Huntsville Development News [Archive]

jmanhsv

June 14th, 2005, 09:54 PM

Decatur's been growing too. Currently, there are plans for a major shopping center, a Target store (pretty big for a town of 50,000 whose most famous product is Meow Mix), a major expansion to Point Mallard (its a water park, famous for America's first wave pool), and a major makeover to their only mall. This article, run on Sunday in the Decatur Daily, talks about the plans of the major shopping center and the mall expansion:

Will Decatur get another major shopping center?
City Council set to make decision on incentives for site at Alabama 67 and U.S. 31

By Martin Burkey
DAILY Staff Writer

Decatur City Council could vote on a package of economic incentives as early as Monday for an Atlanta-based developer hoping to bring a major shopping center to the southeast corner of Alabama 67 and U.S. 31, city officials say.

After months of negotiations and information gathering, Mayor Don Kyle said an agreement is nearly ready. He's requested information from Tricore Partners that would "solidify the city's position," he said.

Kyle is tentatively set to recommend to the council that it approve a $4.5 million bond issue to subsidize infrastructure improvements to the site, including utilities, roadwork, new entrances and more.

The city would reimburse the developer only after construction is complete and 70 percent of the retail space is open for business so that tax revenue from the development would offset the debt service on the bond, Kyle said.

Tax incentives were an issue in the last city election, and the new administration is leery of abatements, but Kyle said last week, "It's the way things are going for major retail development."

Kyle said his recommended incentive deal is based on a conservative estimate that 38 percent of the shopping center's revenues would represent new dollars from "three or four new restaurants, a huge anchor and other big-name tenants," not merely revenue drawn from existing retail business.

If the development met sales projections, it would net the city and city schools roughly $500,000 in additional tax revenue as well as more than $100,000 annually in property taxes, Kyle said. If sales dropped below 45 percent of projections, Tricore would help fund the debt service on the city's bond.

"I'm excited about it because I believe it's good for the city," he said. "We were pretty hard-nosed with them. They've seen the reason we've done it to protect the city's interests."

If the council approves the deal, it will have gone full circle since the concept surfaced during the last city administration.

Back then, the developer was reportedly interested in the same corner and wanted $3 million to $5 million in infrastructure incentives. After it was apparent the new administration wasn't interested in offering incentives, Tricore proposed putting the shopping center at Wilson Morgan Park on Beltline Road.

Proposal details

Under that proposal, the center would have been anchored by a standard Target department store — no groceries — and surrounded by perhaps 10 other stores and five restaurants. One was reported to be a Best Buy electronics store. Developers hinted that at least one of the restaurants could be the Olive Garden or Outback Steakhouse that residents have wanted for years.

In return, the developer offered to give the city $3.9 million to replace Wilson Morgan's ball fields and tennis courts elsewhere, keep the park's walking track and move the children's park to the back of the property.

But Kyle, in a letter to Tricore, rejected the offer because it was less than what the company initially offered. Another developer, Burnham Group LLC, later made a similar proposal for Wilson Morgan that remains active. However, the deal would have to be approved by a public referendum before the city could give up the park, officials say.

Smaller center

Tricore officials were unavailable for comment last week. However, after the last deal fell through, they said that a shopping center at the 67/31 intersection likely would be smaller and attract fewer major retailers than the Wilson Morgan property.

The deal is just one of several retail developments that city officials put on hold until they approved a 2005 budget. With a budget finally in place last month, officials expect to decide this summer on the projects.

The city is also close to an agreement on an incentive package to renovate Colonial Mall, Kyle said. After keeping the mall's Birmingham owners at bay for months, the city now is waiting on Colonial Properties to finalize arrangements with envisioned new tenants.

Colonial Mall Property Manager Joanne Mummert said the company is preparing a proposal for council approval. The plan includes renovating the existing Dillard's, building a new theater, adding an athletic store and salon products store, relocating an existing store and adding a major retailer's name to the front of the mall, she said.

"They've been kind of waiting on us recently," she said. "We're hoping to speak with the council in the next month on a formal basis. We're trying to finalize the project on our end with the stores."

Tax revenue

On that project also, District 3 Councilman Gary Hammon said, the new tax revenue generated will have to exceed the cost of any incentives for which he agrees to vote.

Hammon said he remains dissatisfied over the 31/67 deal because Tricore will have to pay nearly $3 million to buy out the long-term leases of three current tenants. But the intersection won't develop without the deal, and he's hopeful that the sight of some major new or renovated retail developments will catch the eye of people moving to the Tennessee Valley as part of the Pentagon's base closing process estimated to create 1,600 jobs at Redstone Arsenal.

District 4 Councilman Ronny Russell said he plans to support the Tricore agreement, though he said Friday he expects it won't make the council agenda until June 20.

"We will more than recoup the investment we're going to make," he said. "It's sorely needed for Decatur to move forward."

Russell also expects to support the Colonial Mall incentives as tentatively outlined. Malls are in decline, but the renovations envisioned are successfully bringing them back to life, he said.

"If the mall dies, so goes Decatur," he said. "It's one of Decatur's biggest revenue bases. If it goes, nobody wins in that situation. Anything we can do to increase the bottom line is moving in a positive direction."

jmanhsv

June 14th, 2005, 10:10 PM

Continuing with the Decatur development, the group that worked on City Walk at Universal Studios Orlando is planning a major remake of Point Mallard water park, which is owned by the city of Decatur and has been losing money for the past few years. The development will include condos, more than 50 shops and restaurants, BMX bike trails, a paintball course, skateboard park, frozen lakes (huh?), hotels (at least 3), a conference center, expansion of the golf course, a marina, and a new water park. To see more about the development, check out the website:
http://www.rivercountryatpointmallard.com/ (http://www.rivercountryatpointmallard.com/index.html)

Jasonhouse

June 15th, 2005, 04:50 AM

There's a Decatur in AL? I thought you were talking about GA for a second there...

That 301 East is a sharp little project.

jmanhsv

June 15th, 2005, 04:31 PM

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/mqmapgendMQMapGenRequestFDR2dmwjDE3byt2926FDJnci4Jkqj2cMMCJ3aHOEvq3bar09yb3a29rzg1y23a2640243a264083aqyb3al4b3aTD15JFE3aHOHQJ3bar0u4y3a29rzw5aa3a2640243a264024x940.gif

jmanhsv

June 19th, 2005, 05:27 PM

I saw this title on the front page of the Huntsville Times this morning and I laughed for a long time. Huntsville is nothing like Chattanooga. They have skyscrapers :) . This article compares Huntsville's city-backed downtown development company, Big Spring Partners, and Chattanooga's similar company, RiverCity Inc. BTW, the first paragraph might be a little deceiving, Chattanooga's leaders visited Huntsville a few years ago to see if they could solve their traffic problems and to look at Research Park, so we're both using the other city as a model for something.
Developing just like Chattanooga?
Sunday, June 19, 2005
By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer ginah@htimes.com
Public-private team efforts hold lessons for Huntsville, too

Five years ago, Huntsville government and business leaders rode a bus to Chattanooga to learn how it had managed to revive its downtown. They ate lunch at a restaurant near the Tennessee Aquarium. They rode the carousel at Coolidge Park. They had dinner in the Bluff View Arts District overlooking the river.

They came back with a dream: Let's do something like this in Huntsville.

On June 8, officials from the city and Big Spring Partners, a nonprofit downtown development organization, announced the group's first project in Huntsville's downtown: a public-private partnership in which both parties will acquire the Holiday Inn Select property on Williams Street. Under the terms of the deal, Big Spring Partners will buy the hotel and the land it sits on for $8.6 million, then sell the land to the city for $6.5 million.

Big Spring Partners was modeled after RiverCity Co., which has been instrumental in bringing nearly $1.5 billion in development to Chattanooga's downtown during the past two decades. Since its formation in 1986, RiverCity has had a hand in numerous downtown projects, including housing construction, historic preservation, parks and entertainment.

Chattanooga's revitalization has been touted nationally as an example of public-private partnerships working well. Once considered one of the most neglected downtown areas in the region, Chattanooga's riverfront now teems with activity as tourists and residents visit the aquarium, restaurants and shops, and families gather for picnics or to play in an interactive water fountain.

But RiverCity hasn't been immune to conflict.

A lost election

Perceived conflicts of interest involving RiverCity executives and developers led to a political upset during an April mayoral runoff election to succeed Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker. Ron Littlefield, a former city councilman and mayoral candidate, accused RiverCity of helping a few well-connected players who either previously worked for the company or served on its board. One of those players was Ann Coulter, Littlefield's opponent in the election and the former executive vice president of RiverCity.

Coulter was favored to be Chattanooga's next mayor, but Littlefield won with 54 percent of the vote, campaigning on a platform that RiverCity was benefiting a few landowners and too much money was being poured into downtown at the expense of outlying neighborhoods.

"The nonprofit corporation decided to run Ann for mayor, which I took issue with," Littlefield said during a recent interview. "If you looked at the people who supported Ann's candidacy and raised money, it was largely people who were with RiverCity Co."

Some accuse RiverCity insiders of profiting from their positions with the organization at the expense of other developers. In one case, a former president of RiverCity helped a development company acquire land downtown, then left the nonprofit to work for that developer.

"RiverCity has done fabulous things that otherwise might not have happened, but there's a difference between priming the pump for private development and competing with private developers," said Paul Mallchok, a commercial real estate developer in Chattanooga. "The appearance of either self-dealing or special preference is very hard to avoid when a small number of developers are involved in revitalization efforts."

Big Spring Partners' volunteer board has 10 members, four of whom are developers with ties to downtown: Scott McLain, Wayne Bonner, Jim Hudson and Steve Thornton.

"The idea behind boards in general is that you have some expertise in that particular area," said McLain, who owns the Heart of Huntsville mall next to the Von Braun Center. "In order to stay with the program and endure the long haul with many deals, you have to have someone who is experienced in that industry and passionate about either downtown or development or both.

"Yes, there are people on the board who have an interest in downtown," McLain said. "It would be easy to conclude that there's a conflict of interest, but I'm not sure Big Spring Partners is going to be able to do something specifically for individuals. I don't see it as a developer relief fund. ... I see it as an organization that will focus on downtown and will make it a success."

David Johnston, chairman of Big Spring Partners' board and vice president of G.W. Jones & Sons Consulting Engineers Inc., said the Huntsville group won't take any money from the city for operations, as RiverCity has. He said city government, which has three spots on the board to comply with federal tax laws, can halt any project city leaders believe may involve a conflict of interest.

"If you really had a board that had no downtown development expertise, they would not be effective in accomplishing anything," Johnston said. "There's some really unique zoning ordinances, there's some really unique restrictions (on downtown development). You've got to call on people who know how the system works."

Feehan said the bylaws of any nonprofit group engaging in downtown development should require any board member who may benefit directly from a project to abstain from voting on that project "and make it clear they are not trying to influence the direction of the project."

"You start with the assumption that of course there's going to be conflicts. ... The goal is to put procedures in place to ensure transparency."

Chattanooga's Mayor Littlefield, who helped launch RiverCity and has served on its board, said the organization is looking at adding policies that will give it more transparency and avoid future conflict.

Another sticking point for some Chattanooga residents is that RiverCity got money from the city's budget for some operating functions. RiverCity has handled development proposals for the city and organized downtown concerts. When RiverCity was seen as using public money to help its allies, those residents cried foul.

David Unruh, project director for RiverCity, said the organization has "a very firm conflict-of-interest policy in place," and any projects given to developers connected to RiverCity were won via a competitive bid process.

"We've operated very much in the open," he said. "We've got about 18 projects announced and under way, and many of those are being done by developers from out of town."

The conflicts RiverCity has seen are unusual, said David Feehan, president of the International Downtown Association in Washington, D.C.

"Most of the organizations that I know bend over backward not to get involved in partisan political campaigns, especially if public money is being used," Feehan said. "Typically, people involved in downtown revitalization tend to shy away from political visibility and political office."

However, he said, it's difficult to avoid possible conflicts of interest - or the appearance of conflicts - in these types of organizations.

"You're talking about downtown business leaders who have an interest in downtown development," he said. "Transparency is very important, disclosure is very important."

jmanhsv

June 19th, 2005, 08:11 PM

Here is another article from todays Huntsville Times. The article talks about the recent growth in Research Park and how much more development it can take before running out of land.

Room to keep growing

Sunday, June 19, 2005
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Cummings Research Park is still where everyone wants to be

When Dynetics Inc. moved into Cummings Research Park West in July 1984 - becoming the first company to locate in the park's western expansion - its building was surrounded by cotton fields.

"We started to wonder if we were going to be by ourselves here," said Dr. Marc Bendickson, the chief executive officer of the company that specializes in research, development and engineering services and products.

Dynetics was joined by other firms over the last 20 years, and several more companies, even a high school, will be moving into new buildings in the western section this fall and early next year. In all, 220 companies, agencies and schools are located across the country's second-largest research park that takes in more than 3,800 acres.

Dynetics itself has branched out at its 1000 Explorer Blvd. address, adding onto its original building and a second building, a research and development facility. It broke ground last December on a third building, a four-story, 160,000-square-foot corporate headquarters. When that's finished, possibly by early next year, the Dynetics campus will grow to about 277,000 total square feet, giving the company room to grow and to consolidate its 710 Huntsville employees in Huntsville, who are spread out over seven buildings.

"This is in a
good location for our customers," that include the Space & Missile Defense Command and the Army's Aviation & Missile Command, said Bendickson. "All the infrastructure is coming together. It's a good-looking park."

Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer described the park's appeal this way: "Success breeds more success. It's great to be able to say, 'I'm in Research Park with SAIC. I'm in Research Park with Raytheon.' "

The park has had both growth spurts and periods when growth leveled off, mostly due to money available for federal programs, said Charlie Grainger, the chairman of the Research Park Board and a long-time board member. Its overall growth is no surprise to him. "The park is a true jewel, a place where everybody wants to be," he said. The emphasis on keeping a high-quality, campus-type research environment - starting back when Joe Moquin and the late Milton Cummings spearheaded the effort for a research park - "has contributed to that momentum," Grainger said.

There's still more room for growth.

Right now, about 142 acres in Cummings Research Park West are available for sale, said Spencer. That land already has infrastructure like underground wiring, utilities, sewer and streets in place. Within the next 12 months, an additional 103 acres should be available for sale to tenants "once the proposed infrastructure is in," she said.

Another 235 acres of property is either under option agreements or being held pending the finalization of sales or option agreements between the city and prospective tenants, Spencer said. There's another 285 acres that the city already owns or is in the process of buying, though no funding plan is in place for the infrastructure yet.

Roughly the remaining 90 acres in the park's master plan isn't owned by the city but could be available in the future, according to Spencer.

"Certainly if the demand continues as it is, we would be open to looking at another sizable tract for growth in another part of the city," if that opportunity came about, said Spencer.

Some of the latest developments under way:

Westar Aerospace & Defense Group Inc. broke ground in February on a two-story, 85,000-square-foot building at Cummings Research Park West that will allow Huntsville operations to be consolidated at a single facility and allow for corporate growth plans. Construction of the $10 million facility, at 890 Explorer Blvd., is expected to be completed in early 2006. Westar is now in the eastern part of the park.

Analytical Services Inc. is building a 25,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at 350 Voyager Way to accommodate current and future growth. The building is expected to be operational Oct. 17, and a grand opening is scheduled for early December.

Northrop Grumman Corp. plans to break ground on June 27 for the first 250,000-square-foot building in a five-building complex for its 1,200 local employees who are now scattered among 20 sites around town. The $80 million complex is expected to take three to five years to complete.

Los Angeles-based O&S Holdings LLC broke ground June 1 at the site of the $210 million, 100-acre World Famous Bridge Street project that will include nearly 500,000 square feet of retail space, a 16-screen theater, a performing arts center, office buildings and the Westin Huntsville Hotel & Residences that will include luxury condominiums. That first phase is scheduled for completion at the end of 2006. The property is on the north side of Old Madison Pike, just west of Research Park Boulevard.

The $19 million Columbia High School, now under construction on the western edge of the park, is expected to open in August.

Just over a week ago, the Huntsville City Council authorized the mayor to enter into a sales contract with Delta Research Inc., a military defense engineering firm, to buy 13 acres on Explorer Boulevard at Enterprise Way. The company plans to build a 30,000-square-feet building, moving from the 11,000-square-foot building on Wynn Drive on the east side of the park where the company has been for about 17 years. A second 30,000-square-foot building is planned as the company expands.

Other major companies are "looking for growth opportunities" at the park, Spencer said, "but we're not at liberty to quote who they are." A city planning subcommittee last week approved an amendment to city zoning laws that would allow companies in Cummings Research Park to provide sleeping quarters for visiting scientists and researchers. A city planner said a biotech research company considering locating in Cummings Research Park is requesting the change, but declined to identify the firm.

Meanwhile, the city is moving to make land available in other areas to help bring more companies to Huntsville. Spencer and other city officials held a news conference Friday afternoon to announce a proposal to purchase 145 acres for an expansion of the North Huntsville Industrial Park.

"It opens more areas for manufacturing,'' Spencer said. "We have to be diverse and have to offer all kinds of jobs. It's being forward thinking.''

jmanhsv

June 19th, 2005, 08:27 PM

I promise this is the last newspaper article for today. The title of this article is a no-brainer, but it talks about new retail developments in Huntsville's suburban areas.

Amenities are moving to county
Sunday, June 19, 2005
By KARI HAWKINS

Upscale country living becoming a hot commodity

Close proximity to shopping and work, amenities such as parks, community pools and entertainment, a wide range of housing styles and prices, and good educational opportunities have been the domain of city life for many years.

But the line between city and country living is blurring. Now things once considered "city amenities" - sprawling shopping centers, a vast array of restaurants, top-notch recreational offerings, good schools and new subdivisions - are finding their way into country life.

Call it upscale country living. It's a hot commodity in Madison County, attracting primarily young families into the county's newest neighborhoods.

"We are seeing more and more people moving out of the city and into the county," says Sandy Steakley, broker/owner of Steakley Realty. "People are wanting to get out to the country. Our county schools have been upgraded so much that they are now the top of the line. There are now subdivisions in the county that offer lots of neighborhood amenities. And the choices for shopping and eating out have increased in the county."

More amenities means areas such as Riverton, Monrovia, Meridianville and east Limestone County are increasingly attractive to young families shopping for affordable housing.

"Most of the county now has what were once considered city services," says Gary Potter, broker with Prudential Brenwood Realty. "The county has restaurants, pizza delivery, large grocery stores, children's activities and recreational sports, churches and pretty much anything you might do on a daily basis."

That growth, agents say, started with new and better county schools.

"We really had to get our schools upgraded before we could start attracting young families," Steakley says. "But once those were in place, subdivisions and shopping centers started being developed in the county. All we need now is a Wal-Mart, Cracker Barrel and Steak-Out."

In the year since Steakley opened her real estate business on Winchester Road, she has seen a lot of commercial development. Two major grocery stores are already established along Winchester Road, and Publix is scheduled to move in soon. Redstone Federal Credit Union has bought land in northeast Madison County, and Regions and AmSouth are already in the area. Wal-Mart has bought land along U.S. 72, and several fast-food restaurants have established along the highway. Even professional offices are being opened along Winchester and Moores Mill roads. "It feels closer to the city, even though we are still in the county," Steakley says.
"This area is so convenient. It's like living in the country with the city only five minutes away. The area is so convenient that we are even starting to see a lot of people move further out to the New Market area."

In west Madison County, businesses have sprung up all along U.S. 72 on the north side of Madison, making shopping convenient for the area's rural neighborhoods, says Diane Finnegan, an agent with Century 21 Steele & Associates-Madison. Even the East Limestone and Toney areas have seen a lot of commercial development. A new Lowe's is now scheduled to go in east of Athens and west of Huntsville.

"When the people are there, then the stores and businesses will be there," Finnegan says. "Every time you turn around in the area's north of Madison and west of Huntsville, there is more building. Everything is popping."

Most fast-growing county areas are located close to the Huntsville or Madison city limits, making it still a manageable drive into the city for work and other activities.

"The interstate has helped a lot to develop the areas northeast of Huntsville," Steakley says. "That will continue as we get the new loop around the city. If you leave for work at 7:30 in the morning, you are going to have traffic wherever you go. So, why not take advantage of lower taxes and new neighborhoods in the county, and then drive the interstate in to work?"

County developments appeal particularly to relocating families tired of cramped city living and long commutes, Finnegan says.

"The trend is, if I can get them a 30- to 45-minute work commute, then that's the key to finding their new home," she says. "Driving any distance here is better than what they've been used to in places like Atlanta, along the eastern coast, California and Dallas."

Even without the new country amenities, living outside the city limits can offer families more space at a lower price.

"If you want a little bit of breathing space, then the county is your choice," Finnegan says. "Lot size in the city is getting smaller and smaller, where the minimum lot size in the county is .44 acres because that is required for a septic tank. You can get a little bit more land between houses at less of a price per square foot."

Subdivisions in the county are now required to have private sewer systems, so house lots will run smaller in these developments, she says. But the prices can't be beat by city real estate.
"If you can't afford a four-bedroom, two-bath house in Madison, then your next best is in Monrovia or Harvest," Finnegan says. "You can buy a lot more house in the county."

Madison is still attracting families, but it is limited - as Huntsville - by its boundaries.

"We're seeing a lot of moving into the Madison area, but we're also seeing a lot of moving into the Monrovia and Meridianville areas," Potter says. "Madison doesn't have as many options as the county does. And Huntsville doesn't have a lot to choose from in different price ranges. You can't find a new house below $250,000 in southeast Huntsville. In the county, you can find anything from just under $100,000 to $400,000 to $500,000 for a new home."

Large, upscale homes are now the hot item in fast-growing county areas.

"Home buyers are finding newer, bigger homes on bigger lots in the county," says Marsha Buxton, an agent with Coldwell Banker Premier. "Rising prices in the city, particularly in southeast Huntsville, and homes that are not so new anymore can be negatives when compared with the type of home you can get in Monrovia."

Young families also like moving into subdivisions where there are other young families, and these are easier found in the county's newer developments.

"The lack of convenient shopping and the need for longer commutes may be drawbacks," Buxton says. "But families with young children want to live in neighborhood where they feel connected with their neighbors."

