Albany Historical Society puts brakes on $40 million Phoebe project

Jul. 9—ALBANY — When Phoebe Putney Health System President/CEO Scott Steiner approached late Albany technical College President Anthony Parker about a program that would shift the paradigm of the nursing shortage, particularly in Albany, Parker said something that the Phoebe administrator said he'd never forget.

"I approached Dr. Parker about what we all know is a growing problem in our region, our state and our country, and as the discussion progressed, Dr. Parker looked at me and said three words: 'Let's go big,'" Steiner said. "He said, 'Instead of training 40 nurses, let's train 120, 200.

"There was never a question about his desire to address this issue. It was a matter of figuring out how to do it."

Before Parker died suddenly, he, Steiner and others with the hospital system had devised a revolutionary project that would, by the time its second cohort arrived on the scene, bring more than 400 nursing students to a facility that Albany Tech would operate and Phoebe would finance. And, Steiner noted, it was a program that could very well pay for itself within a year's time.

The project, dubbed the Phoebe/Albany Tech "Living & Learning Community," appeared to be a no-brainer win-win-win all around, with a significant increase in nursing students and a direct tie to downtown development.

But out of one of the most unexpected places came a potential monkey wrench.

The Albany Historical Preservation Commission, spurred by member Bruce Capps, is calling on Phoebe to renovate the building it plans to use to create a modern teaching/living facility, the former Albany High School and Albany Junior High building across the street from Phoebe's main Albany campus. Although owned by Phoebe, the building lies in the city's Historic District, and is thus subject to the dictates of the Historic Preservation Commission.

While common sense would suggest such an innovative plan would have a dynamic impact on the region, Capps is trying to force Phoebe to renovate the building rather than repurposing it.

Even before the official HPC vote has occurred, Capps wrote in a Facebook post/commentary that has circulated throughout the community, "There is nothing to suggest that any of the buildings proposed for demolition cannot be successfully renovated at a cost comparable to new construction."

Steiner begs to differ, and he has facts — not speculation — to back up his contention.

"His (Capps) implying that the cost would be about the same couldn't be further from the truth," the health system CEO said. "The cost to renovate the building would well exceed the number that he is suggesting.

"In reality it would be millions in excess cost that this community and this hospital system would never get back."

Steiner said he understands the nature of historic structures, and that's why the hospital system's plan calls for salvage and restructuring as many elements of the former school building as is possible, including the uniquely designed entrance.

"Our plan calls for removing that entranceway piece by piece and then reassembling it," Steiner said. "There are other things — light fixtures, joists, accent walls — that we would find a place for. And, to honor the building's history, we'd create a kind of museum inside with elements that relate to its past as a school."

Understanding the concern some might have for historic buildings, Steiner had Lacy Lee and Pat Duggan invite some 22 former Albany Junior High School graduates to a meeting to discuss the proposed repurposing of the building.

"Lacy got 21-22 Albany High graduates together, and they loved the proposal," Steiner said. "They generally said, 'We had a good time there, but this is about more than brick and property, it is about the next phase of education on these hallowed grounds."

As it currently exists, the old Albany High/Albany Junior High building has 45,000 square feet of usable space. The Albany Tech/Phoebe project calls for converting the building into a three-story structure with 47,000 square feet of space used for educating nurses and 70,000 square feet of combined space on the second and third floors to build 80 units of affordable one-bedroom apartments for students.

"Look at the pluses," Steiner said. "Now, with more than 400 students added to the neighborhood, it's certainly a great opportunity for an entrepreneur to come in and build a restaurant, a coffee shop, things that would attract students and others in the neighborhood. Plus, the students would be right across the street from Phoebe and would use our facilities and simulation lab.

"There are any number of possibilities, plus you'll have students living a short bike ride away from downtown. These are folks who would support The Flint, Pretoria Fields, other businesses downtown and help spur economic development."

Steiner points to alarming numbers that surround the nursing profession:

— 80,407 nursing school applicants were turned away in 2019 because schools didn't have the resources to teach them;

— More than 500,000 nurses in the U.S. plan to retire by 2022;

— The country has a 1.1 million shortage of nurses now, Georgia 28,000, with an expectation of 80,000 by 2030.

"We have partnerships with Albany Tech, Albany State, the Medical College of Georgia, Andrew College, Emory University, ABAC, Georgia Southwestern, Fort Valley State, the University of Georgia, Southwest Georgia Area Health Education Center, the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy and Lee County High School, so we're reaching out to area educational institutions to help with the shortage," Steiner said.

"But we typically hire 85% of nursing graduates at Albany Technical College, 43% at Georgia Southwestern, 24% at Albany State and around 5% at ABAC and Fort valley. That comes out to 635 new nurses in the next seven years, not near enough to address our shortage. Under the Living & Learning Community project with Albany Technical College, we would be gaining 1,500 nurses over the next seven years year. That's a huge difference."

Steiner's frustration at the hold-up by the a member of the Historical Preservation Commission is obvious. It doesn't help, he said, that Capps is "intimidating" the members of the commission into joining him in opposing the project.

"We talk about moving this community forward, and this project — a legacy project for Dr. Parker — is one of those things that would vastly improve not only this neighborhood, but downtown as well," Steiner said. "I love history — I'm a Civil War buff — and I respect history. But at some point, you have to stop looking at the past and look to the future.

"When Dr. Parker and I talked about this project, I told him if we built it, we'd be taking a sizeable risk. He didn't agree. he told me, 'We build this, and we'll have a waiting list.' The longer we wait to do this — and we're going to do it — the more we potentially stand to lose. We want to get this ready by 2024, and that means we need to crank up by August. This has the potential to create an energy this city hasn't seen in a long time."