to watch the governor’s supplemental budget (typically released in March) for any potential appropriations and that Regional One would continue discussions with legislative leadership.
On item 37, the commission accepted the county attorney’s request to refer the 455 Union Avenue purchase back to committee while negotiations continue; the administration said the item “is not ready to move forward.”
Vote totals: The Lauderdale purchase (item 36, as substituted) passed by recorded vote (10-0 in favor as recorded). The 455 Union item (item 37) was referred back to committee by motion of the administration.
Why it matters: The purchases are part of a multi-year, multi-hundred-million-dollar effort to rebuild and modernize Regional One Health’s facilities. Commissioners pressed for clarity on state funding prospects and the county’s long-term capital plan: finance staff and Regional One representatives confirmed the county’s five-year capital plan includes future columns that could support additional funding requests, but commissioners asked the administration and legal staff to clarify whether the commission has committed $350 million or $500 million in future capital support as public materials had suggested. The county’s finance director said the previously adopted five‑year plan included a “future” column that totaled approximately a half‑billion dollars for Regional One in later years; he described the CIP plan as a rolling five‑year plan that will be updated as FY26 budget discussions continue.
What’s next: The commission approved the Lauderdale purchase and will place the 455 Union matter back in committee while negotiations continue and the administration prepares clearer fiscal documentation for the commission and state legislators.