Young families moving into the county are attracted to subdivisions with curbs, gutters and sidewalks, and lots of amenities, Finnegan says, while families with older children want some acreage with their home.

But finding affordable acreage can be especially tough in Madison County.

"There is no vacant acreage available. Builders grab it up in a heartbeat," Finnegan says.

When acreage is found, it can be out of reach for families.

"A property with 20 acres and a house that is developable is worth $10,000 an acre. Ten years ago, it would have been worth $2,000 an acre," Potter says. "The day of finding acreage very easily is just about gone."

Theres a Publix going up in my neighborhood? :cheers:

jmanhsv

June 21st, 2005, 04:04 PM

About a week ago, I posted an article about a new shopping center in Decatur, AL. The city council approved it yesterday. This article in today's Huntsville Times talks about the tenants going into this shopping center.

Decatur OKs deal for retail Exchange
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
By CHRISTOPHER BELL
SuperTarget, Old Navy to anchor $22 million shopping complex

DECATUR - A $22 million shopping complex featuring a SuperTarget and Old Navy is coming to Decatur.

The shopping center - to be named Decatur Exchange - will be built at the southeast corner of the city's busiest intersection: U.S. 31 and Alabama 67. The City Council voted Monday to provide financial incentives to an Atlanta development partnership to build the center with hopes of luring customers back to Sixth Avenue.

During the past three decades, the thoroughfare's two largest centers, Gateway and Decatur, lost customers to development along Beltline Road in the southwestern section of the city.

Last month, Walgreens said it would build a store at Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street.

John Graham of Tricore Partners told the council that Decatur Exchange will have a SuperTarget, Old Navy, PetsMart and a Rack Room Shoes. He also said there will be either a Longhorn Steakhouse or Chili's Restaurant and either Linens 'N Things or Academy Sports.

Graham said the first stores will open in 16 months.

Mayor Don Kyle, who negotiated the package, said the complex could generate $5 million a year in new taxes.

"Decatur Exchange will help reinvigorate the crossroads of the city," he said.

Kyle said there are no plans to seek to develop Wilson Morgan Park, a popular recreation facility on Beltline Road, as a shopping center. It would take a referendum approved by voters to sell the city-owned park.

"That's not likely to happen anytime soon," he said.

Kyle said the city struck a unique deal with the developers to ensure that the city doesn't have any financial exposure until the shopping center is open and generating new tax dollars.

Under terms of the agreement, Tricore will loan the city $3.5 million initially so the city can buy a portion of the shopping center site. That way, Kyle said, if the project doesn't come through, the city will still own the land.

The city won't be obligated to repay the money to Tricore until the center is open and 70 percent of the space is leased, Kyle said. Once the center is finished, Tricore will loan the city another $1.25 million to build infrastructure for the center, including entryways to the center from U.S. 31 and Alabama 67.

Kyle said the developers assured the city that the center will generate enough tax money to repay the loan to Tricore without dipping into its general fund. If the center doesn't generate at least 45 percent of the $850,000 in annual new sales that Tricore has estimated, then Tricore will be required to help the city pay a percentage of the city's debt, Kyle said.

"It is a very unusual deal," Kyle said. "We did not want the city to have any exposure from day one of this project beginning, to protect our revenue stream and of course, the people."

*My two cents: This will be the second or third location in the Hsv metro for most of the tenants, except for Academy Sports, which I guess wants to come into the market.

Laseter

June 21st, 2005, 05:34 PM

Great news for Decatur! I'm glad they are finally getting a Target. I wish they would get a Best Buy too. I'm glad they're building this on the 6th ave (hwy31) corridor. Most of the larger new developments have been built on the Beltline.

jmanhsv

June 23rd, 2005, 06:26 PM

Here are some of the new restaurants popping up around Huntsville:
Carrabba's Italian Grill opened its first Huntsville location Monday at Parkway Place. The landscaping is odd, its on the roof.

Bonefish Grill, part of the same company that owns Outback and Carrabba's, is opening its first Huntsville location in the Airport Road restaurant district, which includes Outback, Ruby Tuesday, Starbucks, McAlisters, Bellacinos, and a lot more.

Starbucks is opening its fourth location in Huntsville in the Medical District, but this will only be their second stand alone coffee shop. The other two are in SuperTargets.

Ben and Jerrys is opening its first Huntsville location in August in Parkway Place.

Mama Fu's is opening soon near Westside Pavilion on University Drive.

Bojangles(I think its a lot like Popeyes) is expanding into the Huntsville area. Its first area location will open in Athens near I-65.

Backyard Burgers is opening their second area location in Athens in July.

According to the Jersey Mike's Subs website, there is a store coming soon to Huntsville, but I do not know where.

And we're still waiting for a Steak n' Shake.......

jmanhsv

June 25th, 2005, 01:00 AM

As everyone here already knows, Winn Dixie is closing over 300 stores, including all 8 stores in the Huntsville metro area. One rumor is that Dollar General Market, which is basically a Dollar General with a supermarket, will buy at least some of the locations that will shut down. It already bought one old Winn Dixie in North Huntsville that closed in 1997 and renovated it into one of their stores.
In one of the affected areas that has a Winn Dixie, Northeast Huntsville (where I live) is finally getting their own Publix. They finalized their lease today, after at least 5 years of rumors that they would locate here. This will be Publix's 7th Huntsville location. It will be part of the new Winchester Plaza shopping center. Construction will begin later this summer, and it is expected to open in spring 2006. Here is a rendering of the Publix:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/pic718.jpg
Another shopping center is coming soon across the street. More info coming.

jmanhsv

June 28th, 2005, 05:30 PM

Yesterday, state and local officials came back to Research Park for another groundbreaking. Here is today's article from the Huntsville Times:

Northrop breaks ground on $80M complex

Defense contractor's selection shows faith in city, officials say
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
By PATRICIA C. McCARTER
Times Staff Writer

At the ground-breaking for an $80 million Northrop Grumman campus in Cummings Research Park, Sen. Jeff Sessions said he has often referred to Huntsville as the state's economic gem.

"But maybe I should call it the mother lode," Sessions said Monday morning.

From Gov. Bob Riley to Mayor Loretta Spencer, the official word at the ceremony was that Northrop Grumman's locale selection for its five-building complex shows confidence in Huntsville's support - economic and congressional.

"They could have put this building anywhere, and they chose Huntsville," Riley said.

The company's Huntsville customers include the Army Space and Missile Defense Command; Army Aviation and Missile Command; the Army Program Executive Office for Aviation; the Army Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space; and elements of the Missile Defense Agency.

The defense contractor has 1,200 people working in 20 sites across Madison County; most of those operations will be consolidated in the new facility, including laboratories and research centers.

The first building will be four stories high and 110,000 square feet. The campus will take three to five years to build.

Daniel L. Montgomery, Northrop Grumman's lead executive for the region, said the Huntsville operation will support or manage several major programs and new contracts.

Included is the Kinetic Energy Interceptor, a mobile, land-based missile-defense system able to destroy a hostile threat during its boost and ascent phase of flight. Other defense programs here are the anti-tank Hellfire and Longbow missiles and Viper Strike munition.

Dozens of Northrop Grumman employees attended the ground-breaking, and Riley commended them. He said the work they do saves lives and promotes freedom, "and that's not political rhetoric."

jmanhsv

July 2nd, 2005, 05:25 PM

Another crane is about to go up on the Huntsville skyline.

Downtown condo work starts anew
Upscale project hopes to open in October 2006
Saturday, July 02, 2005
From staff reports
Huntsville Times

Nearly a year after a downtown condominium project was shelved because of building costs, 301 East is again under construction.

The seven-story condominium tower, located at Holmes Avenue and Green Street across from the Times Building, will feature two- and three-bedroom residences within a neotraditional architecture.

Workers Friday were preparing the site for construction. The project by Thornton Properties of Huntsville will offer street-level retail shops for artisans and a locally owned and operated restaurant.

Derek Thornton, manager of Thornton Properties, said he will operate the restaurant, which will feature seasonal ingredients and have a bistro feel.

He said he hopes to have residents moving into the building by October 2006.

Units will start at about $375,000. Thornton said it's difficult to build "entry-level" housing downtown because land is expensive and it's difficult to provide enough parking space for a large number of apartment or condominium units. 301 East will have 30 parking spaces, he said.

Thornton Properties plans to begin taking down payments on the units in September, he said.

The development is expected to help pump new life into downtown, which city and business leaders say is a must to attract younger people to Huntsville's job market.

Developer Steve Thornton began clearing the site in January 2004. Rising construction costs and other factors led Thornton to put his plans on hold and refund down payments to would-be tenants. The project was redesigned by reconfiguring the condos and adding more retail space on the ground floor.

The condo portion of the development will include 21 units and a luxury penthouse on the top floor. Each residence will have 10-foot ceilings with crown molding, hardwood floors in living areas, tile, marble bathrooms with whirlpool tubs, hardwood kitchen cabinets, stainless steel series appliances and granite countertops. Other amenities include 24-hour security, modern elevators, in-home surveillance, concierge services, gated covered parking and a rooftop patio.

The development is the first new mid-rise residential development downtown. CityScapes, a downtown development group, has renovated several older downtown structures into condominiums, including the Terry Hutchens building.

The city Board of Zoning Adjustment approved several variances earlier this year that could encourage more mixed-use projects such as the 301 East retail and condo development. The changes eased height restrictions, buffer requirements and population densities.

The 301 East project is the first major venture for Thornton Properties Inc., which Thornton started in July 2003 after retiring as CEO of Avocent Corp.

There is a new rendering of the building, but it was too blurry for me to scan. It should be online soon.

jmanhsv

July 6th, 2005, 08:42 PM

Two Huntsville developers plan to construct the city's second New Urbanism-type community. The first was The Village of Providence, modeled after- you guessed it- Providence, Rhode Island. The real Providence leaders visited it a year ago. Here is an article on the new community from today's Huntsville Times.

Plan mixes new homes, shops
Westside project is urban and edgy; most trees to stay
By Steve Doyle

Months before groundbreaking, a proposed mixed-use neighborhood in west Huntsville is already growing.

On Tuesday, co-developer Doug Gooch said he and business partner Rex Rankin III have agreed to buy about 60 acres off Old Monrovia Road from Thornton Garvin. That gives them a total of 115 acres in the fast-growing area.

Gooch, a Madison resident who previously owned Sister Gooch restaurant on Slaughter Road, said the still-unnamed neighborhood will feature restaurants, a bookstore, boutique hotel, loft apartments, estate homes and a soaring glass observatory.

JH Partners, a Huntsville architectural firm, began working on the design in January.

The neighborhood will be next door to Country Day School and around the corner from the Village of Providence, an even larger mixed-use development.

Gooch said he and Rankin, a Decatur insurance broker, want to create a place unlike anything in North Alabama: walkable, urban, edgy and wired. Wi-Fi connections would allow residents to read their e-mail from a park bench or surf the Web while sipping a latte in a sidewalk cafe.

The 47-year old Gooch is a fan of New Urbanism, an architectural movenent that favors compact, self-contained neighborhoods- think Twickenham and Old Town- over standard subdivisions built far from schools and stores.

He's also a fan of trees: Gooch said he and Rankin won't cut most of the property's massive hardwoods.

The neighborhood would have about 150 single-family home lots ranging from one- eighth to one- half acre. Busy Old Monrovia Road bisects the property, but it might be re-routed if the city extends Oakwood Road west to Indian Creek Road.

Rod, an architect working on the project, said he wants to create an "intense mix" of homes, shops, restaurants and other businesses. It'll look and feel like a Southern downtown, he said, with fountains and an open-air weekend farmer's market.

The concept seems to be a hit: Gooch said several local homebuilders and a Chicago steakhouse have already expressed interest in the neighborhood.

Huntsville is "off the Richter scale" lately as a retail and housing market, Gooch said.

"If we can get the city's participation in this, it can be a fantastic project," said landscape architect Drew Crow.

Gooch said he hopes to get the city Planning Department's blessing this fall and break ground in January.

jmanhsv

July 13th, 2005, 05:26 AM

Hey guys. The last few days Ive been in Chicago, and I come back, and my car is under a tree. What the hell?

Back to Huntsville development. Jones Valley has seen major growth in the past 5 to 10 years. For anyone who does not know where this area is, heres a map:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/e9GetMapDirectGme5diw2ca3a9u123b402.gif
(Don't mind the star; look at the blank land between the creek and Four Mile Post Road/Bailey Cove intersection)

About three years ago, the area hit the jackpot with a controversial new shopping center, Valley Bend at Jones Farm, anchored by SuperTarget . Since then, PetSmart, Barnes and Noble, Pier 1, Ross, Shoe Carnival and many other stores and restaurants have come to what is the last big piece of developable land in South Huntsville. Now Hobby Lobby and Rave Motion Pictures are part of the second phase of the Valley Bend project.

Hobby Lobby is centerpiece of Valley Bend's 2nd phase
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer

18-screen cinema to open in spring at Jones Valley center

Site work has started on a new 61,155-square-foot Hobby Lobby Creative Center at Valley Bend at Jones Farm, the latest addition to the shopping center at Carl T. Jones Drive and Four Mile Post Road in south Huntsville.

With the addition of Hobby Lobby and the rest of the shopping center's second phase and a new Rave Motion Pictures theater, "we're easily at 700,000 square feet of retail" at Valley Bend, including its surrounding outparcels and the Huntsville Hospital Wellness Center, said developer Raymond Jones Jr.

"We're very excited about what is happening and what has happened," Jones said. The development is good news in terms of the added tax base and services for the community, he said.

Construction on the Hobby Lobby probably will start within 60 days, Jones said. The anticipated opening is January.

"This store will bring a new mix to the center that we don't now have. It will make a good addition," Jones said. The arts and crafts chain has 360 stores, including two in Huntsville.

Site preparation is also under way on a 90,000-square-foot Rave Motion Pictures theater, which will be the city's largest with 18 screens and 4,100 stadium-style seats. "They are shooting for a May or June 2006 opening," Jones said. The adjacent lot will have about 1,150 parking spaces.

"It took about two years and two months to get to where we are now" on the Rave project, Jones said. "It takes a lot of time to put together a development like this."

Hobby Lobby is the anchor tenant for Valley Bend's second phase, which will include about 148,000 square feet of retail space. "We're now in negotiations with a few (potential tenants), and hopefully we will have more announcements in the near future," Jones said. He doesn't yet know the exact number and size of the stores. "That will come as we lease them," he said.

"Of the remaining five outparcels (along Carl T. Jones Drive), we're in negotiations with four (companies), including Zaxby's," he said. "The other three are sit-down restaurants."

Zaxby's, which specializes in chicken, has more than 225 restaurants in the Southeast, including one each in Huntsville, Madison and Decatur.

The first phase of Valley Bend has more than 392,000 square feet, with one 1,600-square-foot space vacant. Its anchor store is SuperTarget, which opened in fall 2001.

jmanhsv

July 18th, 2005, 07:48 PM

The ground breaking for a new Applied Sciences Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville was scheduled for today. This is part of the university's Master Plan, introduced a few months ago. It included more dorms, more fraternity/sorority houses, a transit hub, a new tunnel (or overpass) for Holmes Avenue, which divides the campus, and much more.

UAH laying groundwork for next phase
Science building will be focal point of new 'gateway'
Monday, July 18, 2005
By KENNETH KESNER
Times Staff Writer

After more than three years of planning and research and securing more than $60 million in government money, the University of Alabama in Huntsville is holding ceremonies this morning to officially begin construction of a state-of-the-art Applied Sciences Building.

The 200,000-square-foot, four-story building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007. It will become the focal point of a new landscaped "gateway" to the campus from Sparkman Drive - part of the recently approved campus master plan.

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, and U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, were expected to join UAH President Frank Franz and other dignitaries for the groundbreaking. Shelby has been a longtime supporter of the project and garnered $50 million in federal money.

Gov. Bob Riley was instrumental in securing another $10 million for the building from the state's Capital Improvement Trust Fund.

Franz has said the building's ultramodern laboratories and facilities will transform the university and attract more top students, scientists and research dollars to benefit Alabama.

The new building will also open up needed space on campus as teaching and research labs are moved from Wilson, Madison and Von Braun research halls.

Today's "groundbreaking is the next phase of UAH's growth and progress," said UAH Vice President J. Derald Morgan. "The Applied Sciences Building is a crucial part of our efforts as we plan to meet the future science and engineering work-force requirements of North Alabama."

jmanhsv

July 18th, 2005, 07:54 PM

I guess this is development news.....

1st downtown Decatur motel will be replaced
Former Days Inn, now vacant, to be partly demolished
Monday, July 18, 2005
By CHRISTOPHER BELL
Times Staff Writer

DECATUR - The first motel built in downtown Decatur will be partially demolished and replaced with another inn.

The vacant, 120-room former Days Inn, located at the southeast corner of Sixth Avenue (U.S. 31) and Church Street, has been bought by Diplomat Companies of Atlanta, a spokesman said Friday.

Robert Baker, overseeing the demolition, said the two-story lobby will be torn down along with rooms on the Church Street side. The Olympic swimming pool will be filled in.

"We hope to have a new motel by the first of the year," Baker said.

The motel lost its Days Inn franchise last year, and Baker said the owners are negotiating for a new franchise.

The motel opened 40 years ago as the Decatur Inn and later was a Congress Inn.

Baker said the owners are undecided how many rooms will be removed but said those left will be renovated.

"At this point, at least 26 will be removed but more may be torn down," he said.

Last year, the mortgage holder foreclosed on the property, which is one square block, bounded by Sixth Avenue, Church Street, Lafeyette Street and Eighth Avenue.

Baker said the owners plan to lease space for a restaurant and are considering a convenience store.

jmanhsv

July 20th, 2005, 07:01 PM

Sorry, not a highrise. :cry:
But it does look nice for a three story building....

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/appliedsciencebldg.jpg

EDIT: this building is the same one talked about in #23

Eddy Gordo

July 20th, 2005, 07:41 PM

lookin good Huntsville.

jmanhsv

July 26th, 2005, 04:25 PM

As everyone already knows, Winn Dixie is shuttering hundreds of stores, including all 12 in North Alabama. There was an auction a few weeks ago for the closing stores, and only the Madison, Athens and Meridianville stores were bought. Meridianville went to BI-LO. Madison went to someone else:

Madison in future for Star Market
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer

Grocer is buying Winn-Dixie store at Wall Triana

The owner of Star Super Market stores in Huntsville's Five Points area and in Meridianville plans to open a third Star Super Market next month - in Madison in one of the 102 Winn-Dixie stores for which the company has entered into sales agreements after an auction last week.

"We'll do just like we do in Five Points and Meridianville, on a larger scale - (offer) a meat department that we're famous for and customer service that we're famous for," said Darden Heritage, the owner of the Star Super Market stores and a pharmacist at the Star pharmacy on Pratt Avenue. "It's exciting because it's another step, a big step."

The store at 7950 U.S. 72 at Wall Triana Highway in Madison has about 45,000 square feet of space, while the Star grocery on Pratt Avenue in Huntsville has 9,000 square feet and the Meridianville store has about 18,000 square feet. Even though the store is more than double the size of the Meridianville store, a redesign of the interior will give it the feel of a smaller, "hometown" store, Heritage said.

"We're hoping the people of Madison will embrace the store," Heritage said, and that it will become part of the community like the Huntsville and Meridianville stores.

The store will give Madison shoppers an option to the larger supermarket chains, he said.

The bankrupt Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. announced last week that it had sold leases to 102 of its stores for $45.6 million to 30 purchasers, most who plan to operate them as grocery and beverage stores. The leases were sold at an auction last Monday and Tuesday in New York and must be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. Hearings are scheduled Wednesday through Friday.

Heritage said an inventory at the Madison store is planned for Aug. 14, and the store is to become a Star Super Market on Sunday, Aug. 15. "That's the game plan," he said. "We'll be in there that Sunday night putting in our registers and hopefully open up the next morning as Star Super Market."

The Madison store, he said, "won't go dark," but will just close earlier on Sunday for the inventory.

Heritage bought the Star grocery in Huntsville in December 1999 and opened a second Star Super Market three years ago after buying the Lucky's Grocery on U.S. 231/431 in Meridianville.

Heritage didn't disclose the amount of his bid for the Madison store.

"We will try to retain as many (of the current Winn-Dixie store employees) as possible," said Heritage. "In our philosophy of business ..., we're really keen on customer service and we're looking for people who understand and ascribe to that philosophy."

Before the auction last week, Winn-Dixie had announced that the stores in Meridianville, Athens and Florence had bidders. There were no reported bidders for the other Madison County stores, including those at Oakwood Avenue, Triana Boulevard, Winchester Road and Whitesburg Drive.

Rail Claimore

July 26th, 2005, 04:50 PM

Huntsville's going insane now. I saw the construction going on at the Bridge Street site earlier this week and that thing will be HUGE.

BTW, jman, your avatar reminded me of our bicentennial... not that those tacky signs along the parkway didn't hurt. ;)

Rail Claimore

July 26th, 2005, 04:55 PM

Just have a question about your sig. Where did you get your numbers? Accordding to the 2003 Census estimate, Huntsville's MSA is 357,907 so your number seems a bit high compared to that. Also curious what exurbs you would be referring to that would jump that population up by another 150-200k?

Huntsville and Decatur consist of one CMSA that's a bit over 500,000 in four counties: Madison, Morgan, Limestone, and Lawrence. It's third largest in the state and will probably be second before the decade is over. It already is if you include Marshall County into the picture... very feasible by 2010.

jmanhsv

July 26th, 2005, 07:43 PM

Lincoln County, TN might be added as well. 20% of their workforce commutes to Madison County, according to the Census Bureau. I found this map recently on the Chamber of Commerce website:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/migrationmap.jpg

@Rail: Nice to know there's another Huntsvillian on this forum. :)

jmanhsv

July 27th, 2005, 05:58 PM

Huntsville, a former leader in biotechnology, might become one again, starting with this new Biotech Institute. This article in today's Huntsville Times is about a legislative act giving the new institute a tax break, but it explains a lot about it.

Bill OKs biotech institute tax break
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
By BRIAN LAWSON
Times Business Writer

Exemptions hinge on $50M in private investment here

The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday brought Huntsville a step closer to creating a top-flight biotechnology research institute here, approving tax exemptions for the project if private investors put up $50 million to establish it.

