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HOOVER, Alabama — The Hoover City Council tonight agreed to sell more than 15 acres near Spain Park High School for $1 million to Jefferson State Community College for future expansion of the college’s Shelby-Hoover campus.

Jeff State President Judy Merritt said the school has no immediate plans to build on the property, which is off Jaguar Drive near Valleydale Road. But college officials know they will need room to expand their 62-acre campus in the future and money from the Alabama Public School and College Authority is still available now, Merritt said.

“We do not plan on building in the near future,” Merritt said. “We don’t see any opportunity for money to be there to build, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have the need.”

The land, which totals 15.43 acres, is north of Jeff State’s existing Shelby-Hoover campus and includes part of the 5K cross country course at Veterans Park. But Merritt and Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos years ago signed an agreement to make sure the popular cross country trail is not hampered by any future construction on the Jeff State campus.

Merritt said college officials have always thought they would need to purchase extra property to secure themselves. “We don’t want to make an investment to build in the future and have no room to expand,” she said. “But it will be in the future.”

Petelos said the college has had the option to purchase this 15 acres for several years. Jeff State bought 11 acres from the city of Hoover in 2005, and later another 16 acres, for a total of a little more than $2 million. The college opened a $30 million 130,000-square-foot Health Sciences Building on the property in January 2008.

Petelos said the city used the $2 million from the previous sale to Jeff State to help partner with Shelby County to build Veterans Park and his hope is to retain the $1 million from this sale for another “green project.” Petelos said he has no specific area planned for a green project.

“It may be putting different monies into different parks,” he said. “It’s ultimately the City Council’s decision, but the only thing I’d say about it is I’d like for it to go back into something to do with parks.”

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