Site work on Landmark Hospital to begin in July

COLUMBIA — Site work is expected to begin July 1 and building construction will start in August for Landmark Hospital, a long-term acute care facility being built at the northeast corner of Alfred Street and Old 63.

Construction is being handled by Crawford Construction and should last about one year.

“I don’t think it will be disruptive to the neighbors,” said Elizabeth Crawford, vice president of the company. “The area will be fenced off and we will be working during daytime hours.”

Crawford said the construction crew would work from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The hospital should open in July or August 2009, development consultant Jay Burchfield said.

Despite opposition from many members of the Country Club Estates Neighborhood Association, City Council approved the rezoning request for the tract of land that the hospital is being built on, along with its development plan, May 5.

The hospital will be a 32,000 square foot, single-story, brick facility. Fifty-one percent of the land’s 4.73 acres will be open space and there will be extensive landscaping around the hospital, Burchfield said.

“We have a 360 degree architectural design and will have the same 360 degree landscaping,” Burchfield said. “The back looks as nice as the front.”

On the north and east sides of the land, 8-foot fences will be built to separate the hospital from adjacent properties. Sidewalks will also be added on Alfred Street and Old 63 around the hospital.

“We look forward to getting started,” Crawford said. “We appreciate the support of neighbors and the community.”