The bill, which Gov. Bob Riley plans to sign into law, will provide tax relief starting in October 2008 to the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, a nonprofit led by Huntsville biotechnology pioneer Jim Hudson and Adtran co-founder Lonnie McMillan, along with other unidentified investors.

Hudson founded Research Genetics, which opened in 1987 and created Huntsville's biotechnology sector. Hudson sold his company to Invitrogen in 2000. Hudson said late Tuesday that work to create the biotech institute is ongoing, but did not elaborate.

The proposed project has been described by supporters as a nonprofit research center that would aim to lead innovation efforts in the Southeast and develop new biotechnology ideas with commercial and academic potential. The center would seek to attract related businesses interested in partnering on a range of projects.

State Rep. Ray Garner, R-Monrovia, said Hudson has been a proven success in developing biotechnology in Huntsville.

"It's a fantastic project for Huntsville," Garner said. "There are so many benefits to this, jobs and bringing world-class scientists to Huntsville, adding to the brain trust that already exists. And these are high-paying jobs."

Riley, who offered public support for the project last year, remains committed to it, his spokesman said Tuesday. Riley spokesman Jeff Emerson said project leaders and state officials are currently negotiating a deal aimed at providing some state money, through the state's economic-development trust fund, for its development.

"The governor has said investing in research and especially biotechnology is one of the best ways to create high-paying jobs here that we know aren't likely to be exported to another country," Emerson said.

The institute has also asked the Huntsville City Council and local planning commission to allow sleeping quarters to be built in the institute. The center would have a campuslike atmosphere and room for related business groups to develop facilities on the site.

The bill passed Tuesday calls for the creation of at least 100 jobs within the institute. It also includes tax relief for other businesses located on the institute's property and requires the institute to assist the state in developing biotechnology education.

Dr. Joseph Ng, director of the biotechnology Ph.D program at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said other communities, such as San Diego and the area around Stanford University, that have established major biotechnology centers had three key components: a thriving university, a strong industrial/business community, and administrative support from government and related officials.

Ng said given those factors, "There's no reason we can't have a very prestigious biotechnology community here."

jmanhsv

July 28th, 2005, 05:55 PM

There is good news and there is bad news in Huntsville development today. But I'll start off with the good news. The first article is from WAFF, the local NBC affiliate, about more Athens growth. The next article is from the Huntsville Times, about a new Starbucks in the Medical District (believe me, a new Starbucks in Huntsville is significant development).

(From WAFF)-
Business is bustling in Athens. New stores are springing up. Subdivisions are under construction. Ruby Tuesday's is open to customers. There's talk of a Holiday Inn. Plenty of incentive for people like George Coffman to move back home.

'The more development there is the more jobs come into the economy,' says George Coffman.

Enticing visitors traveling Interstate 65 to shop and drop money in local stores. Debbie Terry, who lives and works in Athens, is excited so many big name businesses want to move in.

'I'm tickled about the Back Yard Burgers,' says Athens resident Debbie Terry.

Other popular restaurants, like Lone Star Steak House, have also bought plots near the interstate.

'Its more things for the young people to do. Families can go out to eat. I'm tickled about it,' says Terry.

Food chains aren't the only ones cooking up plans to build. A medical mall and doctor's offices are under construction on Highway 72. Homes are going up in areas that were once cotton fields. And a movie theater is next.

New projects also include the construction of a 120 unit assisted living senior facility on Lucas Ferry Road.

Food & drink: A booster for Medical District
Thursday, July 28, 2005
By MIKE KAYLOR
Times Nightlife Columnist

Caffeine begins flowing today through one of Huntsville's busiest intersections. Starbucks has arrived on the fringe of downtown.

The building long known as The Mill Bakery & Eatery and later as Mollie Teal's has been reconstructed to house the city's newest Starbucks coffee shop. It is at the intersection of Governors and Whitesburg drives across the street from Huntsville Hospital.

Seattle's trendy coffee company seems to be finally taking notice of Huntsville. This is the second Starbucks to open this year - the other on a stretch of Airport Road near Crestwood Hospital. It's about time. Nearly 8,000 Starbucks locations dot the United States, and another 1,500-plus in foreign nations.

So, what is different about this new Medical District coffee shop?

"We actually have a few unique features that will separate us from the other stores," said manager Michelle Putnam, who grew up in Decatur. "We have a fireplace, and our patio seating is about the same as we have inside."

jmanhsv

July 28th, 2005, 06:05 PM

A local sandwich chain shuts down all of its stores and a local plant will shut its doors as well, moving the jobs to Mexico :bash: .

Siemens to close its plant on Wynn
Thursday, July 28, 2005
By BRIAN LAWSON
Times Business Writer

Move to Mexico seen by 2007; Madison site stays

Siemens VDO Automotive plans to close one of two former DaimlerChrysler plants it purchased here last year and move those product lines to Mexico over the next two years.

Most of the work done at the Wynn Drive site, which employs more than 400 people, will be moved to a Siemens plant in Guadalajara. Siemens will continue to operate its plant in Madison near the Huntsville International Airport, and has no plans to close it, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

The Wynn Drive plant is expected to be closed by late summer 2007. It is not clear how many of the plant's employees will be affected.

Local United Auto Workers officials said Wednesday the company has told them it will try to fold the affected work force into the Madison operation, but Brad Warner, a spokesman for Siemens VDO Automotive, said it was premature to say there would be no effect on workers.

Overall, the two plants employ about 1,500 people, down from about 2,400 employees in 2003.

Quintin King, president of UAW Local 1413 which represents about 1,300 hourly and skilled trades workers at the plants, said Siemens told the union last year it wanted to close the Wynn Drive plant. King said the union was informed July 11 of Siemens' closure plan.

King said Siemens has said it will move production of two products built at the Wynn Drive site into the Madison plant.

Warner said Siemens wants to move the dashboard cluster work to its Guadalajara plant because the plant specializes in that work. The Madison plant will continue its electrical work for engines and car bodies, Warner said. Siemens leases the Wynn Drive plant from DaimlerChrysler, which will decide what to do with the building after it closes.

"This allows Guadalajara to keep doing what they do best and it frees up floor space to allow Huntsville to focus on its other product portfolios," Warner said. "People may wonder if we're going to phase out the other lines to Mexico and the simple answer is 'No.' We have no plans to phase out the other products."

As part of Siemens' purchase agreement with DaimlerChrysler, DaimlerChrysler employees were given the choice to remain with the company or transfer to another DaimlerChrysler plant when jobs became available. Hundreds of Chrysler workers from Huntsville have moved to plants across the United States and more are expected to move to other plants in the next few years.

The negotiations with the UAW as part of the sale also created a two-tier wage system, with some new workers for Siemens coming in at significantly lower pay than original Chrysler workers.

Rick Yohman, president of UAW Local 1929 which represents about 250 office and clerical workers and engineers at the two plants, said about 20 of his union members work at the Wynn Drive plant and are expected to move to the other one.

Blame Subway and Quiznos. From WAFF-
Subzone on Pratt Avenue to close
Jul 28, 2005, 9:45 AM

A popular sandwich chain on Pratt Avenue is closing.

Subzone has served the Valley for nearly 20 years.

The sandwich shop on Pratt Avenue announced it's plan to shut down.

The store's manager blames lagging sales.

"We don't have as many customers coming in the last few years... so, it's going out of business because of it," says manager Patricia Johnson.

Three other Subzones in Huntsville shut down last week.

jmanhsv

July 28th, 2005, 06:11 PM

double post

jmanhsv

July 29th, 2005, 04:42 PM

I think its time to give another skyline update.

Big Spring Summit is now on the 7th floor and the exterior glass and concrete is being applied on the first floor. Construction is scheduled to be complete in January.

Embassy Suites is on the third floor. Construction is scheduled to be complete in about a year.

301 East has a crane up! Well, a small crane for right now. They are still doing ground and foundation work. It is scheduled to open in October 2006.

There are two other cranes visible from downtown: one building a parking garage at Huntsville Hospital in the Medical District and one working on the future 8-story Metro Jail north of downtown. I don't check up on new parking garages, but the Metro Jail seems to be on the 6th floor.

jmanhsv

July 30th, 2005, 04:14 AM

I forgot to mention this on Sunday, when this artice was published in the Huntsville Times. A shopping center in Huntsville is getting a facelift. Here's what the center looks like now. The Crestwood Medical Center professional office buildings are at the top of the photo.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/E173ADF9-0CF4-4DB3-B69C-1A8E96C7124.jpg

Village at Whitesburg to get upscale makeover
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Huntsville Times

The Village at Whitesburg shopping center is about to undergo a transformation.

The center, located on the northwest corner of Whitesburg Drive and Airport Road, will get a new look plus new stores and restaurants, said Charles Grelier Jr., president of Chase Commercial Real Estate Services, the leasing and managing agent for the project. Construction is expected to begin this fall and take about five months.

"There will be pretty dramatic changes to the porticos, hardscape and facade," Grelier said last week. "We will be upgrading the tenant mix to more of a lifestyle mix."

Lifestyle centers are a current trend in retail development, with sidewalks, plazas and trendy shops and cafes.

"It's not necessarily going to be The Summit," Grelier said, referring to the large upscale shopping center in Birmingham, "but it's that type of concept."

He said a pedestrian-friendly plaza will be built in the corner of the shopping center, near the Thirsty Turtle pub.

He said he expects most of the existing tenants to stay, with vacancies being filled by new, upscale stores and restaurants.

A Bonefish seafood restaurant is currently under construction and is scheduled to be open by September, he said. Existing restaurants include McAllister's Deli, Qdoba, Subway, Thirsty Turtle and Ding How Chinese restaurant.

For years, the 120,000-square-foot shopping center has been anchored by a Winn Dixie store. That store was not on a list of sites the bankrupt grocery chain announced it has sold. Grelier said the site will become either a "high-end anchor" or space for shops.

Chase Group Partners, operated by Grelier's brother Max, is the developer.

Charles Grelier said he's not ready to announce any additional tenants, "but there's a lot of letters of intent.

"We're pretty close to signing several good tenants, another upscale restaurant for one."

jmanhsv

August 2nd, 2005, 05:18 PM

The downtown canal is finally under construction. It is part of an expansion to Big Spring Park. If you want to see a pic, go to one of the frst posts I made in this thread (Embassy Suites)

Park expands with new canal
Groundbreaking starts waterway at Embassy Suites
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
By KEITH CLINES
Times Staff Writer

If all goes as planned, diners at an Embassy Suites hotel restaurant in fall of 2006 will sit on a patio overlooking the soothing flow of water in a canal.

City officials Monday afternoon had a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the canal that will run west from the Big Spring International Park lagoon to Pinhook Creek.

"I always think water adds a special ambience," said Mayor Loretta Spencer.

The 1,000-foot-long canal and the walkways on each side are considered a 5.5-acre addition to Big Spring International Park by Spencer's administration.

A short section of the canal was built under Monroe Street as part of the Monroe Street and Williams Avenue intersection improvements. The new work will extend the canal between the $40 million Embassy Suites, which is expected to be completed in fall of 2006, and the Von Braun Center South Hall.

The canal will feature two circular basins, two pre-cast bridges similar to the Monroe Street bridge and a stepping-stone bridge. Other features include brick pavement, decorative light fixtures, handrails and park benches.

"This is the beginning of another great opportunity for downtown Huntsville," Spencer said Monday.

The City Council awarded Miller & Miller Inc. a $3.4 million contract to build the canal. The city is supplying $2.4 million of the cost and the federal Economic Development Administration is providing $1 million.

C.B. Miller, chief executive officer of Miller & Miller, said after the ceremony that his company has begun work on the canal and it should be completed in about a year.

The 10-story, 300-room hotel will include a sky walk over the canal from the hotel to the VBC.

Council President Richard Showers commended Spencer for her vision for downtown Huntsville.

"After 2005 or 2006, no one will be able to come to downtown and say there's nothing happening in downtown Huntsville," Showers said.

And in a related story.....
Spencer sinks Big Spring boat idea
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Huntsville Times

Don't expect to be able to boat on the Big Spring Canal.

Mayer Loretta Spencer said the city does not have plans to operate water taxi boats in the canal and the park lagoon.

Earlier this summer, Spencer mentioned the possibility of the boats ferrying people from the hotel and Von Braun Center to the other end of the park at Church Street.

She said Monday the Planning Department brought the idea of excursion boats to her to consider, but the idea went no further.

- Keith Clines

jmanhsv

August 6th, 2005, 12:35 AM

These are the two Huntsville schools that are going to open on Monday, the first day for all Madison County public schools. Both of these schools are opening on the city's fast growing west side. Around 4000 homes are proposed within the school districts of these schools.

Here is Providence Elementary/Middle School, named after the "New Urbanism" community it is located within:
http://www.villageofprovidence.com/images/school-400.jpg
http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/schools/k-8/providence/images/school.JPG

Columbia High School in Research Park:
Well, damn, I can't find an image online. But check beck here soon, I might find one.
But anyways, the school is designed to hold 800 students, about average for a Huntsville school (the largest in the county is Sparkman, at 2200 students). It is also supposed to include the New Century Tech High School, the city's technology magnet school, which currently runs out of a basement at a community college.

jmanhsv

August 6th, 2005, 12:52 AM

Madison is on track to get a new hospital. Earlier this year, the state allowed companies to begin submitting their proposals for a new 60-bed hospital. Only two replied: Huntsville Hospital (HH) and Crestwood Medical Center/Triad Hospitals, the only two hospitals in Huntsville. Two weeks ago, the Madison City Council endorsed the Crestwood proposal over the HH one. Here are the two renderings from both hospitals' websites:

CRESTWOOD
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/MH_Final2.jpg

HUNTSVILLE
http://www.huntsvillehospital.org/contentFiles/cmArticles/MadisonHospital.jpg

Here's where Huntsville is putting their hospital (if it gets built). This is their existing Madison Medical Park, which I think is not in Madison, but in Huntsville. BTW, look at all that sprawl......
http://www.huntsvillehospital.org/contentFiles/cmArticles/Madison2b.jpg

jmanhsv

August 6th, 2005, 05:33 AM

Hey, remember this building?
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/301East_72dpi.jpg
It has a new website:
http://www.301east.com

jmanhsv

August 9th, 2005, 09:31 PM

Page 3, and still not stickied.... :cry:

I should have a rendering of the main building soon. It is four stories tall. Two other buildings are being built, with future plans for 10 more buildings on the campus.

Big plans for biotech
Hudson-led institute promises 900 jobs for city
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
By BRIAN LAWSON
Times Business Writer
Huntsville will be the home of a major new biotechnology research institute, led by industry pioneer Jim Hudson and backed by $80 million in private contributions and a $50 million state investment.

At a luncheon today, Gov. Bob Riley, who has called for biotech development in Alabama since he first ran for governor, will announce the establishment of the nonprofit Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology.

"With a $50 million commitment from the state, we're gaining $80 million in private investments that together will help create about 900 direct new jobs," Riley said. "We are actively and aggressively positioning Alabama to become a worldwide leader in biotech research and one of the premier places in the nation for these high-paying jobs that can't be exported overseas."

Researchers in the biotech field often possess both a medical degree and a Ph.D. and want to work around the world with top researchers, the kind the institute hopes to attract.

Hudson, 63, established Huntsville's biotech industry with his company, Research Genetics, which he founded in 1987 and sold in 2000. He said the institute project - a resurrection of a long-held idea - began to move forward in May 2004 after significant amounts of cash were raised from private donors. The group approached Riley, seeking state support. Hudson said Riley was immediately receptive and made the deal possible.

"This is the most exciting thing I've been involved with in my lifetime," Hudson said. "This is going to be unique. It will be an economic development engine as much as a true research facility. We'll have eight scientific teams, housed in the same building with eight biotech companies."

Hudson said the private donors who generated the $80 million commitment have asked not to be identified. The donors are not investors seeking a return, he said.

While the institute and its future researchers will face plenty of competition for grant dollars, Hudson said the biotech field is exploding with the mapping of the human genome, and there are plenty of "niches available to become a dominant player."

The institute's researchers will pick projects of interest and, if successful applications or techniques are found, the institute will license the results in affiliation with the nearby companies, Hudson said.

He said the state's $50 million investment, which is expected to be generated through the Capital Improvement Trust Fund, will be used for construction, while some $50 million of the $80 million in private money will be used to establish the facility and attract top scientists. Hudson said about $30 million will be set aside as an initial endowment.

Research Park campus

The institute will create a campus-like environment on 120 acres in Cummings Research Park. It will include a 260,000-square-foot main building that will house biotech companies and facilities for eight teams of institute-hired scientists, Hudson said.

Construction is scheduled to begin this winter, and organizers hope to open the institute in fall 2007. The institute will start with 500 to 600 people working in its facility and expects an annual payroll of $37 million by the end of 2008.

At full capacity, the institute is expected to employ 900. The property sold to it by the City of Huntsville is large enough to accommodate new buildings for companies that outgrow their space in the institute. Hudson estimates the overall campus could employ 1,600 within 10 years with an annual payroll of $83 million.

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, who helped negotiate the agreement between the institute and state officials, said the project could be the beginning of redefining Alabama's economy.

"I think it's an extraordinary opportunity for our state to define a future for itself that hasn't been defined so far," Cramer said. "This brings together assets from around the state of Alabama. And it allows us to enter an elite number of centers around the county like this. That will allow us to attract companies and scientists and projects beyond anything we've seen in North Alabama."

Building a future

The University of Alabama in Huntsville biotechnology program Web site defines biotechnology as "the safe study and manipulation of biological molecules for development of products or techniques for medical and industrial application."

Supporters of the project said Huntsville could see the same kind of biotech industry form around the institute as has been the case in San Diego in connection with the Scripps Institute there and in Palo Alto, Calif., near Stanford University.

Hudson said he is driven by a passion and love for biotech and its potential uses. With that in mind, his vision for the institute includes assisting new ideas to find a marketplace, providing opportunities for freshly minted biotech students and top talent, and developing a science curriculum to use in distance learning across the state.

Hudson said major researchers want to be able to publish their findings in connection with a university, and the institute will establish the necessary relationships with UAH and UAB.

Top scientists

Hudson said the institute's scientific advisory board includes some of the world's top biotech scientists, including Dr. Richard Myers, director of Stanford's Human Genome Center, and Dr. Thomas Hudson, director of the McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre.

UAB has an established biotech center on its campus, which bears the name of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa. Birmingham officials had expressed opposition to the project, but Riley's support, sealed in a letter of intent last December, focused on the advantages the institute is expected to bring the entire state in competition with the rest of the world, not for Huntsville at Birmingham's expense.

Hudson said in an interview last week that officials in Georgia were also interested in the project for Georgia Tech and made a strong bid.

Cramer said an important part of negotiations was helping state officials and the Birmingham medical community know that it was "their project, as well as ours here in North Alabama."

The institute has recruited eight biotech companies, many with previous affiliations with Hudson and based in Huntsville, to move into the facility.

The companies are Applied Genomics, Expression Genetics, Genaco Biomedical Products, New Century Pharmaceuticals, Open Biosystems, Operon Biotechnologies, SourceCF and Nektar Therapeutics.

jmanhsv

August 11th, 2005, 12:57 AM

^Got the rendering...
http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/news/biz_news/2005/082905_biotech.jpg

Website (it's not much)- www.haib.org (http://www.haib.org)

jmanhsv

August 12th, 2005, 02:06 AM

Columbia High School in Research Park:
Well, damn, I can't find an image online. But check back here soon, I might find one.
Well, I found some! The school opened Monday. I found these renderings on a local arcitectural firm's website, which shoud give you some idea of what the school looks like.

http://www.skt.com/newwest/finalversionA1%20copy.jpg
http://www.skt.com/newwest/finalversionB1%20copy.jpg

jmanhsv

August 15th, 2005, 01:42 PM

With all the current growth in Research Park, the city has opened up bids for a transit center within the park. Maybe the Huntsville transit system will go somewhere for once....

Cummings transit hub in works
Monday, August 15, 2005
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer

Bus stop, shuttle system possible for Bridge Street

Water taxis will ply the lakes in the planned $210 million World Famous Bridge Street retail/office/entertainment complex in Cummings Research Park.

A shuttle bus system may also be offered to help transport people to and within the business park.

The City Council last week authorized requests for bids for construction of an intermodal facility - a bus terminal/parking garage - in Cummings Research Park. Some $7 million in federal transit funds has been authorized for the project.

The transit proposal comes as Cummings continues to expand. Columbia High School is now open on the west edge of the research park, the sprawling Bridge Street retail project is under construction, and officials recently announced a $130 million biotechnology research institute expected to create 900 direct jobs and hundreds of spin-off jobs.

The resolution authorizing the bids for the transit station claim it will reduce current and projected traffic congestion within the park, reduce air pollution by providing an environmentally friendly commuting practice, and further improve the city's overall quality of life.

Joe Vallely, director of economic development for Huntsville, said the Bridge Street developers, O&S Holdings of Los Angeles, were instrumental in nabbing the grant money for the parking/intermodal structure.

"We're going to look at it and try to make a determination on ridership and whether a bus stop is needed," he said.

Vallely said the decision revolves around cost, demand and logistics.

The city is requiring that the intermodal/transit station:

Be constructed in the commercial core of Cummings Research Park; namely where the sprawling Bridge Street development is planned.

Provide capacity for motor, bus and other ground transportation including, but not limited to, a park-and-ride facility for motor vehicles.

Use a bidder willing to provide private money to satisfy the required 20 percent matching funds requirement of the grant program.

Tommy Brown, director of Parking and Public Transit for Huntsville, said Friday an intermodal/transit facility in Cummings would be a nice asset for park tenants and Huntsville in general. Details have not been worked out on exactly where the transit facility would go and the extent of any city bus routes.

Officials say the money will mainly be used to build a parking garage that includes features for a transit station.

"It's going to be a parking garage with a bus stop connected with it," Brown said. "They may even have some internal (private bus service) circulation."

Officials say the city had to open the project up for bid since federal grants are involved.

"We're trying to fulfill the legal aspect of their federal funding," Vallely said.

Cummings is the second largest research park in the country, boasting 225 companies, more than 23,000 employees and 175 buildings on more than 3,800 acres.

The city's long-range transportation plan has for years recommended a stop at Cummings Research Park, Brown said. Other proposed stops for the city's bus routes include Huntsville International Airport, east Huntsville, an additional southwest Huntsville route, and a deep south route including the Ditto Landing Marina.

