New hospital won't displace visitors' bureau, memorial

Mat-Su Convention and Visitors' Bureau -- and the adjacent Veterans Wall of Honor -- will not be relocated as a result of a new hospital being built nearby.

The decision to add a medical clinic to the Valley Hospital campus that will be built near the intersection of Trunk Road and the Parks Highway, hospital spokeswoman Elizabeth Ripley said, has changed the footprint of the proposed campus, and the Mat-Su Borough land the visitors' center and memorial are on will stay in borough hands.

Instead, Valley Hospital has options to purchase 2.9 acres of private land adjacent to the proposed hospital location, owned by Louise Bidondo and assessed at $127,400, which will be incorporated into the new design, Ripley said.

"Essentially, we decided the site needed to accommodate an office building," Ripley said. "Initially, we had planned just the hospital."

When the decision to add the office complex was made, Ripley said, the placement of buildings on the site plan changed somewhat, making the Mat-Su Borough land no longer necessary. The land was never purchased, Ripley said, but like the other land the hospital is pinning its plans on, it was optioned. Ripley said none of the land purchases will be final until land they've requested to purchase from the University of Alaska goes through.

"Purchasing all of the land will take some time," Ripley said, "but we hope to close on all of it in February."

The private land, Ripley said, was originally intended to house the relocated visitors' center, while the memorial adjacent to the existing center was planned to be incorporated into a park-like design near the parking area. Early talk about moving the site raised the ire of local veterans.

Charlie Huggins, Alaska's state veterans coordinator, said he met early on in the process with Valley Hospital Chief Executive Officer George Larson, who assured him the site would not be disturbed. When, in December, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski visited the memorial site, local veterans, Huggins said, took the opportunity to discuss their fear that the memorial would be moved. After that meeting a group representing local veterans groups met and discussed the issue. Huggins said as a result of that meeting, he's now drafting a letter indicating the desire of the groups that the memorial remain intact and useful for future generations. The letter is to be signed by local veterans groups.

Huggins said he's comfortable with the hospital's new design, although he said he plans to visit the site this week to look over the specific details.

Ripley said there was never a plan to move the site of the memorial, and the concern among veterans did not factor into the decision to change the plans. The new plans, she said, don't even come near the memorial -- something Ripley called a bonus.

"We don't have to disturb it at all -- or even come close," Ripley said. "That's a win-win for both."

Bonnie Quill, executive director of the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors' Bureau, said she's pleased the visitors' center won't be moving, and is just as happy to have the hospital as a neighbor.

"It's a great piece of property as far as location and view," Quill said. "We are really pleased to have the hospital as our neighbor. That's 200 [people holding] high-paying jobs that will know we're here and will be able to use us in planning for their visitors and relations."

In addition to added traffic, Quill said it'll be easy to use the well-signed path to the hospital as directions for incoming visitors. And the park-like landscaping that's still a part of the new hospital's design, she said, will be very eye-catching.

"I think it's a great partnership," Quill said.