80,000-square-foot South Haven Surgical Plaza breaks ground Friday in Hoover

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August 13, 2026

It’s the healthcare concept of the future, and it’s here. Groundbreaking for South Haven Surgical Plaza, an 80,000-square-foot medical campus for outpatient care in Hoover, is Friday, August 14.

It is the first of its kind in Alabama, a complete longevity medical clinic.

The project is being developed by Loree J. Skelton of Hoover in collaboration with Vernon Veldekens, founder and CEO of Marcel Development. Skelton, a Hoover attorney and CEO of South Haven Corporation, is also an appointee to gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville’s transition team, “The Golden Age Action Team.”

“A lot of people were willing to fight for this project. Mayor Derzis and the Hoover City Council stood behind it. So did the Jefferson County Commission and Senator Jabo Waggoner,” Skelton said.

“Vernon Veldekens and the Marcel Group are the ones building it, and I owe all of them a great deal. Then there is Will Kadish. There were plenty of moments Will could have stepped back, and he never did, for one reason: he gave me his word. If more people operated the way Will does, the world would be a better place. My parents built South Haven in this community, and carrying that forward here at home is the honor of my life.”

Located in Stadium Trace Village – Phase II, the plaza will provide space for physicians and healthcare providers to practice, invest, and participate in the development of the facility within a growing mixed-use area.

Every detail of this facility is designed with physicians in mind—clinical efficiency, ownership opportunity, and long-term value creation.

Key features include a multi-specialty ambulatory surgery center (ASC) with 6 operating rooms and 2 procedure rooms, an imaging and diagnostic center and medical office space to accommodate collaborative use.

BL Harbert International, a general contractor based in Birmingham, has been selected as the construction partner. The firm has worked on various healthcare facility developments across the U.S. and internationally.

South Haven Surgical Plaza will be scalable with later additions.

The $35 million, four-story medical office building serves as the initial anchor project for a $200 million Phase II expansion.

The surgical plaza is placed on an 18.4-acre site near Interstate 459 and John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover.

The project is backed by a $28 million performance-based economic development agreement by the Hoover City Council. The total Phase II project is expected to create over 300 temporary construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions.

The surgical center is designed so that a 55,000-square-foot surgical hospital addition with a 24-hour emergency room and 25 beds can be built seamlessly in the future without disrupting outpatient operations.

The facility is filling a critical outpatient care void for residents in the West Hoover area and surrounding counties.

Many procedures that required a trip into downtown Birmingham and waiting periods can be performed closer to home for residents at South Haven Surgical Plaza.

Jim ‘Zig’ Zeigler is a freelance writer about the colorful and positive in Alabama — her people, places, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at [email protected].