Repeated efforts to reach O&S officials, the developers of Bridge Street, were unsuccessful.

"What we hope is the (Bridge Street) project will generate a demand," Brown said. "Our response will depend on the amount of demand that's created.

"There's a lot of synergy going on out there (in Cummings). We'll just have to see where it all takes us."

jmanhsv

August 17th, 2005, 01:57 AM

I decided to check out the Decatur Daily today and found these two articles: the first is about an urban redevelopment project in Northwest Decatur, and the second is about Priceville, which is fast becoming a suburb of both Decatur and Huntsville.

Stonegate
Northwest Decatur property part of revitalization project

By Martin Burkey
DAILY Staff Writer

Only grass and promises remain where the Stonegate and Cashin housing projects once stood in Northwest Decatur, but officials still hope to see neighborhood revitalization from both.

Using federal and local funds, workers tore down Stonegate in 2003 and demolished Cashin in 2004, scattering more than 300 residents to rental property across Decatur. Decatur paid the asbestos cleanup costs and half the demolition costs for Stonegate, buying the property from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for $10. Federal funds paid for Cashin's demolition.

Stonegate's reputation for violent crime made it a target for the wrecking ball. Housing officials decided to raze Cashin because of the growing cost of maintaining the 50-year-old complex.

In their place, Northwest advocates want to see showcase, low- to moderate-income single-family housing as part of an overall campaign to revitalize the area.

Housing Authority Director Bob Neill said he would formally close out the $550,000 Cashin demolition project within days. Although the project was there for 50 years, the authority still had to do a sound study to make sure the adjacent railroad would not be detrimental to the housing envisioned for the site.

Neill is waiting on HUD to approve his redevelopment plan, submitted July 20. Once it is approved, he plans to start construction. He has started initial engineering and dividing the property into single-family lots in anticipation of HUD approval. That has to win the approval of the city's Planning Commission and City Council. The Housing Authority's tentative plan calls for 28 single-family lots.

Former Cashin residents will receive priority to purchase a home, but they have to secure their own financing, perhaps with down payment assistance from the government, Neill said. He plans to stretch construction over three or four years so no house stays vacant and falls into disrepair.

"I would hope we could start later on this year," he said. "We're not going to build 28 at one time. We're going to try to build three or four houses, maybe get two or three, hold, and build three or four more. We don't want to have 28 houses on our hands that don't move rapidly."

There's no formal timeline for Stonegate. City officials say they want to delay new housing until the old apartment complex's reputation as little Vietnam has faded.

"When we talked about demolition and how we were going to proceed with this, one thing we discussed was we were going to hold off two or three, maybe even four, years to let the stigma die," District 1 Councilman Billy Jackson said. "There was an air of destruction, crime and even death at Stonegate."

Jackson said he favors transitional use for the park. One person recently suggested putting greens for disadvantaged youths. Another person suggested using it as a community vegetable garden, a positive image that appealed to Jackson, but an idea that came along too late in the year, he said.

"You have to look at the irony associated with that," he said. "Where there was death, destruction and violence, you come back with growth and productivity."

Jackson said he would like to see the city partner with the Housing Authority or another agency and a private developer/investor. He compared the property's potential to sections of new homes built more than a decade ago on Church and Lafayette streets in his district, which have helped revitalize those neighborhoods.

At least one private offer to develop Stonegate and the nearby Westgate shopping center fizzled, although people differ on whether it was disagreement over the concept for Westgate redevelopment or disagreement over terms between the city and the developer.

"Nobody's trying to hold off on the project," Jackson said. "We're trying to move in a methodical way."

Michelle Gilliam-Jordan, director of the Decatur Community Development Department, said the Stonegate development has to be exceptional to attract people who moved out of the Northwest district in the past due to a lack of housing choices. She'd like to see potential homeowners given the chance to choose floor plans, paint and carpet colors so that they have an even greater sense of ownership and desire to keep their homes maintained.

Dexter Elliott, a local teacher who also heads the Northwest Community Development Corp., said Stonegate is part of the CDC's revitalization area and one of several revitalization efforts that include the new Butch Matthews Field and the soon-to-open Turner-Surles Senior Resource Center. Elliott said he would like to see the Stonegate site include a mix of houses for younger families and condominiums for retired residents. He sees the Stonegate project also including redevelopment of the Westgate Shopping Center. That may be difficult, however, because it would require the agreement of several property owners there.

"One thing we cannot avoid is the Westgate," he said. "Who's going to want to invest the money to buy property when they look across the street and see that bringing down the value of property? I'd like to see some of the places at Westgate become an office complex."

Stonegate redevelopment can't be done without city help, Elliott said. The development corporation is looking now at how other places did successful redevelopment. Among them is Nashville, which redeveloped around Meharry Medical College and Fisk University.

jmanhsv

August 17th, 2005, 02:14 AM

Now the second article.... For those who don't know where Priceville is, here's a map (Huntsville's at the top right corner):
http://mq-mapgend.websys.aol.com/?e=9&GetMapDirect=Gme5diw%2ca%3a9u12%3b%40%24xq%2d8ld672%26%3dy0%21r15g67%3ag%2drxu48s%26w%40wu0ta0%40b5gyza%26u2gu%2c2%3a9672%3b%40b20w%24%3a%26%40%24xq%2d8ld672%26%3dy0%21r15g67%3a%26%4025u6%40l%3b%40zauu%24%3a

Priceville's Road Ahead
Is growing town on brink of a population explosion?

By Bayne Hughes
DAILY Staff Writer

Wanda Clark likes living in a city with a country atmosphere, so she has made Priceville home for 20 years.

The Glens at Burningtree on Indians Hills Road is one of several housing developments under construction in Priceville. The growth is good news for people like construction worker Daniel Peoples.

"It's just a small town where you know a lot of people," Clark said.

Alfred and Georgia Palmer of Hidden Creek Road near the town limits like the safety and quietness.

"You don't have to worry about locking up," said Alfred Palmer, a retired preacher.

The residents know, however, the town is growing. They see businesses and subdivisions under construction.

The U.S. Census estimates Priceville grew 31 percent during the first four years of the decade. Still, at more than 2,150 people, it's a small town.

The question: Is Priceville on the brink of a population explosion?

Mayor Melvin Duran and Town Councilman Sam Heflin, a real estate agent at RE/MAX in Decatur, predict Priceville will be 5,000 before 2010.

Located on Interstate 65, Priceville is minutes from Decatur's Beltline Road Southwest business districts and less than 20 minutes from Madison, Huntsville and Redstone Arsenal.

It's about 90 minutes from Nashville and about an hour from Birmingham.

"We're in a prime location," Duran said.

The Palmers see Priceville attracting residents from Decatur and Huntsville.

"They want the small-town feel with the access to the bigger cities," Alfred Palmer said.

Officials said three landmark changes started the growth.

The town completed its sewer system in 1995. In 2002, the Morgan County Board of Education opened a new elementary school and gave Priceville its high school back, 30 years after closing it to open Brewer High School.

Heflin said the sewer system opened city development. The system is treating about 300,000 gallons a day and can handle 1 million gallons. He said the system could easily expand to 2 million gallons.

Duran said at least four subdivisions are past the preliminary approval stage, with rumors of three or four more.

Officials speak highly of the local schools. On the 2005 state test assessments released last week, Priceville Elementary met its 100 percent of its annual yearly progress goals. The school's fifth grade also had 91 percent of its students score at or above proficiency on its Alabama Direct Writing Assessment.

"I'm selling a lot of homes to people with young children who say they want them to attend our schools," Heflin said.

Although it just completed its first year with grades 6-12, the high school is almost full with about 800 students. It's landlocked with no room for expansion. The elementary school's enrollment is close to 600 students. The four-year-old building is almost full.

Heflin criticized the Morgan County school board for not moving quickly enough to address growth. He said the board didn't build the elementary school big enough and should have expansion plans for both schools. He worries about class sizes.

"With four new subdivisions of about 300 homes, if there's one child per house, they're already over capacity," Heflin said.

Superintendent Don Murphy said money limited the elementary school's size. He said the board plans to add classrooms for the sixth grade at the elementary school, creating space at the high school.

"It's time for us to move," Murphy said. "And if we move now, I think we'll be all right."

A board committee will study capital projects and make recommendations in September. Jimmy Dobbs, who represents Priceville on the school board, agrees the board isn't moving quickly enough.

"We need to adjust our plans," Dobbs said. "We need to go ahead with classrooms at the elementary school and have final plans (for a new high school) before the school year is out."

Clark and the Palmers agreed they don't want to become the next Madison. In the 1980 census, Madison had 6,081 residents and, after 25 years and 476 percent growth, the city was up to 35,012 in 2004 census estimates.

"It's good that it's (Priceville) growing," said Clark, who manages Gallery and Gifts on Alabama 67. "It's good for the businesses in town and the economy of Priceville, but I don't want to see it grow too fast that we can't handle it."

Duran said the Priceville Planning Commission wants to keep the small-town feel by requiring developers to include green space.

So far, the Planning Commission hasn't approved any apartments, which would bring large numbers, Heflin said.

"We've got to regulate the growth so we don't outgrow our police, fire departments and other city services," Heflin said.

The Fire Department is still an all-volunteer group.

Dobbs doesn't think Priceville will experience Madison's growth surge because the town doesn't have the industrial or high-tech industry that Madison does. With Decatur, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and Hartselle bordering three sides, he said, Priceville can only grow east down Alabama 67.

Several things could take the growth out of the officials' control. Like most North Alabama cities, Priceville officials hope to benefit if the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission moves anticipated jobs to Redstone Arsenal.

Duran and Heflin would like to work with Decatur, Hartselle, Falkville and the County Commission to establish an industrial park along Interstate 65 to boost the eastern portion of the county.

Alabama 67

Another item important to Priceville is four-laning Alabama 67 as it runs southeast out of town. Duran said he would like the road widened to U.S. 231 in Blount County.

"They should have four-laned 67 a long time ago," Heflin said.

The Palmers and Clark said Priceville offers most of what they need for a nice life, though they still go to Decatur for restaurants and shopping. They are excited about a steakhouse under construction on Alabama 67 that gives them a "nice sit-down restaurant," Alfred Palmer said.

Duran said he would like to have a recreation center. Heflin said he would like to expand the library.

"I think we've got it pretty good," Clark said. "I don't know if there's much else that we need."

Jman's notes: If you read the article (which I doubt you did :) ), it explains that the BRAC jobs could bring even more people to Priceville. There are 1600 direct jobs expected to come to Redstone Arsenal, with the potential of 3000+ more indirect (private contractor) jobs. Most of these are coming from Fort Belvoir, in Northern VA. Other cities actively pursuing future Redstone Arsenal commuters include, but are not limited to: Huntsville, Arab, Decatur, Athens, Fayetteville, TN, Scottsboro, Guntersville, and Madison.

jmanhsv

August 18th, 2005, 12:22 AM

New Summit details coming soon
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer

Developer talks of restaurant plans at topping out event

At a picnic Tuesday to celebrate the topping out of Big Spring Summit's exterior frame, the office building's developer said more news about the project will come soon.

William Stroud, principal for Triad Properties, said a restaurant for the building's first floor will be announced in a couple of weeks. He also expects to reveal detailed plans for the project's second phase.

City officials and construction workers gathered Tuesday on the second floor of the under-construction building at the corner of Clinton Avenue and Church Street to celebrate the structure's progress. An evergreen tree and an American flag were visible from the building's top, part of a good-luck "topping out" ritual often conducted at construction sites.

The $11.5-million Big Spring Summit is rising from a city-owned parking deck a few feet from the lagoon. Tenants in the 80,000 square-foot building include First American Bank, Blue Creek Investments, Bill Poole Realty, Roy McCrary of McCrary Properties and Triad Properties, Stroud said.

Fuqua & Partners architects designed the project. Brasfield & Gorrie is the general contractor.

Triad Properties announced plans for the officer tower in fall 2003. As the project wound through the city's approval process, some residents and City Council members balked, saying the building would cut into Big Spring International Park. Supporters of the project said encroachment on the park was minimal and would be balanced out by a 5.5-acre expansion of the park via a canal built between the Von Braun Center and Embassy Suites hotel.

Stroud said construction on Big Spring Summit's second phase will begin early next year and will include a condominium tower that will rise from the top deck of the parking garage, next to the first tower. The building will house about 45 condos, all with views of the lagoon. Stroud said he's looking at the market to determine what the price range will be.

He said he believes there's a market for more downtown housing.

"I think if you can bring people to where they're living downtown, it will dramatically increase activity here," he said.

City officials noted that downtown construction is gaining momentum. Current projects include the 10-story, 300-room Embassy Suites south of the Von Braun Center and 301 East, a seven-story condominium tower on Holmes Avenue.

Mayor Loretta Spencer said she hopes attendees at this week's Space and Missile Defense Command conference, who have converged upon Huntsville from all over the country, will notice "we're alive and moving."

jmanhsv

August 18th, 2005, 12:30 AM

MY GOD THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! About two years ago, there were no Starbucks locations in Huntsville. Now there will be 6 by the end of the year. But it is a surprise that the two newest Starbucks locations are being built in not-so-suburban areas.

Starbucks coming to north Huntsville
The Starbucks binge in Huntsville continues.
Huntsville Times

A city planning subcommittee this morning approved layout plans for the city's sixth Starbucks coffee shop. The latest one is planned for a vacant lot near the southwest corner of Memorial Parkway and Mastin Lake Road in northwest Huntsville, plans show.

Officials with the Seattle-based company confirmed last week another Starbucks was in the works for Huntsville – with an opening date of December – but they wouldn’t reveal the location until the plans came before the city today.

Four Starbucks are open in Huntsville: one off Governor’s Drive across from Huntsville Hospital; one off Airport Road near Crestwood Hospital; one in Target at Westside Center on U.S. 72 West; and one in Target at Valley Bend at Jones Farm on Carl T. Jones Drive. A Starbucks under construction at The Fountain shopping complex at Memorial Parkway and University Drive is scheduled to open next month.

Nearly 8,000 Starbucks locations dot the United States, and another 1,500-plus in foreign nations.

jmanhsv

August 31st, 2005, 12:25 AM

This Lowe's will be the 5th Huntsville metro location.

Lowe's planning Hampton Cove site
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Huntsville Times

Lowe's is next in line of the big retailers slated to come to Hampton Cove. Randy Cunningham with the city planning department said officials with Lowe's have already approached the board of adjustments to request the necessary permits to build there, across the street from Super Wal-Mart. In early June, a permit was issued to Ben Branum Contractors of Huntsville for grading and drainage work on a 30-acre site at that corner. "It is still in the planning stages, and we don't have the drawings on it yet," Cunningham said. "It isn't entirely solid yet, but that is what has been proposed."

jmanhsv

September 5th, 2005, 04:16 AM

You know how furniture stores have those BS "closing sales"? Well, it looks like Huntsville furniture stores will have more "grand opening" sales. And they won't be BS.

Local market attracting furniture stores' interest
Sunday, September 04, 2005
By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer

Huntsville could become a $100M market, site says

The local furniture retail scene is a changing landscape. Several stores have opened in the past year. A few have closed their doors for good. At least one is changing owners and moving to a larger location.

Huntsville has apparently hit the radar screen for some national furniture retailers. New names in town include 2 Danes Furniture Collection, Lane Home Furnishings, Bassett Furniture Direct and Ashley Furniture HomeStore. Habersham and Townhouse Galleries have also set up shop.

A new La-Z-Boy Furniture Gallery is to open Nov. 4 near Westside Centre on University Drive, a few miles west of a La-Z-Boy store that closed last year when its owner took on another franchise.

Curtis Morris, corporate sales and merchandise manager for the Birmingham-based La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries franchiser, said the store will have 47,000 square feet, including a lower-level warehouse.

Closing the previous La-Z-Boy store "left a void here, and La-Z-Boy didn't want to leave the market, so we just jumped at the chance," Morris said.

According to Furnituretoday.com, an industry Web site, Huntsville is expected to become a $100 million market for furniture sales. What makes Huntsville appealing? Russell Bienenstock, editor for Furniture World magazine and Furninfo.com, said retailers look at income levels, population growth and housing.

Often, growth comes from local business people buying a franchise. Competition is increasing, Bienenstock said.

Some local furniture retailers have shut their doors, or are in the process. Marks-Fitzgerald Furniture Co. will end its liquidation sale Monday. Parnell's is closing its Huntsville store. Rhodes Furniture has closed and will start its liquidation this month. Last month, Rooms To Go announced it would buy Rhodes Furniture and convert some of its stores. The Florida-based company has not said if it plans to turn the Huntsville store into a Rooms To Go.

Reasons for closing vary. Some owners retire and there's no family interested in running the store. Others buckle under competition. "There's been tremendous pressure on pricing," Bienenstock said.

"Family-owned stores tend to carry better lines and domestic lines," he said. "They have a lot of long-time employees and loyal customers, and their goods are more expensive. They offer extra service - white-glove delivery, design services. There's a certain customer who appreciate that."

jmanhsv

September 13th, 2005, 01:23 AM

Article from the Athens News Courier:

Athens to get medical village
By Sonny Turner

The development of a 40-acre tract of land near the corner of U.S. 72 East and Lindsay Lane is beginning to take shape with construction of one doctor's office building nearing completion with plans for several others.

The Athens-Limestone Medical Village that is being developed by Athens-Limestone Hospital is expected to house a number of doctor offices and will include a diagnostic -urgent care facility, said Hospital Administrator and CEO Phil Dotson. In addition, the hospital hopes to construct a 12,280 square foot facility that will be available to groups of physicians interested in locating in the village center.

"We've got nine lots and we made a commitment to residents in that area a number of years ago that this property will be developed into a medical village," Dotson said. "We are carrying through with that commitment."

Athens family practitioner Dr. Max Boone, who is now operating in the office complex across from the hospital, has already purchase one of the lots in the Medical Village and construction of his new office is nearing completion.

Boone will be the first doctor to move to the village, said Dotson.

"Other local doctors have expressed an interest in building out there and we expect they will," said Dotson.

The proposed diagnostic-urgent care facility the hospital plans to build will consist of 18,800 square feet of floor space, Dotson said. Also, future plans, 7-10 years from now, Dotson says plans call for an ambulatory surgery center at the medical complex. He said such a facility could be developed with the other medical facilities.

"One of our lots out there is a commercial lot and it faces U.S. 72," said Dotson. "That lot will be sold as a commercial lot and a business will be built there."

The hospital purchased the 40 acres approximately five years ago and decided then to develop the medical village under a strict set of specifications, Dotson said.

TimCity

September 21st, 2005, 05:03 AM

301 East looks so much... smaller :(

Did they change it or is it just the angle of the pic?

jmanhsv

September 21st, 2005, 05:09 AM

^The developers had to cut down on construction costs, so yes, it is a bit smaller.

jmanhsv

September 22nd, 2005, 01:57 AM

Well, I've decided to only focus on really major developments in Huntsville, like large subdivisions, condos, highrises (if we ever get one), etc. No more Starbucks announcements.

This is a large subdivision, and will be between the Hampton Cove sprawlmonster and a small farming community called Gurley.
http://mq-mapgend.websys.aol.com/?e=9&GetMapDirect=Gme5diw%2ca%3a9u12%3b%40%24xq%2dzw5072%26%3dy0%21wbw067%3ag%2d859yz0%26w%40w5y2n9%40tau6z%3a9uy2%3bu%24nu67%7c%26a7aq%40%24%3a%26%40b5%21y1g167%3a%29rz%26qa1au6%24%3a%26ur2u%2da%7c%26yt29%40%24

McMullen Cove plans unveiled
Develepors of the new McMullen Cove subdivision unveiled plans Wednesday that call for 1,123 homes, walking trails, lakes, a large clubhouse, two Olympic-sized pools and a picnic area.

A Huntsville city planning subcommittee reviewed Enfinger-Steele Development’s layout plans for 2,360-acre McMullen Cove Wednesday morning. The property lies less than a mile from the edge of Hampton Cove, a development of more than 1,400 homes (1,700 when completed).

The developer, state Sen. Jeff Enfinger, D-Huntsville, with Enfinger-Steele Development, said lots should begin selling in 60 days. Construction on the first 200-home phase should begin in spring, he said, pending final approval by city planners.

“There’s been a lot of interest,” Enfinger said Wednesday after presenting layout plans to the city subdivision subcommittee. The full City Planning Commission will review the plans next week.

Plans for McMullen Cove call for 16 neighborhoods fanning around the head of a scenic valley off Little Cove Road. Homes will be a minimum of 2,500 square feet, with some sections dedicated to homes 5,000 square feet and larger.

--John Peck

TimCity

September 22nd, 2005, 05:36 AM

^so is this is in the city limits?

jmanhsv

September 23rd, 2005, 12:52 AM

^Yes. Any subdivision this big around here is in Huntsville city limits. The county does not have a sewer system, and a concentration of 1200 septic tanks in one area is an environmental disaster waiting to happen.

Now on to other news... Crestwood Medical Center is planning to add 2 floors to their main building, for a new total of 7 floors. A pic of their current building:
http://www.crestwoodmedcenter.com/About/default/Crestwood.jpg

jmanhsv

September 23rd, 2005, 11:52 PM

According to the Huntsville Times:
New hotel on target for 2006 opening
Friday, September 23, 2005
By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer
Embassy Suites downtown has 7 floors built so far

Thursday's tour of the Embassy Suites hotel downtown was more dust and noise than food and lodging. But Wanda Gaddis was excited nonetheless.

Local officials and media donned hard hats and boarded a construction elevator to see parts of what will become the 10-story Embassy Suites tower. It was the first time Gaddis, sales director for the hotel, had seen the property up close.

"It's going to be a complement to the properties that are already here," said Gaddis, who moved to Huntsville recently from Montgomery after working for the Embassy Suites hotel there.

An opening date hasn't yet been determined, but it will be sometime next fall, she said.

Seven floors of the structure have been built, said Mike Skelton of Flintco Construction, the general contractor for the project.

An enclosed, climate-controlled skybridge will connect the hotel to the Von Braun Center South Hall from the second floor, Skelton said. The hotel will have 295 suites, including a presidential suite on the top floor. It will also have meeting rooms, an indoor swimming pool, a day spa and a restaurant, which has yet to be named.

