Published Friday, June 19, 2009

Cancer hospital 'big win' for Coweta County

The Times-Herald

Coweta County Development Authority Chairman David Brown called the announcement that Cancer Treatment Centers of America is coming to Newnan a "big win" for Coweta County.

"The fact that we're getting a first-class medical facility is of course great news for our community," said Brown.

It's good news not just from an economic standpoint, but also because "cancer has ravaged our community, and now local people will have another chance to seek treatment close to home."

Economically, CTCA will be a "huge engine" for Newnan and Coweta County, he predicted.

"They are bringing in hundreds of high-quality jobs in technology, nursing, and medicine," he said. "The impact is going to be tremendous."

The fact that a large regional cancer hospital will be located in Coweta "will help us recruit other health care businesses here, including satellite-type industries," said Brown. "We're going to go after them. That's going to be one of our top priorities."

He thanked Development Authority President Bill Harrison and former Chairman Mike Barber for everything they did to help lure CTCA to Newnan. The board plans to vote on an inducement package Friday morning at a special called meeting.

Jan Alligood, chairman of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce and a member of the development authority, said that the impact of CTCA is going to be beyond what anyone can currently imagine.

"I don't think we can really comprehend what the economic impact is going to be," said Alligood. "This will just be the tip of the iceberg. With the new Piedmont Hospital and with the new CTCA hospital, Coweta County is going to become a Mecca for health care on the south side of Atlanta.

"I am really excited about what they are going to bring to this community," said Alligood.

Paul Poole, chairman of the Coweta County Commission, said CTCA will be a plus not just for Newnan, "but for all the citizens of Coweta County."

Stan Thomas, the Coweta-based international developer who was instrumental in providing the 28 acres of land the hospital will use for its new facility, said that he was "happy to be of service" to aid in the luring of CTCA to Coweta County. Thomas Enterprises Inc. is developing the nearby Ashley Park lifestyle center and Newnan Crossing West retail center.

"We wanted to make their decision to come here as easy for them as possible," Thomas said.

"It was a tough financial deal, to make everything work," he said. "But we believed in it, and we believe in what they do."

The agreement includes local provision of all the site preparation, Thomas explained, which will mean "putting in the roads, doing all the grading and putting in the utilities," he said.

"I think it's a very appealing deal for them -- we wanted them to have to face as few headaches as possible," he said.

Incentives are always a crucial part of deals like this, "because it's a close race," Thomas said.

Newnan City Councilman Clayton Hicks singled out Thomas for his efforts to bring CTCA to Coweta County at the Thursday press conference at city hall.

"Stan has done a great job working with them. Stan, a lot of the reason they're here is because of you," Hicks said.

Robert Mayo, CTCA vice chairman of the board who works with site development said that Newnan's "strong leadership paved the way for CTCA's presence in Georgia."

He said that Friday CTCA intends to file its Letter of Intent with the Georgia Department of Community Health so that construction can move forward.

"This will be our fifth destination of healing and hope," he said.

He also thanked Thomas for "providing our wonderful location at Newnan Crossing."

CTCA plans to open a "top-notch facility," Mayo said.

"And there is no place we'd rather be than right here in the city of Newnan," he said.

Mayo singled out State Rep. Lynn Smith and Senator Mitch Seabaugh for their support of legislation that enabled CTCA to locate a cancer treatment center in Georgia. "We thank them for their strong show of support," he said.