Why hasn’t the ambulance service developed its Edmonton Road property?
Plans for a centralized ambulance hub gave way to a community-based model that places stations closer to where emergencies happen.
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GLASGOW, Ky. — If you’ve driven past the vacant property near Hardee’s along Edmonton Road in recent years, you may have wondered why nothing has ever been built there.
Since you asked, Barrenside looked into what happened to the Ambulance Service Corporation’s plans for the site and why leaders chose a different direction.
The Ambulance Service Corporation, the governing entity for the Barren-Metcalfe Ambulance Service, purchased the 6.131-acre property at 1926 Edmonton Rd. in 2021 with plans for a major expansion.
Ambulance Service Director Dr. Joe Middleton said the agency envisioned building a centralized ambulance hub there, consolidating its East Main Street headquarters and airport station into a single facility at an estimated cost of about $20 million.
Those plans ultimately changed when another opportunity arose.
Once property became available in Haywood, ambulance leaders determined their most urgent need was not a new headquarters but faster emergency response to the southern end of Barren County.
Ambulances responding from the East Main Street station often require more than 20 minutes to reach communities such as Austin Tracy and Fountain Run.
“We had a more pressing matter in reducing the 20-something minute response time to the southern portion of the county,” Middleton said. “We felt the more urgent investment needed to be made in Haywood.”
Brennan Crain
Instead of pursuing the Edmonton Road project, the board purchased the Haywood property for about $100,000 and is constructing a new substation there for approximately $600,000.
The board recently approved hiring a contractor for the project, which is expected to significantly improve response times in that part of the county.
Rather than investing in one large facility, Middleton said the board concluded it could place multiple smaller stations throughout the county, allowing ambulances to be stationed closer to the people they serve.
“Instead of spending 20M on one building, the board decided to go with a more community-based model,” Middleton said.
That leaves one obvious question: What about the Columbia Avenue property?
Middleton said the land remains a debt-free asset owned by the ambulance service with an estimated value of about $475,000.
“At this point, it is just a piece of ground that is an asset to the corporation,” he said.
Middleton said the property is still available for future development if the need arises. For now, however, the ambulance service is focused on reducing response times and positioning crews where they can provide the greatest benefit to the community.
He added the property could also be sold and liquidated at any time if the board determines that is the best use of the asset.