The price of standard rooms will range from $119 to $139 per night, Gaddis said. The room charge includes access to Embassy Suites' popular breakfast buffet and managers reception.

Judy Ryals, president and chief executive officer of the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said her office is already including the hotel is some of its bid proposals for big meetings that could come to Huntsville.

"The thing we keep selling is, we have double the number of rooms downtown," Ryals said. "That at least gets the planner talking to us."

jmanhsv

September 29th, 2005, 01:03 AM

Two completely different development stories in the Huntsville Times this past Sunday, and I missed both of them.

Bridge Street update

Yes, that's real dirt you see being moved at the site of World Famous Bridge Street at Cummings Research Park. But developers say they aren't yet ready to announce any new retail tenants.

Plans for Bridge Street, a $200 million commercial-services project on Old Madison Pike at Research Park Boulevard, are moving forward, said Alex Hardy, business-development manager and director of public policy for O&S Holdings, which is developing the site.

The project was first announced three years ago. Despite delays working with local and state government and dealing with some drainage issues, Bridge Street is on target for a spring 2007 opening, Hardy said.

"A big project just takes time to pull together, and this one is complex," he said. "Now that there's work being done with tangible costs, we're definitely moving forward on the project."

So far, developers have announced a Regal cinema and Westin Huntsville Hotel & Residences will be built at Bridge Street. Several retail deals "are about as solid as you can get," Hardy said.

"I've heard a few of those names floating around the community. Some are accurate, some are not."

Current work at the 100-acre site involves grading and digging for drainage pipes and a subterranean parking deck.

Clay linings for the lakes should be installed soon, he said.

Ruth's Chris downtown?

In other restaurant rumors and news, Taylor said a recent meeting of retail professionals in Mobile identified the best place in Huntsville for a Ruth's Chris Steak House as the Summit office building downtown.

A top-floor restaurant would be particularly nice, with a panoramic view of the city and mountains beyond.

Here's another possibility: Chatter at a walk-through of the Embassy Suites construction site last week noted that Ruth's Chris frequently locates restaurants in Embassy Suites hotels.

Ruth's Chris Steak House Inc., which was founded in New Orleans but is currently moving its headquarters to Orlando, has 90 Ruth's Chris restaurants, including 10 international franchisee-owned ones in Mexico, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Canada.

Maybe Huntsville will soon be added to its map.

jmanhsv

October 7th, 2005, 03:04 AM

The city of Guntersville, 40 minutes southeast of Huntsville and a weekend retreat for many Huntsvillians, has approved a 7-story condo building on Lake Guntersville. The building should be under construction in a few months.

I thought this was interesting. This is a map of the major retail stores/clusters in Madison County. Obviously the Chamber of Commerce thinks that Starbucks is major development....
http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/new_exp/community_data/maps/pics_pdf/retail_low.jpg

jmanhsv

October 10th, 2005, 05:16 PM

Garden gets ready to spread its wings
$3.6M expansion starts today, and 'we're not done'
Monday, October 10, 2005

By PAT NEWCOMB
Times Staff Writer

The Huntsville Botanical Garden will break ground today on a nature center and children's garden, additions being billed as Huntsville's answer to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga.

The official ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the garden, 4747 Bob Wallace Ave.

The $3.6 million project includes a nature center with what the garden says will be the largest seasonal butterfly house in the country, an education center, an amphitheater and a 2-acre children's garden. The complex will be built near the entrance and is scheduled to open June 1.

Since the garden opened in 1988, the focus has been on developing the landscape and becoming part of the community, said Paula Steigerwald, chief executive officer of the garden. For the last several years, the garden has added attractions specifically for children and families such as water play features during the summer and the scarecrow trail now on display, laying the groundwork for the latest project.

The expansion "raises us to a level not just of being a garden in Alabama that we're proud of, but something people all over the country will talk about," said Harvey Cotten, the garden's chief operating officer.

The garden's expansion includes a nature center with a turtle pond, frog pond, waterfall and "critter corner" as well as a 9,000-square-foot shade-cloth-covered butterfly house that Cotten and Steigerwald hope will become a major destination for students and tourists.

At the new 4,000-square-foot education center, students can receive an orientation to the garden and have educational programs. A 250-seat amphitheater will provide a "classroom under the sky."

Volunteers have designed the children's garden area, which includes eight separate spaces. A space garden will include a space station node, a clock that will shoot out water at each hour and an aquaponic area to show a different way to grow plants. The section will also include a dinosaur garden where "bones" will be buried in sand, a rainbow garden featuring a hand-cranked windmill that has prisms where the blades would be, a half-acre wooded area, a bamboo garden, a maze garden, a storybook garden and an international garden.

"We want this to be their place they remember warmly as they grow up," Steigerwald said.

The project's scope is a result of a marketing research study the garden commissioned in 2001 from New South Research in Birmingham. The research company said the nature center and butterfly house "would allow us to do for Huntsville what the aquarium did for Chattanooga," she said.

The garden had quietly worked on raising the $3.6 million for the project, launching the public phase of the campaign last spring. The current total raised is almost $3 million. Other improvements beyond the nature center and children's garden include a restroom near the aquatic garden and a half-mile road extension that will open up 45 acres of the garden's undeveloped land.

The road extension will be put to use for the garden's annual Galaxy of Lights, which opens in November.

Along with soliciting its 6,000 member families for donations, the garden also is selling engraved bricks for the expansion area and naming opportunities for the new exhibits.

Even with the nature center and children's gardens in the works, Cotten said visitors can continue to expect changes over the next several years at the garden.

"While this is the largest project to date, and the one we're most excited about, we're definitely not done," he said. "We're still adolescents in the world of botanical gardens."

TampaMike

November 6th, 2005, 01:28 AM

Huntsville,the memories.It feels like yesterday to me.I lived in Huntsville for a year and still remember it all.Going to Goodview Elemetary,going to the Space Center,going and watching the Huntsville Stars play and I still have the player cards,there little put-put golf and go-cart center.Loved it all.I like that Huntsville growing lttle and lttle and still keeping the homey feeling still

weill

November 7th, 2005, 03:58 AM

Can this be made into a sticky?

jmanhsv

November 10th, 2005, 06:23 AM

I kind of left this thread for dead, but I guess I'll resurrect it.
Here is what has happened since:
5-story Von Braun Complex on Redstone, $38M, open in 2007
Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotech (see earlier posts), first phase to open in fall 2007
Councill High School renovation downtown
New Huntsville International control tower, 219 ft
Former SCI Headquarters renovation
4-story patient tower at Huntsville Hospital
New brewpub in downtown Madison
Ruth's Chris "negotiating" w/ location downtown
3-story cancer center on west side
Missile Defense Headquarters moving from NoVa
Army Materiel Command moving from NoVa

Going to Goodview Elemetary
I have never heard of that school, but I am glad that someone appreciates Huntsville.

Can this be made into a sticky?
I think the mods believe that Huntsville is too small to get a stickied development thread.

Matthew

November 10th, 2005, 06:53 AM

I also think it should be a sticky. A lot of cool development in Huntsville. It's not that much smaller than Columbia and Huntsville is home to the nation's #2 research park. It's a bigger city than you think.

TampaMike

November 14th, 2005, 07:19 AM

I kind of left this thread for dead, but I guess I'll resurrect it.
Here is what has happened since:
5-story Von Braun Complex on Redstone, $38M, open in 2007
Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotech (see earlier posts), first phase to open in fall 2007
Councill High School renovation downtown
New Huntsville International control tower, 219 ft
Former SCI Headquarters renovation
4-story patient tower at Huntsville Hospital
New brewpub in downtown Madison
Ruth's Chris "negotiating" w/ location downtown
3-story cancer center on west side
Missile Defense Headquarters moving from NoVa
Army Materiel Command moving from NoVa

I have never heard of that school, but I am glad that someone appreciates Huntsville.

I think the mods believe that Huntsville is too small to get a stickied development thread.
if not than Goodyear Elementrary?I've been to so many schools it is hard to remember names.

jmanhsv

November 17th, 2005, 02:16 AM

The city is planning to extend downtown north. They want to revitalize the area, which has seen better days. More residential/commercial developments and parks are part of the city's plan.

Downtown plan update looks north
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer
Proposal shifts from central core to beyond I-565, east of Parkway

The tower cranes tell it all. Downtown Huntsville is booming.

Huntsville's Downtown Master Plan is also being rebuilt. Draft concepts of the master plan update were discussed at a public hearing Tuesday night at Lincoln Elementary School.

About 60 people attended.

A final draft will be sent to the City Planning Commission in about six months with input from a steering committee of planners, business people, downtown representatives and other interests.

City Planner Ken Newberry said the main difference in the proposed update and the original master plan from 1989 is the emphasis on downtown areas north of Interstate 565, east of Memorial Parkway and south of Oakwood Avenue.

The previous plan focused primarily on the city's central core.

Newberry said the proposed update also reflects a shift in core downtown from recommended public initiatives such as parks and roads to private investments such as neighborhood businesses and live-work dwellings.

"The 1989 plan laid out a broad array of public initiatives designed to create a better atmosphere and lay a foundation for other investors," Newberry said. The city followed those plans in sprucing up Big Spring Park East, improving streetscapes around the courthouse square, and building the tourist-friendly EarlyWorks complex and Huntsville Art Museum.

Newberry said those elements added a "vibrancy" to downtown that apparently caught the attention of outside development. Examples include the Embassy Suites convention hotel, Big Spring Summit office building, the 301 East condominium project and a handful of new downtown restaurants and nightspots. "It's time to move on and hopefully have a similar success story in downtown north," Newberry told the audience Tuesday night.

Huntsville's downtown master plan serves as a blueprint for growth. City leaders can use the guidelines to rezone land, improve roads, construct bikeways, fix drainage problems and tweak building codes. Better stormwater management, for instance, can foster investments within downtown areas of the flood plain. Building code exceptions can encourage redevelopment of historic structures rather than tearing them down.

Newberry talked of creating parking under the interstate and using shuttles to move people around. The updated plan also recommends several new zoning classifications, including a research and technology category to foster business development in mill villages, an R-2-C zoning allowing row-housing in the Lincoln mill area; and a live-work category to encourage dual-use business/residential developments.

Audience questions touched on neighborhood historic designations, pedestrian-friendly street designs, preserving downtown schools and rezoning issues. Officials say any rezoning will grandfather in existing businesses regardless of whether the business is compatible to the goals of the new downtown plan.

jmanhsv

November 18th, 2005, 01:41 AM

A 200-home subdivision in North Huntsville has been approved by the Planning Board. You're probably thinking, ok.... Well, this is the largest residential development in this part of town in 15 years. For those who know the area, it will be located just north of Alabama A&M, on Meridian Street.

Growth will go in a new direction
Thursday, November 17, 2005
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer
Panel OKs 178-lot project near A&M: 'ahead of the curve'

Huntsville's housing boom is spreading north.

A city planning subcommittee approved plans Wednesday for a 178-lot subdivision north of Alabama A&M University.

Ed Starnes, chairman of the subdivision subcommittee, said that's the largest residential development for extreme north Huntsville in the 15 years he's been on the Planning Commission.

"It's good for Huntsville," he said. "I'm glad to see it because nothing much has been done east of the Parkway as far as residential developments of any significance in some time."

Hunter Homes is the developer. The 40-acre tract is east of Meridian Street and north of Hollow Road, roughly behind Bennett's Nursery.

Shawn Fairburn, a partner with the homebuilding company, said the area seems ripe for development. The land is scenic, sewer lines and other utilities are in place, and Memorial Parkway is easily accessible from the site. Fairburn said talk about a new Lee High School also weighed heavily in the decision on where to build.

"We feel there's an opportunity there that no one has taken advantage of yet," he said. "We believe we're getting ahead of the curve."

The development will consist of single-family, detached homes. Houses will range from 1,200 to 3,400 square feet, with an average price of about $130,000 to $140,000, Fairburn said. The smaller homes may list in the low $90,000s, he said. Construction should start by spring, with the first phase ready for occupancy by next fall.

Robinson said Huntsville needs more affordable homes such as those Hunter Homes plans to build. Much of the city's housing growth in recent years has been in the Hampton Cove/Big Cove area in the southeast; the Zierdt Road/Martin Road area in the far west; and the Village of Providence development, which offers much more expensive home sites, in the far west.

jmanhsv

November 23rd, 2005, 01:38 AM

Ok, now I am sure this won't be made into a sticky. I was going through the West Coast forum, and they have a stickied Bellevue, WA (pop ~115,000) development forum. Note: Huntsville has ~165,000 people.

If I posted this earlier, then I am sorry.
Lowe's plans new store in southeast
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
From staff reports
Huntsville Times
There's an improvement on the horizon in southeast Huntsville - home improvement, that is.

Lowe's announced plans Monday to build a store at Sutton Road and U.S. 431, where site work is already under way.

The 117,000-square-foot home improvement warehouse store is expected to open next fall, according to the company. It will include a garden center with more than 31,000 square feet of space.

According to the company, a store of this size can create up to 175 jobs and represents an average investment of $18.5 million.

jmanhsv

November 27th, 2005, 08:01 PM

From the makers of Big Spring Summit comes another 8-story tower, this time a mixed use development. This will include 40 condos, restaurants, retail and offices. Construction may start sometime in 2006. I cut out some of the end of the article; you can read the whole article here (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1133086782115000.xml&coll=1).

Condo complex looms alongside Big Spring
Sunday, November 27, 2005
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer
Project height could be as high as 8-story Summit, twice space

Huntsville's downtown skyline is poised to take off again, this time with the possibility of condominiums overlooking Big Spring International Park.

Two years after the City Council approved Big Spring Summit, an eight-story office tower beside the Big Spring International Park lagoon, plans are in the works for a second high-rise structure that could include as many as 40 condos, plus restaurants, retail stores and offices. The second phase of Triad Properties' project could rise just as high as the Summit building, but stretch twice as far along the waterfront.

Triad executive William Stroud said spiraling construction costs make pre-planning difficult without knowing yet which venues the building will offer. Triad hopes to have more details fleshed out by early next year so it can begin submitting formal plans and acquiring the necessary permits.

"Our primary focus would be residential," Stroud said last week. He anticipates as many as 40 condos and preferably some restaurants, retail stores and maybe something like a health club on the ground level. "We're pricing plans now," he said.

Triad was given two years to exercise its option to build the second phase, but the actual deadline on the option agreement is still months away because the timetable is based on the construction startup on the Big Spring Summit office tower. That project has been under construction now for about a year.

City Planning Director Dallas Fanning said preliminary plans for the next phase show a building similar in design and height to the Summit building. The development agreement for the Big Spring Summit authorized a footprint of up to 14,500 square feet. The option clause for any second building allows use of up to 31,400 square feet of land. No height limit was set for either project.

Both Stroud and Fanning said they know of no geologic concerns under the cave-strewn Big Spring Park area that might deter another building as heavy as the Summit.

Reaction mixed

The planned Big Spring Summit second phase drew mixed reaction from City Hall and from at least one outspoken resident who led a citizens' crusade against the Summit. While supporters view it as progress, critics worry another high-rise will box in the park and further diminish its beauty and tranquility.

City administration officials praised the likely expansion as a way to add commerce and vibrancy to the city core. "It will illustrate how strong economically the downtown is," Fanning said.

Mayor Loretta Spencer said a mixed-use development would provide new eating and shopping opportunities for visitors and the growing influx of downtown residents. The number of downtown dwellers should swell even more with completion of the 301 East condominium tower on Green Street. The new 300-room Embassy Suites convention hotel, scheduled for opening next fall, will also flood downtown with more people.

"I'm excited to see the mixed-use available to those who work and reside in the downtown area," Spencer said. "And with the availability of shopping so nearby, people who are here from out of town will have the chance to spend their tax dollars in our city."

City Council members Bill Kling and Sandra Moon opposed the Summit development deal when the council approved it 3-2 on Dec. 4, 2003. They continue to oppose further development in the park. Kling said he's not surprised Triad plans to follow through on its option.

"It's a business decision on (Triad's) part. I'm sure (location next to the park) is a very good amenity to have. It's just that the park should be more for the public's benefit," Kling said.

Moon said the fact that neither the Summit tower nor its potential twin can protrude on park land does little to sway her opinion. The development agreement requires construction of both to stay within the outer edge of Von Braun Center parking deck.

"It's a de facto encroachment on the park," Moon said. "It looms over the park and takes away from the openness of the park."

Moon and Kling emphasized that their opposition isn't about Triad. Both say the Big Spring Summit appears to be a quality, nice-looking structure.

"I just wish it could have been built 300 feet over away from the park," Kling commented. Moon said she's troubled about giving a private company building rights atop public infrastructure like a city garage.

The $11 million, 75,000-square-foot Big Spring Summit tower is being built on the Church Street side of the VBC garage.

Triad leveraged approval for the Summit by purchasing the "air rights" above the VBC garage from a developer who bought them 20 years ago but never used them. Triad yielded those air rights to the city in the development agreement to construct the Summit in the southeast quadrant of the VBC parking deck. The 99-year lease agreement with Triad included escalating payment clauses for the ground lease and parking slot rentals, along with the option agreement for another building.

Demand is there

Stroud said construction of the Summit building is proceeding nicely, with completion expected by the end of January. About 70 percent of the available office space has been spoken for, he said. A restaurant will be built on the first floor. First American Bank will consume floors two through four. Several other companies have secured space for offices.

Stroud, noting the other downtown projects that are under way, said interest in more eateries and living units downtown remains high. "There's clearly a demand," he said.

Stroud wouldn't say exactly how big the next building might be. But Spencer and Fanning told of plans they've seen proposing a structure the same height and facade as the Big Spring Summit office tower. "We've seen the concept but not the specifics of the mix. It's similar to what's being built now," Fanning said

Fanning said Triad is well aware of the public's sensitivity to the park and will do quality work on any development.

jmanhsv

December 2nd, 2005, 01:46 AM

The city wants Sci-Quest to move downtown. For those who have never been/heard of Huntsville :) , Sci-Quest is a hands-on science museum, a lot like Adventure Science Museum in Nashville or McWane in Birmingham. It is currently located in Research Park East, across the interstate from the Space Center. A possible location for the museum is MarketSquare, an almost-defunct mall that the Backstreet Boys wanted to build a Peabody Hotel on a few years ago....

City eyes Sci-Quest for downtown move
Hands-on center may be next Big Spring attraction
Thursday, December 01, 2005
By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer
Along Huntsville's downtown skyline, you can see the changes as buildings under construction grow a little taller each day. The goal of all this development, local officials say, is to lure more people to live, work and play in the city's center.

If they have their way, there will be another reason to go downtown: the Sci-Quest Hands-On Science Center.

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer said Wednesday he's working with local officials to get the museum to a downtown site near Big Spring International Park. Sci-Quest currently occupies space owned by Calhoun Community College across Interstate 565 from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

"Sci-Quest is important to our community, like the space program has been," he said.

Cramer was in town Wednesday to have a look at the progress of current projects downtown.

He said he has gotten $2 million in federal money that could be used to renovate a building for the museum. He declined to specify any potential sites.

Sci-Quest director J.D. Horne said he and the Sci-Quest board support moving the children's hands-on museum downtown. "We'd welcome that. There's no big negative I know of," he said.

Horne said the rent at Calhoun is cheap ($1 a year), parking is plentiful, and there's ample, unobstructed space inside (42,500 square feet) - ideal for a children's museum.

Relocating to the Big Spring International Park area would help draw visitors from other popular downtown attractions like the Huntsville Museum of Art and the EarlyWorks complex with its children's museum, Historic Huntsville Depot and Constitution Village. Sci-Quest, in turn, could help steer visitors to those attractions, he said.

"It would make it convenient for people traveling and staying in the hotels downtown or coming in on school field trips to visit two or three attractions at a time within walking distance," he said.

Horne said Sci-Quest, a nonprofit organization, is looking for a place with reasonable rent, adequate parking and room for growth.

Cramer said he's committed to seeing Huntsville's downtown become attractive to residents - those who already live here as well as those who will move here with jobs brought by base realignment and closure during the next few years. He said he's working with city and state government to get money to pay for roads, bridges, an amphitheater and other features that could enhance the downtown area.

Although there is talk in Washington about cutting money for some projects to help pay for hurricane relief, Cramer said those cuts would be across the board, not aimed at entire programs.

"We're all going to feel the pain of that," he said.

Mayor Loretta Spencer said city officials met with Cramer last week to review plans for downtown development and see where Washington can kick in some money to help see some projects to fruition.

brandoni57

December 6th, 2005, 09:10 AM

Did you see the proposed southern bypass is being halted by a cave shrimp smaller than a finger nail? If huntsville wants to stay appealing to future long lasting development more and better roads need to be in place. About 5000 more jobs from the DC area are going to add to already congested roads. And everyone knows that Huntsville's reputation promises even more job and population growth above and beyond that 5000 number. Last stat I saw Hsv was 3rd in the state for most congested roads behind T-town and Bham. The southern bypass will alleviate congestion on the parkway and it will fuel development in extreme south Huntsville. Lets hope the coase theorem works out the shrimp and the highway problem and the bypass will be completed in enough time before the people who move here leave for atlanta because the traffic is better.

jmanhsv

December 7th, 2005, 01:39 AM

^lol, I saw that article in the paper and laughed. It shouldn't take much to either move the highway a few feet or build some "sound barriers" near the cave. The state's already spending $500M on it, a few thousand more wouldn't hurt. Welcome to the forum Brandon!

Anyways, a groundbreaking ceremony was held today for the new Main Street Lofts in the Providence community. The five-story building will house retail on the bottom floor and residential space on the other floors.
http://www.villageofprovidence.com/images/splash/building1-small.gif

brandoni57

December 8th, 2005, 05:42 AM

I was out near Providence a few weeks ago and I saw another building frame (about five stories or so) going up off of main street just north of the town center... is that the lofts and they are just doing the formal groundbreaking ceremony late? or did I see something else

jmanhsv

December 8th, 2005, 05:55 AM

^I'm guessing that would be the new Homewood Suites hotel.

brandoni57

December 9th, 2005, 08:57 PM

do you have any idea how many rooms or how big the hotel will be?

jmanhsv

December 10th, 2005, 12:51 AM

^According to the Huntsville Times, the hotel will be 4 stories and will have 105 rooms.

