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A rendering of the proposed Brooks-TLC Hospital System location in Fredonia.
Nearly three months since state Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the release of $74 million for the construction of a new Brooks-TLC facility in Fredonia, hospital and Kaleida Health officials indicate there has been “a tremendous amount of activity” in moving the project forward.
Ken Morris, Brooks-TLC Hospital System president and chief executive officer, Mike Hughes, senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Kaleida, and Rob Bragg, vice president of campus development at Kaleida, took part in a conference call with the OBSERVER on Friday to update the community on where the project stands. On June 3, Hochul’s long-awaited announcement on the hospital took place in front of a celebratory community crowd of more than 200 at the State University of New York at Fredonia’s Williams Center.
Once those cheers fell silent, some residents expressed worries it may have become too quiet. Officials at Brooks-TLC, however, contend there’s plenty of noise happening behind the scenes.
“There’s been a tremendous amount of activity since the governor came to town,” Hughes said. “The community should have full confidence that the project is moving forward.”
During the discussion, the three indicated in an upbeat attitude that a due diligence is taking place with some urgency at the site at 412 W. Main St. in the village. Some of the tasks taking place include engineering design, site planning preparation as well as regulatory work and approvals that need to come from the state and local municipalities. “Our team at Brooks and the Kaleida team has been working on those plans and making sure we have the appropriate updates as we move forward,” Morris said.
One of the leaders at the site is Bragg, who is no stranger to hospital development. His history of overseeing some $1 billion in Kaleida construction and renovation work over the last 10 to 12 years includes the expansion of Millard Fillmore Hospital in Amherst as well as the building of HighPointe on Michigan, the Gates Vascular Institute and Children’s Hospital, all located in Buffalo.
What’s currently taking place at the Fredonia site to the west of the roundabout is still in the early stages with few changes being evident from a Route 20 vantage point. Even the sign of the former owner in Cornell Cooperative Extension remains.
That could change in the coming months. “Everybody is contracted and we’re excited to get started,” Bragg said. “You’ll see some survey stakes out there (at the property). You’ll see activity out there as we’re trying to understand … what we need for our site plan.”
With plans at the location for a helipad, even the Federal Aviation Administration is involved in discussions for the looming health-care facility. Bragg noted MercyFlight and its pilots have been in conversations with planners regarding access to the site.
Another issue surrounding the release of the funding is the potential cost. During the Friday call, officials said state monies will not cover all the expenses tied to the new state-of-the-art facility.
“I think you can expect it to be more than the $74 million that was planned seven years ago in 2017,” Hughes said. “But what that number looks like, what the alternate hospital will look like coming out of this remains to be seen.”
All admitted that getting to this point has been a long road. What seemed to have started very quickly in 2016 with the announcement of the Brooks-TLC and Kaleida partnership slowed to a crawl. Delays due to site selection, a COVID-19 pandemic and changes in state leadership were partly to blame.
Nevertheless, at this moment the north county is closer than ever to realizing the vision of a new health-care building. “This community is more than deserving of a new hospital,” Hughes said. “We are committed to getting it done.”