TampaMike

December 15th, 2005, 04:07 AM

jmanhsv

December 15th, 2005, 05:07 AM

^Yes, it is a very nice building, especially for the suburbs.

Anyways, another tenant has agreed to locate in North Huntsville's "eco-friendly" industrial park. GEO Solutions has announced it will build a 20,000 sq ft building there. Construction will statrt next spring. For those who don't know, North Huntsville Industrial Park is also home to a Toyota engine plant that will employ 800 people when completed.

jmanhsv

December 16th, 2005, 04:45 PM

Utility gets city's OK for office renovation
Sci-Quest could move into empty space downtown
Friday, December 16, 2005
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer

The City Council authorized Huntsville Utilities on Thursday night to spend up to $1.8 million to renovate some of its empty office space downtown that could become the new home of Sci-Quest.

The cavernous space in the utility's administrative building on Spragins Street faces the cascading canal in the east end of Big Spring International Park. The unfinished area resulted from a top-to-bottom makeover of its downtown headquarters in the late 1990s.

John Thomas, vice president of services for Huntsville Utilities, told the council that U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, recently secured $2 million for the renovation. Thomas said city leaders support moving Sci-Quest downtown. The Huntsville Utilities building may be just the place to accommodate Sci-Quest, he said, if legal agreements can be met among the private, nonprofit museum, the city-owned utilities building and federal grant money.

"There are a lot of questions we'll have to reconcile," he said.

Cramer discussed the possible Sci-Quest relocation during a news conference this month plugging downtown revitalization efforts. In announcing the $2 million renovation money, Cramer did not specify a site but said the hands-on science center for children would be a welcome addition to downtown.

Sci-Quest Director J.D. Horne has said he and the Sci-Quest board support moving downtown. Sci-Quest currently occupies 42,500 square feet in a building owned by Calhoun Community College on Interstate 565 across from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

Outside the council chambers Thursday night, Thomas said several companies have inquired about the Huntsville Utilities space. An engineering firm has offered to lease 7,000 square feet at $16 to $18 per square foot, he said, and at least two other professional firms have expressed interest in the other parts of the 25,000 square feet.

Thomas said the utility could create as much as 40,000 square feet for Sci-Quest in a renovation.

Thomas said the utility board doesn't want to compete with other private office space but feels a need to lease the unused space to maximize use of its building. If the $2 million in federal money can be used to renovate the building for Sci-Quest and Huntsville Utilities doesn't have to spend its own capital, Thomas said Sci-Quest's rent probably would be less than what a private company would pay.

Thomas said the board hopes to make a final decision within months. The renovation, he said, probably would take several months.

jmanhsv

December 18th, 2005, 08:42 PM

Huntsville's airport is getting a $32.8M facelift.

Airport undergoing $32.8M facelift
Sunday, December 18, 2005
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer
Various phases of work should last about 3 years

The concourse, concession and baggage claim areas at Huntsville International Airport are about to get a new look in a $32.8 million improvement project.

Rick Tucker, the airport's executive director, said the program will make the airport even more convenient for travelers and the public. "We're excited about this program for the future," he said. "For the next three years, there will be one phase of construction after another."

The first phase of the concourse work will be completed this month, said Mike Chapman of Chapman Sisson Architects, the architect firm for the project. That phase includes converting Gates 1 and 2 in the concourse to dual gates and installing new finishes like carpeting and ceiling tiles.

The second-floor connector bridge between the terminal building and the concourse, now 7,500 square feet, will be expanded to 27,500 square feet to provide more public waiting space and more space for security checkpoint queuing, said Chapman. Airport visitors will be able to look out at airplanes on the tarmac.

Construction is expected to start late next spring, Chapman said, and is to be finished in the fall of 2007.

The baggage claim area on the terminal building's first floor will be expanded to the east and two new baggage carousel systems added. Construction will start there in fall 2007 and be completed the following fall, Chapman said.

Construction work to expand the concessions area in the concourse to 6,500 square feet should start next fall, Chapman said, and be completed in the late spring of 2007.

About 50 new flat-screen flight information displays will be installed throughout the airport starting in January; that work will be finished by late next summer.

Airport spokeswoman Cindy Maloney said construction work is being done in phases to have the least impact on passengers. For example, construction will take place on both sides of the connector bridge and passengers will be diverted to those portions, then the existing bridge will be demolished and work will move to that section.

The airport improvement project will use $26.3 million in federal entitlement funds, money that's granted to airports based on passenger traffic; $4.3 million from passenger facility charges from airline tickets and $2.2 million from the airport's capital improvement funds.

Other work

In addition to the terminal and concourse work, airport officials plan to issue $18.3 million in airport revenue bonds in January as part of the funding for a proposed $25.7 million parking deck expansion to the east.

The project will add 1,300 spaces to the existing 1,600-space deck, said Luther "Butch" Roberts, the airport's deputy director. Construction should start next August, Roberts said, and take about 14 months to finish.

jmanhsv

December 21st, 2005, 04:16 PM

Nashville and Birmingham are gonna lose a lot of business after this development opens in 2007. :)

Developers of Bridge Street name names
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer
A few of the project's restaurants, apparel and jewelry stores revealed

After months of speculation, developers of Bridge Street Town Centre in Cummings Research Park are rolling out store and restaurant names.

Most of the retailers currently negotiating leases with O&S Holdings for space at the multi-use project will be new to Huntsville but familiar to avid shoppers: Coldwater Creek, Ann Taylor Loft and J.Jill, all women's clothing stores; Francesca's Collections, which sells jewelry and accessories; restaurants P.F. Chang's, Sullivan's Steakhouse and Bravo Cucina.

The Westin Huntsville hotel will have an Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa that guests can access from the hotel or the street, said Alex Hardy, business development manager and director of public policy for O&S Holdings.

Bridge Street will also have Huntsville's second Chico's store. Two other Chico's company stores are planned: a White House/Black Market women's apparel store and Soma by Chico's, which sells lingerie and sleepwear. Brighton's Collectibles will have a free-standing store. Brighton's handbags and accessories are currently available at Parisian.

When fully developed, Bridge Street will have 75 stores and restaurants, Hardy said. More retailers will be announced in the coming months.

"We've got a long list of guys that we're negotiating with," he said.

jmanhsv

December 21st, 2005, 04:24 PM

On a smaller note today, Crestwood has gotten approval to build two new floors to a building on their medical campus.

Panel gives OK for Crestwood to add 2 floors
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer

Hospital's $25M expansion to allow for future growth

A city zoning board Tuesday night gave Crestwood Medical Center the go-ahead to add two floors to the hospital's two-story east wing.

The addition will increase Crestwood's bed count by 30, to 150 beds, enlarge the dining facility, add administrative offices and create unfinished space for 66 new patient rooms for future planned expansions.

"This helps us expand with the community and will allow us to respond more quickly to the demand as the state approves more beds," said Brad Jones, chief executive officer of Crestwood Medical Center.

The $25 million, 115,000-square foot addition comes about two years after completion of a $40 million expansion and renovation that increased Crestwood's patient capacity to 120 beds. Construction should get under way by spring and take 12 to 18 months to complete, he said.

Plans call for adding two stories to the latest east wing addition and expanding the building footprint on the east and south edges. Jones said the hospital shared its master plan with residents from adjacent neighborhoods to show most of any future growth will not encroach on their subdivision.

In addition to adding two floors for extra beds, Crestwood is considering building a medical office complex off Whitesburg Drive next year. The building possibly would be built on the site of the old Mayfair Church of Christ and old Girls Scouts administrative office, both of which Crestwood now owns.

jmanhsv

December 24th, 2005, 04:42 PM

That's the name of a new 8-story condo tower planned downtown next to Big Spring Park. It will feature up to 52 condos, along with restaurants and retail.

Condo tower planned alongside Big Spring
Summit developers announce plans for 2nd building
Saturday, December 24, 2005
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer

Developers of the Big Spring Summit office tower unveiled plans Friday for a second high-rise building that will feature condominiums and possibly some retail venues along the edge of the Big Spring International Park lagoon.

Construction on the eight-story addition should get under way by summer, said William Stroud, a partner in Triad Properties. The building would stretch further along the waterfront from the Summit building.

Mayor Loretta Spencer, City Planning Director Dallas Fanning and City Attorney Peter Joffrion joined officials with Triad and the Fuqua & Partners Architects firm Friday to discuss the project with Times editors and reporters.

Spencer, citing other downtown projects under way, said the expansion is further proof that Huntsville's inner core is on the move. "There are other people (developers) looking at this town because downtown is hot as we said it would be," she said.

The Summit addition, dubbed on drawings as Ovation Condominiums, comes two years after a divided City Council approved the Summit building for the southeast portion of the municipal garage in Big Spring International Park. The development deal gave Triad a two-year option for a second building along the waterfront.

Stroud said the new building will feature mostly condominiums, but may also offer some office and retail space. "What we're contemplating is a facility that will be mixed use," he said. "It will be demand driven, but at this point, we're looking at a high concentration of residential condos."

Preliminary plans call for 40 to 52 condominium units, ranging in size from 1,100 to 3,500 square feet. Friday's briefing by Fuqua's Paul Matheny proposed "penthouse" condos on the upper two floors with smaller condos on floors 3 through 6.

Stroud said plans for the first two floors should materialize once Triad and its marketing team can determine the demand. Designers need that "flexibility" because large-scale urban living places are still a relatively new concept for Huntsville's downtown. "In many respects, we're moving into uncharted territory," Stroud said.

Spencer commended Triad's willingness to invest in downtown. The city partnered with Triad by agreeing to lease Triad the space beside the park for its buildings in exchange for the so-called "air rights" to add two levels to the VBC parking garage. "We get blasted for it, but you would not see things happening in this town if we did not have these public-private partnerships," Spencer said. "The city can only carry so much of the weight."

Because the option clause for Phase II was embodied in Triad's original development agreement the City Council approved in December 2003, the new condominium building won't require council action. The City Planning Commission, however, must sign off on the final design.

Stroud is confident the second building will offer restaurants and other retail venues to serve Summit workers, condo dwellers, park visitors and others. More than a dozen potential buyers have already expressed interest in the condos even though marketing efforts haven't begun yet, he said.

While the city is adding two decks and 348 slots to the existing 942-slot VBC garage, Triad owns the rights to lease back 300 of those spaces. The second phase of Triad's project will take some of those spaces, resulting in a small net gain of roughly 40 public spaces. A city department formerly occupied nearly 50 of those spots.

Fanning said the city will still come out ahead because many of the Summit's spots will be freed after 6 p.m. daily and on weekends to rent back out to other motorists. Spencer said the city plans to beef up downtown shuttle bus service to encourage motorists to use other public parking areas if the VBC garage is full.

brandoni57

December 25th, 2005, 08:48 AM

The rendering of the building looked really nice. And they definitely need to incorporate some shops or dining on the bottom floors. The only problem I have is the height. That building could be twice as tall with 16 floors and same number of condos. If I lived downtown I'd want a condo higher up so I could see not only downtown but the surrounding mountains. Oh well, I did hear if this condo goes well many other developers are looking to build in the downtown area as well.

Have a Merry Christmas Jmanhsv

jmanhsv

December 25th, 2005, 03:59 PM

^I remember an article a few years back where a developer said that there was a potential for up to 1000 condos downtown. With 301 East, Terry-Hutchins and now Ovation, there's still about 900 condos left to be developed.

Merry Christmas to you too Brandon.

Rail Claimore

December 25th, 2005, 04:17 PM

Wow, it took me this long to discover this thread?

Merry Christmas everyone.

Oh, and I found out earlier today that my mom apparently has a lease on one of the Bridge Street condos or something, and is also looking at Big Spring Summit phase II...

jmanhsv

December 27th, 2005, 02:52 AM

For everyone who didn't see the rendering for Ovation, here it is, next to the Summit.
http://www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/news/biz_news/2005/122405_condo.jpg

Dale

December 27th, 2005, 03:49 AM

Now that's impressive ! Like the interaction with the lakefront.

brandoni57

December 28th, 2005, 01:59 AM

I was downtown yesterday and it really took me by surprise how far along the development has come. The Embassy has reached its height limit, the Summit looks like it will be completed very soon, and 301 East's frame has shot up! The skyline is slowly but surely shaping up. With Ovation condos coming, and the hopeful success of that and 301 East, maybe the city will allow for a much taller mixed use condo that will finally kill the monopoly the AmSouth building has on sky rights over downtown.

Has anyone else noticed how AmSouth usually has the claim of the tallest building in town in other Alabama towns:

Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Florence, Bham(kind of a tie for 1st), Montgomery, Decatur, Mobile

brandoni57

December 28th, 2005, 02:05 AM

you all probably know about it, but Emporis.com really has some great information on buildings.

TimCity

December 28th, 2005, 06:57 AM

i was in town for a couple of days during the christmas break, and i was amazed at the number of cranes dotting the skyline. can't wait to see all this get built!

Atlman1

January 3rd, 2006, 02:11 AM

After reading this thread I have to say that Huntsville kicks ass! I never hear much about the city, but it sounds like a really cool place. It reminds me a lot of Columbus!

brandoni57

January 7th, 2006, 07:49 AM

Happy New Year to everyone! :)
I spent New Years Eve this year in our very own downtown Huntsville, and I must say I am very impressed with the growing nightlife scene in the downtown area. The cafes, restaurants, clubs, and bars all have a very unique atmosphere. Also, the other day I ate lunch at a cafe (on the bottom floor of the Museum of Art) by Big Spring Lake and was very impressed with the windows and outside seating overlooking the water. And with the new development going on downtown there is already in the works at least four more lake/canal front eating facilities.
And the beauty about "being" in Downtown Huntsvegas is that the scene is not loud and routy. It is casual upscale, and that fits well with the fact that this town is the wealthiest in the state. So take your lady friends out downtown sometime for a romantic dinner and drinks followed by a quiet stroll through the park.
If you want to see more development downtown, then fuel the growth by investing some of your own dollars down there.
Get the Tilapia at Humphrey's... its unbelievable.

jmanhsv

January 15th, 2006, 05:09 PM

Well, finally, some development. Redstone will be constructing $420M worth of buildings in the next few years to accomodate the 5000 jobs coming b/c of BRAC.
Will Redstone be ready?
New offices, roads, labs planned carry $1 billion price tag
Sunday, January 15, 2006
By SHELBY G. SPIRES
Times Aerospace Writer

Over the next 12 months, Maj. Gen. Jim Pillsbury will start a program to transform Redstone Arsenal into an Army post that can handle thousands more Pentagon and defense industry workers as they arrive over the next four years.

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted in August to relocate the Army Materiel Command and the Space and Missile Defense Command headquarters, plus the bulk of the Missile Defense Agency's work from the Washington, D.C., area to Redstone.

Those moves are expected to bring about 4,700 new workers to the arsenal and perhaps an equal number of support contractors. About 25,000 people work on the arsenal now.

The influx of people will lead to almost $1 billion in government spending over the next decade aimed at improving arsenal roads and building new office and research complexes.

"We have a lot to do preparing for (new work), but I'm confident it will be done," said Pillsbury, commander of the Army Aviation and Missile Command. "I don't want thousands of people to show up for work here one day and Redstone Arsenal not have a place for them to work."

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, estimates that building 1.9 million square feet of office and work space - the equivalent of almost 10 Wal-Mart Supercenters - to house the new commands will cost about $420 million.

In addition to more than $400 million for buildings and labs, about $500 million will be needed to build the Patriot Parkway, a highway that city and Army officials hope will ease traffic congestion on Redstone.

The road won't be completed for at least a decade, Cramer said. "Even if the first shovel of dirt was turned tomorrow, then it would still be at least seven years, maybe a decade, before the new highway was complete," he said. "Road projects are a long process."

But bids for building construction cannot be awarded until Congress passes the fiscal 2007 budget. Given recent history, that probably won't happen until December.

Pillsbury expects construction, which has picked up in recent years on Redstone, to continue until at least the end of the decade. "There's a lot of building related to the new work that's coming here," he said. Improvements are planned across the post.

The Army Materiel Command and the Army Security Assistance Command headquarters will be built about a mile west of AMCOM's Sparkman Center on Martin Road. The Space and Missile Defense Command headquarters will be an addition to the Von Braun Office Complex on Martin Road.

The areas near Patton Road, close to the munitions school, will be the office sites for the Army Materiel Command and the Army Security Assistance Command. The 2nd Recruiting Brigade also will be near the munitions school.

Substantial improvements to Redstone Airfield are planned, with construction of a complex of buildings in the works to support the Aviation Technical Test Center. The center is designed to improve helicopter performance and safety.

A new area for helicopter test flights and landings will be built on the southern end of Redstone, and a runway to support unmanned aerial vehicles will be built within a mile of the airfield.

"The sky over Huntsville is going to be alive with the sound of freedom," Pillsbury said with a grin. "In the next few years, there's going to be more helicopters and UAVs in the air. It's really going to be a good place for aviation here."

Pillsbury expects the new aviation work, along with support jobs related to the Army Materiel Command, will increase civilian defense and aerospace contractor jobs here.

"I don't see any way around Huntsville growing because of this," he said. "And this community is seen as being well-positioned" to accommodate the growth.

"Once the word gets out about what a great place (Huntsville) is to live and raise a family, I think there will be people moving down here on their own to find a job."

jmanhsv

January 19th, 2006, 01:12 AM

Raytheon is the latest in a growing number of companies like Lockheed Martin consolidating their Huntsville operations into one building/campus. The three-story building in Research Park will cost $20M and house the 500 employees working at 4 locations in the Huntsville area.

Raytheon plans consolidation
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
By SHELBY G. SPIRES
Times Aerospace Writer

$20M building will bring together 500 employees

Raytheon Co. will announce plans today for a $20 million building in Cummings Research Park that will consolidate operations in three facilities scattered around Huntsville.

The new facility will be situated on 20 acres in the park, at the corner of Old Madison Pike and Jan Davis Way. Construction will begin in February on the three-story, 140,000-square-foot facility that will house 500 Raytheon employees.

Raytheon employs more than 600 people at four facilities spread across Huntsville. The aerospace company plans to maintain its long-term lease for the 44,000-square-foot James Record Road production facility located near the Huntsville International Airport.

The new site should cut down on travel time to meetings and, Raytheon officials say, should increase productivity because a majority of engineers and managers will be on one site.

"It's much better from our perspective, and certainly from our customer's perspective also, when they have one building to go for meetings and consultations," said Raytheon's Huntsville Senior Vice President Tony Palumbo. "We want this to be the 'one-stop-shop' for our needs and the needs of our customers."

Raytheon performs engineering and management work on U.S. Army programs like the Patriot and Javelin missiles, along with sensor work on military space projects. It also provides engineering support work to NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center, Palumbo said.

Raytheon is making the investment in a new building not only to consolidate its operations, but also with an eye to the future, Palumbo said. "We bought 20 acres and have the option to expand our facility by adding a 110,000-square-foot building in the future if we need that," Palumbo said.

The building was planned before the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended bringing several new commands and at least 4,000 new federal workers to Huntsville, including the headquarters of the Army Materiel Command now located in Arlington, Va.

"We went into the planning for this about a year ago, long before we knew what was going to be the outcome with BRAC," Palumbo said. "We are actually buying the property and building, and in many cases other companies do not do that. We plan to stay in this community, and this new facility is part of our commitment to Huntsville."

The new facility is being designed by Huntsville-based architect Fuqua and Partners and will be built by Huntsville-based Turner Universal, said Bob Demer, Raytheon's Huntsville director of operations.

"This type of building is really meant to be people friendly and efficient," Demer said. "We will have ergonomic designed furniture and it will be well lit. Also, it is designed to be energy efficient."

jmanhsv

January 20th, 2006, 05:54 AM

A few small things happened today...
Madison Square Mall officially announced their plans for an extensive renovation of the mall. This includes a complete remodeling of the interior and some exterior touchups. There are no plans for new stores.

Also, the Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology held its groundbreaking ceremony for the first of at least 10 buildings. You can find more info about this project by looking at page 3 of this thread.

TimCity

January 20th, 2006, 06:51 AM

research park sure is building a bunch of 3-4 story buildings lately. too bad office parks aren't denser (and taller) by nature. oh well.

i can't wait to see all the condo development really start to take off.

jmanhsv

January 21st, 2006, 01:15 AM

^I agree that CRP needs more tall buildings. All of these new buildings look the same! Probably b/c they're all designed by Fuqua Osborn ( aka Frickin Osboring) Architects. :bash:
Heres a new rendering of the HAIB:
http://waff.images.worldnow.com/images/4387885_BG1.jpg
Here's some more info on that Madison Square renovation...
http://waff.images.worldnow.com/images/4387898_BG1.jpg
Makeover in store for Madison Square
Friday, January 20, 2006
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer

New seating areas, lighting will give mall 'fresh look'

Madison Square Mall will undergo a multimillion-dollar renovation that will include new seating areas with carpeting and new furniture, new entrances with bright graphics and new lighting and updated restrooms to include family restrooms in the food courts.

The work is to get started no later than the end of the month and is expected to be finished by the first week of November.

A new mall logo that will be used this fall will incorporate the camellia, the state flower.

Curt Hammontree II, senior project manager with the mall's developer and owner, CBL & Associates Properties Inc. in Chattanooga, said the primary reason to renovate the mall is to show the company is committed to providing the region with a "first-class shopping experience."

The mall was built in 1984 in what had been a cotton field on the western edge of Huntsville. The inside of the mall was upgraded in 1994.

The mall will get "a fresh new look," said Tom Schroeder, project director with FRCH Worldwide Designs of Cincinnati, the project's architectural firm. The renovation will give the structure "a little more elegance, a little more sophistication."

Interior renovations will include replacing upper- and lower-level floors; replacing food court tables and chairs and adding casual caf-type seating; renovating food court restrooms and adding restrooms at the J.C. Penney end of the mall; replacing interior and exterior lighting; renovating the customer service center; replacing the center court elevator with a larger unit; replacing and relocating the escalator near Sears/food court; replacing the escalator near Parisian; and installing new interior directional signs.

Exterior renovations will include updating the exterior landscape, building new exterior entrances to include the new mall logo and upgraded lighting, and updating exterior directional signs.

Most of the construction work will be done at night, Hammontree said. "We'll certainly do our best to minimize interference" for stores and shoppers, he said.

EMJ Corp. of Chattanooga, the contractor when the mall was built, will oversee the renovation.

jmanhsv

January 28th, 2006, 07:15 AM

The city is making way for their new riverwalk. Only problem is, it's not on a river. :)

More green space growing downtown
STG building off North Parkway to be razed March 1
Friday, January 27, 2006
By JOHN PECK Times Staff Writer

It was a bank, and currently houses a business and an office for radio stations. Soon, the STG Media building along North Memorial Parkway will be razed and turned into green space.

The demolition is part of a city effort to remove buildings from flood-prone areas and improve drainage. The work will pave the way for an eventual plan to widen the Pinhook Creek channel and add landscaping and paths for a riverwalk of sorts that could thread through downtown.

The Huntsville City Council authorized a $125,000 contract Thursday for Britt Demolition and Recycling of Hanceville to tear down the building just south of the MarketSquare plaza. The building, which houses the business offices of radio stations WAHR-FM 99.1, WRTT-FM 95.1 and WLOR-AM 1550 as well as T Shepard's Discount Music, was once the home to 1st American Federal bank.

The demolition will begin March 1 and will be completed by the end of the month, said Bruce Taylor, director of Facilities Projects Management for Huntsville.

City Planning Director Dallas Fanning said the city is working with the Army Corps of Engineers to extend the creek improvements to Clinton Avenue and eventually to Holmes Avenue. Pinhook runs between the Von Braun Center and MarketSquare and will soon be linked to the Big Spring International Park lagoon with a man-made 1,000-foot canal.

The enhancements seem a natural extension of work being done to accommodate the new Embassy Suites Hotel and future planned redevelopment of the Market Square site.

The city is chipping in $4 million for the waterway improvements and the federal government is committed to $7 million. U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, helped secure some of the federal grant money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"It's a part of the overall flood control project and certainly, flood control is an inducement for redevelopment in the area," said Ben Ferrill of the city planning staff.

krazeeboi

January 28th, 2006, 07:51 AM

Good news for Huntsville!

jmanhsv

January 29th, 2006, 12:07 AM

Not really development, but a slight name change for a downtown hotel...

Downtown Holiday Inn drops Select from name
Saturday, January 28, 2006
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer

Ownership decides bar and grill plans not right for facility

The 273-room downtown Huntsville hotel is now Holiday Inn, instead of Holiday Inn Select, and signs have been switched to reflect the name change.

The hotel still has the "same ownership and the same management company," said Jim Larkin, the hotel's general manager since October.

One reason for the change, Larkin said, was the broader recognition by the general public of the Holiday Inn brand.

"In the long term, because of the recognition factor, our ability to move reservations is stronger under the Holiday Inn banner," said Larkin, who's worked with Holiday Inn for about 20 years.

The Sporting News magazine and Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts had announced plans last year to develop sports-themed restaurants at all 91 Holiday Inn Select hotels around the country starting early this year.

Creating a sports bar and grill would have required the hotel to enclose the existing lounge with walls, Larkin said, "which would have ruined the aesthetics of the lobby," or to take away some meeting room space.

"We don't think that would have benefited us," said Larkin. "Having the meeting room space was more important to our well-being than the sports bar and grill."

The hotel is managed by Huntsville Management LLC, which is owned by Southern States Management, the hotel's longtime owner and operator. The land is owned by the city, and the building is owned by Big Spring Partners, a local, nonprofit downtown development group.

"We'll be putting another $1 million plus into the hotel over the next year," Larkin said. That's in addition to previous improvements that included remodeled guest rooms and suites, new lobby furniture, new carpeting in the restaurant, lobby bar, ballrooms and meeting space, and an expanded fitness center.

The hotel ended its affiliation with Hilton Hotels Corp. in late 2004 and became a Holiday Inn Select in April 2005.

jmanhsv

February 3rd, 2006, 01:05 AM

100 posts, 8 months, and still no sticky...

About 2 months ago I posted an article about the possibility of Sci-Quest moving downtown from their current location in CRP. It looked like the museum was going into a space inside the Huntsville Utilities building near Big Spring Park. Now it looks like it could occupy the old Councill High School building, a historically black school that was already set for a $7M renovation. IMO I think this is a better location for parking and future expansion.

Sci-Quest may move to Councill School site
Supporters eager to refurbish historic but neglected building
Thursday, February 02, 2006
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer

Talks have begun on a proposal to move Sci-Quest into the old segregation-era Councill School building downtown.

Huntsville City Councilman Richard Showers and Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison confirmed Wednesday that the Councill site is being considered as a possible location for the hands-on science center. Sci-Quest is on Wynn Drive in the Calhoun Community College building, across Interstate 565 from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

Both emphasized that the discussions are preliminary and that no decisions have been made.

"This is a very worthwhile effort. We need to try to work it out to satisfy everybody," Harrison said.

Supporters view the move as a way to renovate the deteriorating but historic Councill building.

"To renovate and refurbish and bring back a legacy to this community and have young people in there would be a plus," Showers said.

"What better mix than to have a current state-of-the-art science education facility in association with a historical and traditional education facility?" Harrison asked.

Sci-Quest Director J.D. Horne could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Horne has said previously that he and the Sci-Quest board support moving downtown if it would boost attendance and if the nonprofit center could afford it.

Cost a factor

City leaders and Sci-Quest officials have been mulling over a proposal to move Sci-Quest into a vacant section of the Huntsville Utilities office near Big Spring International Park. Utility representatives and city officials say that option may be too costly for Sci-Quest, which now pays only token rent for its 42,500 square feet at Calhoun.

"A lot of those talking have some reservations whether they (Sci-Quest) can afford that," Showers said.

There also would be parking problems at the Huntsville Utilities building but not at the Councill site, which is on St. Clair Avenue, beside the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library.

The Tennessee Valley Authority charter that governed the creation of Huntsville Utilities prohibits the utility from leasing office space for less than market value. Harrison said the rent alone would be in the $300,000 range.

Harrison said two Sci-Quest board members he talked with recently seemed open to Councill as a new home. Officers for the William Hooper Councill Alumni Association also spoke favorably about the idea, he said.

"They think it's a great idea," Harrison said. "They gave me the authority to proceed to see if we could facilitate that."

Harrison said he's still awaiting an official response from U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer on whether grant money the congressman secured to renovate the Huntsville Utilities building for Sci-Quest could be used to rebuild Councill.

$2 million grant to move

In a statement Wednesday, Cramer, D-Huntsville, said the grant is not limited to the Huntsville Utilities building. The $2 million is to help Sci-Quest relocate to enhance its offerings.

"This can be done at many locations in Huntsville, and I am sure Sci-Quest is considering them all," he said.

Earnest Horton, president of the Councill Alumni Association, said Wednesday that his group could support the Sci-Quest relocation and continues to look for grants, foundation awards and other sources of money to renovate the building. The alumni group released a master plan last fall showing a proposed multimillion-dollar makeover of the building.

Plans call for an auditorium/concert hall, a ballroom, a museum, several small offices and community rooms for tutoring, computer training, GED classes and other programs, and possibly a parking garage and community clinic.

Horton said those plans could be modified to accommodate Sci-Quest.

"We're prepared to tailor the building to satisfy any one of those components that will enhance its livelihood and help children learn and grow into more productive citizens," he said Wednesday.

The city owns the Councill property but has agreed to sell it to the alumni group for a nominal fee once its renovation plans are complete.

For nearly a century, Councill School was the only high school for black students in Huntsville. Desegregation ended its role as a high school in the 1960s. Arts organizations and civic groups occupied the building until a flood in 2003 severely damaged the already decaying building. The city declared it a safety hazard and shut its doors. Early estimates for a makeover suggest a $6.7 million price tag.

Huntsville Utilities spokesman Bill Yell said Wednesday that a professional services company has expressed interest in the utility's empty office space. The City Council in December authorized the utility to spend up to $1.8 million to renovate the space to make it more attractive to lease.

Huntsville Utilities officials said earlier that the going lease rate would be $16 to $18 per square foot but possibly less if the utility doesn't have to spend its own capital renovating the space. Officials say at least two other companies have expressed interest in the space.

brandoni57

February 3rd, 2006, 10:21 PM

That would be a great spot for Sci Quest. I hope something moves into the empty wing of the utilities building soon, maybe a restaurant would be a nice addition to that section of Big Spring Park.

jmanhsv

February 19th, 2006, 03:07 PM

Well, after a couple of weeks and countless so-called "winter storms" (only the last one gave us problems), there's finally some notewothy development here. This downtown mall has been an eyesore for a few years now, after its anchors, Gold's Gym and Burlington Coat Factory moved out. Now the only tenants left are a dance studio and a nightclub. The owner of the property has been thinking about redeveloping the mall for a few years now (he did the same for The Mall/The Fountain on the northside). This is where he's gotten so far...

Market Square site may get condos, hotel
Sunday, February 19, 2006
By JOHN PECK and GINA HANNAH
Times Staff Writers

Mall to be razed, but owner says roads are a snag

The former Heart of Huntsville/Market Square Mall site will be razed and replaced with a new development, but no one seems to know just when it will happen.

Owner Scott McLain said last week he's got no specific plan yet for the site off Clinton Avenue and South Memorial Parkway, but he'd like to see it include retail, entertainment and residential space. The residential segment could include apartments or condominiums. McLain said he'd also like to see a hotel on the site.

But the sluggish pace of the road work planning surrounding the mall has delayed his ability to market the downtown spot.

That's because the road plan takes a piece of the 18-acre site, and he doesn't yet know where his property line is going to be.

"We still do not have a drawing from the city showing the boundaries of the property," McLain said. "The city has to design that road and it takes a little bit of the Market Square property and defines the boundaries of the property."

He said he's only able to have "casual conversations" with prospective tenants until he knows what the boundaries of the site will be. "We can't make a plan that we can actually execute."

The old mall, known now as Market Square, occupies prime space off Memorial Parkway near the Von Braun Center and the new Embassy Suites hotel downtown. A multi-million dollar plan to landscape and improve Pinhook Creek, which runs between the mall site and the hotel/VBC complex, could enhance the marketability of the property....

You will have to read the rest here (its too long)- MarketSquare may get condos, hotel (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/114034445994560.xml&coll=1&thispage=2)

jmanhsv

February 23rd, 2006, 02:42 PM

Article from the Huntsville Times (http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/business/1140689928140560.xml&coll=1)

SAIC set to expand in research park, consolidate offices
Thursday, February 23, 2006
By BRIAN LAWSON
Times Business Writer

Work starts today on new building beside local HQ

SAIC plans to expand its presence in Cummings Research Park and combine a number of its Huntsville offices into a central-campus-style location, eventually bringing together some 2,000 local workers.

The employee-owned research and engineering company, which employs 43,000 around the world, will break ground for the new building at 9 a.m. today, hosting an event that will include the company's board of directors.

SAIC employs about 2,000 workers here and is looking forward to growth continuing in its systems, communications defense and space business, said Bill Gurley, a senior vice president and general manager of SAIC's Huntsville's business unit.

The expansion's first phase will include construction on the 18-acre campus of a four-story, 100,000-square-foot building next to the company's main Huntsville office. That building is used by some 400 employees, and the company has nine other Huntsville offices. The facility is also close to the Bridge Street development, which will feature a large hotel a short walk from the SAIC campus.

Construction is expected to begin in May and the work completed in June 2007. SAIC hopes to move people from five of its Huntsville offices to the campus.

The company also plans to add a third building on the campus.

Gurley said the establishment of Cummings was the fulfillment of an "extraordinary concept." He said SAIC's proximity and relationships with other companies in the park are attractive selling points to customers.

"Huntsville is the place for growth," he said. "People are going to see huge growth here in the next five to 10 years, and we are positioning ourselves for that. We're not building here just because we predict growth; we've been here more than 32 years and are glad to part of this community."

jmanhsv

March 8th, 2006, 02:45 PM

Once again, Sci-Quest finds another possible site downtown.... It's a great location, but where's the parking?

Sci-Quest's hunt for home could end at Hale Brothers
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer
Downtown site has sufficient space; city council will discuss

Officials at Huntsville's Sci-Quest hands-on science center are doing some exploring of their own. They're in the hunt for a new location.

After considering the new Huntsville Utilities Building downtown and the old Councill School site, Sci-Quest Director J.D. Horne said Tuesday the center may have finally found just the place: the old Hale Brothers furniture store building downtown.

"We're looking at just about everything we can find. We're convinced (downtown) is probably the best place for us to be," he said.

Horne and Sci-Quest board President Jeff Irons confirmed talks with the Hale Brothers building owner about renovating the structure and moving in. A downtown location, they said, would enable Sci-Quest to feed off visitors to other downtown attractions and vice versa.

"Being in the Big Spring Park area where all the development is going on, we'll probably get increased attendance," Horne said. "We have customers that see us that don't see the Museum of Art or EarlyWorks, and they have visitors that don't see us. It's something that would be good for all of us."

"We feel being closer to other attractions would be good for Sci-Quest and make downtown more of a destination," Irons said.

Read the rest of the article here. (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1141812971303380.xml&coll=1)

brandoni57

March 9th, 2006, 04:30 AM

there is a public parking garage across the street. And by the time Sci Quest actually moves in the other public parking garage two blocks away behind the summit will be larger and finished. And then there is meter parking. I think downtown will welcome the extra traffic. Extra revenue.

jmanhsv

March 11th, 2006, 01:11 AM

Someone posted this over at UP... Ruth's Chris is coming soon downtown!

Source (http://www.ruthschris.com/news/details.php?id=60)
Orlando, FL – March 3, 2006 – Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Inc. (Nasdaq: RUTH) has announced the signing of new franchise agreements for Huntsville, Alabama and Columbia and Greenville/ Spartanburg, South Carolina. The fine-dining steak house leader recently signed the multi-city agreement with Phil Brooks, Jim Brooks and Nancy and Mark Oswald, who currently own and operate three Ruth’s Chris Steak House restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia and one Ruth’s Chris Steak House restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama.

“We are encouraged by the warm reception we have received in similar markets with parallel dynamics,” said Phil Brooks. Managing Partner Mark Oswald added, “At least two of these new restaurants will be located within hotels, a synergy that has been successful and welcomed in our existing restaurant locations.”

People in Huntsville, Alabama and throughout South Carolina will soon be able to enjoy New Orleans-inspired appetizers, the finest U.S.D.A. Prime steaks, fresh seafood and classic desserts, all complemented by an award-winning wine list. Ruth’s Chris, founded in New Orleans over 40 years ago, offers a comfortable yet elegant atmosphere in which to enjoy celebrations with family and friends or important meetings with colleagues or clients.

“Greenville/Spartanburg, Columbia and Huntsville are all strong additions to our worldwide group of restaurants,” said Dan Hannah, Ruth’s Chris Vice President of New Business Development. “I am pleased that the Brooks and the Oswalds, who have been franchisees since 1986, have agreed to continue their commitment to grow Ruth’s Chris Steak House in these new markets,” Hannah added.

jmanhsv

March 20th, 2006, 05:53 PM

The Housing Authority is planning to sell its Councill Court project downtown. If this all goes as planned, the 20 acre housing project could be redeveloped into either shops and restaurants, hotels, law offices, doctor's offices, or a mix. The development is sandwiched between the planned federal courthouse and the Medical District/Huntsville Hospital.
Councill Court is the red box, and the blue circle is the site of the planned Federal Courthouse. Note the proximity to the Medical District and the VBC.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/councillcourt.gif

Read the Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/114284979171460.xml&coll=1&thispage=1)

Insighter

March 24th, 2006, 12:19 AM

Hey, guys. I have a question that goes back many years ago. Back in the late 70s... I was just a wee lad... my father decided to drive our family from our home in Plano, TX to the SC beaches and take a tour of Atlanta. He also had a business associate in Huntsville so we looped through Huntsville to see him. I don't remember much about it except we stayed at a rather odd sort of hotel with a ring of motel rooms around it. The main building was about 8 stories tall and I think it was on one-story stilts where guests could park their cars underneath the building. THe outer rooms were of course one-story tall. THat's really all I remember about it. I think the name was the Best Western Sands at the time.

DOes anybody know if the place is still there? I'd like to know where that place is. I recall that it was close to a very busy intersection. I think there was a bowling alley near there.

jmanhsv

March 24th, 2006, 06:38 AM

^I think I might have an idea where this hotel was. The only former hotel that I can think of that vaguely fits your description is the old Red Carpet Inn at Memorial Parkway and Bob Wallace. It is a mid-rise building and has a ring of rooms around it. And it's surrounded by 3 bowling alleys. The motel's been closed for about 10 years, and has since been remodeled into a headquarters for a dental company.

Insighter

March 24th, 2006, 07:02 AM

OMG... that's it. Thanks. So it's around Bob Wallace and Memorial. I think I remember the Memorial Pky in the vicinity. Thanks again.

jmanhsv

March 28th, 2006, 02:33 PM

^Glad I could help. :)

The Huntsville Housing Authority agreed on a plan to raze all of the Councill Court development. The plan would be carried out in 3-4 years at a cost of around $32M. The sale of 12-13 acres of the development is projected to get $16.5M. The rest will be used to build modern apartments for the elderly who want the convenience of living next to the hospital.

Board is resolved on Councill Court
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
By DAVID HOLDEN
Times Staff Writer

Plan would rebuild units in 3-4 years, sell part of land

The Huntsville Housing Authority board of directors adopted a resolution Monday supporting its plan to redevelop the Councill Court residential community.

The plan calls for eventually razing all 196 units of Councill Court and building modern housing units. Councill Court sits on 17 to 20 acres of property near Huntsville Hospital along Gallatin Street and St. Clair Avenue.

The redevelopment will consist of 75 to 125 units primarily for elderly public housing residents. The implementation of the plan will take place in about three to four years, said Michael O. Lundy, chief executive officer of the Huntsville Housing Authority.

Lundy said the Housing Authority wants to buy some existing apartment units and refurbish them. This will make apartments available for public housing residents and for nonsubsidized housing clients.

The project - calling for the destruction of the existing Councill Court units, building the new apartments for elderly residents and relocating other residents - will cost about $32 million, Lundy said. Selling 12 to 13 acres of the Councill Court property will yield about $16.5 million, he said.

That money, along with tax-exempt bond financing and low-income tax credits acquired with the help of a partner or developer, should bring in the remaining $16 million needed for the project, Lundy said.

Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison said he had hoped the redevelopment plan would incorporate more multistory buildings at Councill Court.

But Lundy said high-rise buildings are too restrictive to families.

brandoni57

March 28th, 2006, 10:26 PM

^ "But Lundy said high-rise buildings are too restrictive to families."

They are such pansies... when will they start building up?!

But at least they are revitalizing that area, I've been going to FBC across the street for 17 years... this project is long over due.

jmanhsv

March 29th, 2006, 01:22 AM

^lol, that's exactly what I thought. The rendering in the paper looked nice, but it was only 4 stories. From what I could see in the black and white photo, it looked like a modern condo development.

jmanhsv

March 30th, 2006, 03:42 AM

The city gave more details on their Downtown North Master Plan yesterday. It is basically a revitalization plan of the area, emphasizing on mixed-use type developments, greenways, and public transit. I posted a map of the area a few months back if you want to find it.

City shifts designs to north of center
'Mixed use zoning' to draw investors to downtown plan
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer

Rowhouses and revamped "village" clusters connected by greenways and public transportation services are part of the vision of a revised downtown master plan approved Tuesday night by the City Planning Commission.

The plan, an update from a 1989 study, shifts its emphasis north from Huntsville's traditional downtown core. The new focus area is north of Interstate 565, east of Memorial Parkway, south of Oakwood Avenue and west of Andrew Jackson Way.

The plan includes new zoning classifications to encourage investors to pump millions of dollars into aging neighborhoods without fear of an undesirable development next door. The plan includes some "mixed use zoning" recommendations to add vibrancy to redeveloped areas.

In his briefing to city planners Tuesday night, Newberry said the revised Downtown North Master Plan suggests rezoning the Lincoln Mill Village area from light industry to residential with some historic preservation protections. Proposed zoning changes in the Abingdon Road area would be conducive to live-work units, while zoning changes along Meridian Street could help transform it into a neighborhood business corridor. He laid out a vision for small research and technology-related companies along northern parts of Church Street.

The Master Plan for Downtown North was divided into 10 general areas:
Meridian Street Neighborhood Commercial Corridor
Grove Street Neighborhood
Abingdon Live/Work Redevelopment Area
Memorial/University Commercial Corridor
Washington/Pratt Redevelopment Area
Church Street Redevelopment Area
Dallas Bypass
The Justice Center

jmanhsv

April 7th, 2006, 01:39 PM

From the Huntsville Times (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/11444014998540.xml&coll=1)
Redstone will lease land along Rideout
Friday, April 07, 2006
By SHELBY G. SPIRES
Times Aerospace Writer

Development plan calls for shifting boundaries of base

The Army plans to lease sections of land on Redstone Arsenal to commercial real estate developers to build office space, a conference center and classrooms, Army officials said Thursday.

The development plan could eventually result in the arsenal's north fence being moved back, placing the post golf course and club outside restricted areas, officials said.

The plan, which the Army calls Enhanced Use Lease, will set aside about 422 acres on the north side of the base along Rideout Road near Gate 9 for 50-year leases, said Joe Davis, chief of Redstone's master planning division.

A proposal released this week by the Army asks developers to consider bidding on sites near the visitors center off Rideout. The fence line would be moved during the development, Davis said, to put the sites outside Redstone.

The development would help ease the traffic at Redstone's main gates because conferences, university classes and other nonclassified meetings could be held in the buildings just off the base.

Davis said the Army should choose a developer by early 2007, "and if that company has done some design work already, it should take about a year or 15 months" to finish most of the construction, depending on the size of the project.

Eventually, after construction is under way, the fence line would be altered and the new buildings located outside restricted areas of Redstone, Davis said.

"When the fence is moved is something that has yet to be determined," he said. "That whole area by Rideout Road is a viable commercial property because of its location near I-565 and Cummings Research Park."

Some of the proposed office space "would remain on the Redstone side of the fence," Davis said. "All the buildings will have to be built to our security standards." Those include a requirement that sites have limited parking near a building.

Davis said moving the fence line behind the Redstone golf course and the club would make those facilities more accessible to retirees and others.

"Also, some areas near the golf course could be developed for other commercial uses" under the plan, he said.

Davis stressed that there would be restrictions on the types of companies or services allowed. Certain businesses, such as exotic dance clubs or pawn shops, would not be approved.

The Army would benefit from the commercial development, he said, but not through cash payments. Those, he said, "would have to be turned directly over to the U.S. Treasury, and Redstone wouldn't receive that much of it back" except through tradeoffs.

The land use plan originally was aimed at giving the Army an opportunity to reuse older buildings on the outskirts of an Army post by turning them over to private companies instead of tearing them down. That evolved into the current plan to use vacant land, Davis said.

jmanhsv

April 7th, 2006, 09:35 PM

The Baymont Inn location on University is becoming a La Quina Inn. Now, if you know Huntsville pretty well, you would know that there's a La Quinta only 2 buildings down from the Baymont. Only a Denny's and a Country Inn and Suites separate the two. However, there is a possibility that the hotel might become a La Quinta Inn and Suites. The former Baymont will be Huntsville's 3rd La Quinta. Huntsville Times article: No room? Just go on to next La Quinta (http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/business/11444015198540.xml&coll=1)

jmanhsv

April 8th, 2006, 02:08 PM

The UA board has finally approved a new "parking and intermodal center" (aka Park and Ride) on the UAH campus on Holmes Avenue. It will be a 3-story parking garage complete with bike storage and a bus terminal for UAH and Shuttle buses.

UAH sells houses in favor of parking deck
Saturday, April 08, 2006
By KENNETH KESNER
Times Staff Writer

$9 million project will have space for bikes, link to buses

Five houses owned by the University of Alabama in Huntsville, in what was once the Sanderson subdivision, will soon be moved or razed to begin construction of a $9 million multilevel parking garage and transportation terminal.

UA System trustees meeting in Huntsville on Friday approved plans to sell the homes for $6,979 each to Kennedy Brothers Contracting, which submitted the best bid. Ray Pinner, UAH vice president for finance and administration, said the company may move, sell, salvage or do what they like with the houses after they are moved.

In any case, the lots will be cleared as part of construction of a centrally located, three-level terminal that will include parking spaces and bicycle storage and will link to city as well as campus bus and shuttle transportation services.

Clearing the lots will also open a path and "greenspace" between the terminal, Madison Residence Hall and the Applied Sciences Building under construction, Pinner said.

brandoni57

April 9th, 2006, 05:53 AM

I saw huntsville got hit by some pretty bad weather and hail. do you know if there was any damage? I saw an image online that showed lightning striking downtown and I swear it looked like it was hitting the Summit

jmanhsv

April 9th, 2006, 03:30 PM

Thankfully, there was very little damage in Huntsville. The only significant damage was a roof blown off a mobile home in Moores Mill. There was a wall cloud that moved right over Southeast Hsv, and a friend of mine that lives there told me he saw softball sized hail. Another wall cloud moved through the Hazel Green area as well.

jmanhsv

April 13th, 2006, 12:36 AM

From the Huntsville Times (http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/business/1144842469285170.xml&coll=1)
Airport parking project set for 2008 completion
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
From staff reports
Huntsville Times

A project to build a new parking deck and toll booth and make related improvements at Huntsville International Airport is expected to be completed by June 2008.

The 1,360 new spaces in the deck, the new toll booth and building and other site work, which includes reconfiguring the old toll plaza area for rental car parking, will cost an estimated $25.9 million.

The deck construction is expected to start in December and be finished Dec. 14, 2007, according to a presentation by Harry Wilson of the engineering firm Barge, Waggoner Sumner and Cannon. Wilson is the design/project manager for the parking deck project. The toll plaza and building construction is to begin next Jan. 11 and be completed April 4, 2008.

The entire project, including the site work, is to be finished in June 2008.

TampaMike

April 16th, 2006, 07:06 PM

brandoni57

April 21st, 2006, 10:54 PM

If Huntsville didn't have the parks, greenways and recreation that it does, the people who have moved here from elsewhere across the nation would not want to stay here. We finally got national recognition for our green thinking.

Top environmental award gives city leaders the green light to crow
Mayor calls hitting No. 9 on list a 'big accomplishment'
Friday, April 21, 2006
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer jpeck@htimes.com
Huntsville is greening up, and it's not just because of spring blooms.

Mayor Loretta Spencer and other city and community leaders gathered Thursday in Big Spring International Park to plug Huntsville's selection for a top national environmental award.

The salute from The Green Guide, which bills itself as the "go-to" source for earth-friendly living, names the Rocket City as one of America's top 10 Green Cities. Huntsville was the only Southern city to make the final 10 out of 250 municipalities with a population of 100,000 or more that applied.

"This is a big accomplishment for our city, our businesses and corporations and our residents," Spencer told the crowd. "Ranking ninth in the nation shows that in Huntsville we are committed to environmental excellence and recognize the importance of protecting our local and global environment and natural resources."

The study considered protection of green space, air and water quality, energy-saving devices in public buildings, and abundance of bikeways and hiking trails.

Other factors in the study include participation in curbside recycling, anti-litter programs, clean parks and gardens, and initiatives such as the city's environmentally friendly North Huntsville Industrial Park off Pulaski Pike.

Industrial park planners designed a plan to facilitate groundwater recharge of the aquifer to minimize the effects of stormwater runoff at the site. "This is another first for Alabama and will serve as a model for future industrial parks in the region," Spencer said.

City Council President Mark Russell said the award is proof that urban growth and quality-of-life conditions can co-exist. "It's very rare you find a city that does so well in economic development and is also recognized as one of the top green cities in the U.S.," he said.

Eugene, Ore., nabbed top honors in The Green Guide, followed by Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; St. Paul, Minn.; Santa Rosa, Calif.; Oakland and Berkeley, Calif.; Honolulu; and Huntsville. Outdoorsy Denver placed 10th just behind Huntsville. Lexington, Ky. (12th) was the only other southeastern city in the top 25.

Paul McRandle, who co-authored the study along with a Yale University graduate student, told The Times last week that Huntsville's efforts to preserve nature made it stand out from the crowd.

Large chunks of land, some donated and some bought by land preservation groups such as the Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama, are permanently off-limits to development. Developers often dedicate land for greenways and parks. Spencer said the award would not have been possible without such partnerships. The city has more than 36,050 acres of green space.

City Planning Director Dallas Fanning said the city began to aggressively emphasize environmentalism about 15 years ago.

"Early on, there was some resistance because I don't think some in the development community recognized how important preservation was to the overall market," he said. "In the early years, we identified unique places that needed protecting. Now, there's a recognition that it can add value: If you have a unique area and preserve it, it can become an asset."

jmanhsv

April 22nd, 2006, 12:20 AM

^ I thought the news was great, until I realized the city had stretched the truth just a bit. This is the article from the Green Guide (http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc.mhtml?i=113&s=top10cities) :

9. Huntsville, AL (score 7.035, pop. 158,216)

New to the top 10 list this year, Huntsville has devoted almost a third of its land to green spaces including undeveloped forest and nature preserves, along with public gardens, parks and waterfront. The city-funded Operation Green Team has been remarkably successful in their public education and city clean-ups, enlisting 12,000 volunteers in their 2005 effort to clean and green the city. Thirteen percent of the population commutes by bus while a trolley is available for special events to reduce congestion, helping clean up their air. The hospital possesses its own light rail system to shuttle staff across its grounds. Although Hunstville relies on coal and nuclear power for the majority of its energy mix, homeowners can purchase solar or wind-generated energy through the Tennessee Valley Authority.

The city is also developing a first-of-its-kind industrial park: 100 percent of all water runoff, says Ben Ferrill, city of Huntsville planner, will be biofiltered with swales, wet ponds and dry ponds. Rooftop runoff is separated from parking and street runoff to capture pollutants on site before they reach the subsurface aquifer.

To anyone who is familiar w/ Huntsville, this is a lot of bull crap.
1. Do we have a waterfront? I doubt that Big Spring counts.
2. Only .5% of Huntsvillians commute by bus (about 1500 daily).
3. We have a trolley? That's news to me.
4. The hospital's "light rail" system is not a pollution reducer.

But for people not familiar w/ Huntsville, this is good publicity...

brandoni57

April 23rd, 2006, 11:39 PM

haha, you must not be much into hiking or biking. all that is important is the trails and greenways and the city's effort to "beautify" developments. Huntsville is too affluent to worry about the majority of our population commuting by bus, who really wants that? the light rail was built for security primarily. and the trolley runs on the weekends downtown for old farts and or drunks if they ever use it. green thinkers like to see any clean waterfront, (ie Big Spring, Brahan Spring, Green Mountain, Ditto, Aldridge, Hays Preserve, etc.) Come on Jman, lets get you out on the landtrust to get back to nature, its not all bologna.

jmanhsv

April 25th, 2006, 01:21 AM

Ok, fine, they got one thing right. A few years ago, I heard about a report that showed Huntsville as having the most parkland per capita of any city its size. I was not surprised- there seems to be a park in every neighborhood here.

And for the record, I do like to go biking on Monte Sano and Aldridge Creek/Ditto Landing. And the Land Trust trails are nice, especially the Three Caves and the Railroad trail. :)

brandoni57

April 26th, 2006, 02:15 AM

good! glad to hear you hike. didn't you mention a few months back that jones farm was extending the greenway into jones valley with a park? so thats another effort there.

the best place to hike in hsv isn't an actual park, its an atv trail on the top of Huntsville mountain that runs to Green mountain, you should check it out. you can start at the gravel lot at the top of cecil ashburn drive between SE hsv and Hampton cove.

jmanhsv

April 30th, 2006, 10:34 PM

In the Huntsville Times "Outlook 2006" section today, the president of CityScapes (local downtown development company) noted a recent study that showed the potential for up to 1600 condos downtown. By the end of 2008, there will be about 100 condos downtown. Then there's the Marketsquare redevelopment and the (possibly dead) 21-story condo tower. But even with all this development, there will need to be a heck of a lot more residential development downtown to keep up with the demand.

brandoni57

May 1st, 2006, 04:32 AM

What an exciting paper we had today!
However, I did not see any mention of Bridge Street though. What's up with that? I also drove by there today and I am so dissapointed in the progress, it's looked the same for months. I'm a little worried..

jmanhsv

May 2nd, 2006, 01:24 AM

^The developers of Bridge Street fired the contractor (TurnerUniversal) about a month ago. Last time I checked, they were in "final negotiations" with a new contractor. Hopefully, construction will begin again by the end of this month. The opening date is still summer 2007.

jmanhsv

May 5th, 2006, 11:12 PM

For anyone who doesn't drive down 565 daily, the developer of 301 East says the finishing touches are being put onto the condo tower, according to a story in Friday's Huntsville Times. The building should be complete by the first quarter of 2007.

jmanhsv

May 6th, 2006, 04:06 PM

New large lakefront development in Union Grove, which is in Marshall County. The 3000 acre, $20M development is expected to be complete by 2010. Only about 200 homes, though.

Development near Union Grove to have marina, lodge
Saturday, May 06, 2006
By STEVE DOYLE
Times Staff Writer

A Marshall County developer is getting ready to break ground on what could be North Alabama's largest waterfront neighborhood.

After months of negotiations, Danny Yancey on Thursday bought 3,000 wooded acres along the Tennessee River near Union Grove from the Lindsey family.

Yancey plans to turn the property nearest the river into a $20 million neighborhood called Parches Cove. When the dust settles in four years, he said, it will include 200 high-end homes, a marina and dry-storage area for boats, nature trails, rental cabins and a rustic lodge with a gourmet restaurant.

The property is about a half-hour south of downtown Huntsville, a few miles east of Ditto Landing.

The neighborhood's name is a tribute to Corn Parch, the leader of a Cherokee tribe that lived on the land long before John Hunt founded Huntsville in 1805. A Tennessee Valley Authority archaeologist found Indian artifacts and writing in caves on the property, Yancey said.

Yancey, who calls himself a "nature nut," said he plans to develop only about 300 of the 3,000 acres.

"I'm an advocate of wildlife and preserving places for wildlife," Yancey said during a tour of the property Friday. "There's got to be a balance" between growth and preservation.

The property's previous owners have for years operated a popular hunting preserve, and Yancey said it will continue - set well back from the homes.

"There's plenty of room for both," he said.

The densely forested tract is so massive - four and a half miles along the river and three miles deep - that Yancey said a team of surveyors got lost while staking out the boundaries. It includes several mountains, a lake, rolling meadows, two creeks - Bean Rock and Pigeon Roost - and countless deer and wild turkeys.

Yancey, 49, said his market studies showed people in the area are hungry for more riverfront property, and several have already taken the bite.

Even though he has done little advertising, Yancey said 22 of the 47 lots in the first phase have already sold at prices ranging from $150,000 to $275,000. The lots are roughly an acre.

Home prices will start at about $500,000, he said.

Yancey isn't just spreading the word about Parches Cove locally: He wants to advertise in the Washington, D.C., area to lure Army families affected by the Base Realignment and Closure plan. Some 4,700 mostly high-paying military jobs are being transferred from the nation's capital to Redstone Arsenal.

Yancey said buying the land and developing the first two phases of Parches Cove will cost about $12 million.

"You've got to have a good banker," he said with a smile.

jmanhsv

May 12th, 2006, 12:27 AM

Don't look for a large commercial development to go up near Redstone Arsenal anytime soon.... Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1147339200195720.xml&coll=1&thispage=1)

Army shoots down talk of mall near base
Developer would build classrooms, offices, maybe hotel
Thursday, May 11, 2006
By SHELBY G. SPIRES and JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writers

Don't expect a giant shopping mall or movie theaters to sprout up at the edge of Redstone Arsenal as part of the Army's plan to lease 422 acres of federal land for commercial development, Army officials said Wednesday.

Redstone leaders hope a private developer will build meeting, classroom and office space along Rideout Road near Gate 9, which is considered the main gate into the arsenal. The development might also include a small stage for concerts now held on the parade grounds.

City officials and some local business interests had raised concerns about the possibility that a large-scale retail development on federal property could siphon tax money from Huntsville's coffers and compete with other nearby commercial properties.

Col. John Olshefski, Redstone Garrison commander, promised Wednesday that would not be the case.

"We don't want a mall near the arsenal," Olshefski said during a briefing for local defense contractors and potential developers. "The city has raised concerns, and were right to do so, about the possibility of retail businesses.

"We don't want that, and we won't allow that to happen."

Olshefski said proposals for large-scale retail development would be turned down.

"That's not to say a small coffee shop wouldn't be allowed there, but we don't want any major retail developments," he said.

Army officials didn't rule out a hotel as a possible component. A hotel could help meet the need for conference space and provide accommodations for Redstone visitors needing tighter security.

"If they determine there's a profit to be made with a hotel, we'll look at it," Olshefski said.

Some city business leaders questioned if the hotel might compete with private hotels that thrive on arsenal business. Steve Ragsdale, manager of a planned four-star Westin Hotel in the Bridge Street development in Cummings Research Park, believes an arsenal hotel would serve a different clientele.

"I don't perceive it to be a problem for any hotel in town," he said.

Mayor Loretta Spencer said while she hopes the development doesn't compete with the private sector, the city recognizes the arsenal's need for lease revenue and office space in a more secure environment.

"We know they need to meet these new requirements on the base with the changes that are coming with BRAC," the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, she said.

'Hottest corner' in town

Joe Davis, Redstone's chief planner, said the area near Gate 9 "is the hottest corner in Huntsville, and it's the front door to the arsenal."

"We are not going to do anything that would mess that up."

The plan, which the Army calls Enhanced Use Lease, will set aside 422 acres along Rideout near Gate 9 for a 50-year lease, said Bob Penn, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District assistant chief of the real estate division.

Developers have until June 12 to submit their proposals for the lease plan; the Corps of Engineers will select a single developer by the fall, Penn said. Redstone leaders want a developer in place by January.

Olshefski said Pentagon plans would pay for enough office and lab space slated for the military work, but there is no plan or money for buildings for contractors.

"We are filled up," Davis said. "There's no additional office space on post."

There's not much room for contractors in Huntsville proper, either, according to a recent study.

Bart Smith, managing broker of Graham & Co., said it's a landlord's market for office space. The commercial real estate firm recently completed its 2006 Huntsville Office and Industrial Market Survey.

According to the survey, the Huntsville office market has an occupancy rate of 93 percent, well above the national average. Cummings, the nation's second-largest research park, has a 95 percent occupancy rate, according to Smith. He said new developments inside the park will help free some office space.

"The question is, how much do you build? But you need to build enough to free up more space.''

jmanhsv

May 17th, 2006, 12:36 AM

Another BRAC growth article. I know of a family who is moving here from VA, and they are moving to Guntersville, about a 45 minute commute. To Huntsvillians, that's a lifetime. To Northern Virginians, it's half their current commute. Other predicted areas of growth (IMO) are: Fayetteville, Arab, Scottsboro, Priceville (near Decatur), Greenbrier (Limestone County), and downtown Huntsville :)

Times article (http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/business/1147770992318660.xml&coll=1)
Cramer: Region to share BRAC gains
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
By WAYNE SMITH
Times Business Editor

FLORENCE - U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer was on an airplane recently with a man who moved to Alabama following the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission's decision in 1995 to move about 2,600 Army jobs from St. Louis to Huntsville.

The man's job moved to Redstone Arsenal. But he decided to live in Danville in Morgan County.

"I asked him why he chose to move to Danville," Cramer said. "He said he chose to live there because he found the farm of his dream. He said he and his wife, who came kicking and screaming to Alabama, are happy here and plan to live out the rest of their lives in Alabama.

"That next story could come from Cherokee or Bridgeport or Fayetteville, Tenn."

Cramer used the story Monday to stress that while 4,700 government jobs may be moving to Huntsville as result of BRAC, the entire region is going to experience growth. He said BRAC's influence will spread to the Shoals and other counties across North Alabama.

Cramer, D-Huntsville, met Monday morning with economic development leaders from across North Alabama at the Florence Conference Center to talk about ongoing partnerships.

"The major message today was that the BRAC jobs are going to cause people to live all over North Alabama and southern Tennessee," Cramer said after the economic discussions with about 20 regional leaders. "And those numbers are big numbers. There are thousands and thousands of people who will be moving this way.

"We want to continue talking with one another and know that the BRAC issues aren't just related to Huntsville-Madison County. It's bigger than that and it will have a huge regional impact."

Cramer said that most of the jobs are coming from northern Virginia, where many workers endure commute times of more than an hour.

"Here, they'll be able to drive 30 or 40 minutes and find lots of land and an environment around them that's going to be a dream come true," he said.

Cramer said that in addition to the 4,700 government jobs, there will be contractor and support jobs that "will mean an impact well beyond that." He said the region's low unemployment rate will also be a plus for families considering a move here.

"If we landed an industry here that would have two or three thousand jobs, we would say that's the biggest economic development announcement we've had," Cramer said. "We're talking about thousands more than that with no (state) incentives put on the table."

Brian Hilson, the president and CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, said Monday's meeting was a chance for us "as a region, as a team, (to) talk about our priorities and issues and discuss them together."

Like Cramer, Hilson said the entire region stands to benefit from BRAC.

"We have 11 communities in the Tennessee Valley BRAC region that stretches from the Shoals, to Jackson County, south to Cullman County and even into Lincoln County, Tenn.," Hilson said. "We expect that to be the area that will have the most obvious economic impact from the BRAC-related job growth.

"People will be working at Redstone Arsenal, but living all across the region."

jmanhsv

May 20th, 2006, 12:24 AM

In this article, when the Convention and Visitors Bureau mentioned new hotels in Madison County, they forgot to mention the new 4-story Comfort Suites and a new Vista Inn and Suites, both coming to University Drive.

Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1148042709176230.xml&coll=1)

Promoters welcome new visitor numbers
'Wait till next year,' when new hotels, attractions open
Friday, May 19, 2006
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer

A record 2.44 million tourists and other visitors came to Madison County last year, spending more than $688 million, a new travel industry report shows.

"These are great numbers," said Judy Ryals, president and chief executive officer of the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "But I think we'll see even better numbers next year. The pace of tourism is changing for the Huntsville community."

That's because, in the coming year, there will be a 15 percent increase in hotel rooms - that's about 800 more rooms, including those at the Embassy Suites convention hotel in downtown Huntsville, the Westin Huntsville in the Bridge Street project in Cummings Research Park, the Hilton Garden Inn off Interstate 565 (which has already opened), the Homewood Suites extended-stay hotel in the Village of Providence on the city's west side and Value Place in Madison.

Add to that the continued expansion of local attractions. For example, the Huntsville Botanical Garden will open its new nature center and 2-acre children's garden June 2. The project will feature the country's largest seasonal butterfly house.

"We expect this new facility will significantly increase Huntsville's visibility as a destination city," Ryals said.

She said families moving to the area as a result of the military base realignment process will have a positive impact on visitor numbers.

The latest tourism statistics were included in an annual report prepared by Auburn University Montgomery's Center for Business and Economic Development for the Alabama Bureau of Tourism & Travel.

The number of Madison County visitors in 2005 increased 5 percent over 2004, giving Madison County a fourth-place ranking in the state behind Baldwin, Jefferson and Mobile counties. Travel-related spending in the county last year was up 6 percent from the previous year's total of about $646.6 million.

The tourism and travel industry across 16 counties in North Alabama also fared well, generating more than $1.45 billion in revenue last year, according to figures from the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. That's an increase of 7 percent over 2004.

The economic impact from tourism across the region shows that the industry continues to flourish here, said Dana Lee Tatum, president and chief executive officer of Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association.

"If this year's numbers look good, wait till next year," she said. Seven hotels are under construction in the region.

Tourism-related employment in the North Alabama counties climbed 6 percent to 26,654 jobs, and tourism payroll was up 7 percent, reaching $539 million in salary and wages.

In its efforts to sell the Huntsville-Madison County market, the Convention & Visitors Bureau has partnered with the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce and the Huntsville-Madison County Airport Authority to hire Development Counsellors International of New York, which specializes in economic development marketing through national and international media.

The bureau also hired Benton Newton Advertising to help it host focus groups to determine how to market Huntsville-Madison County outside the area and to perk up the bureau's Web site.

Tatum said a new advertising campaign called "Creating Days That Last Forever," an increased marketing budget, an enlarged Web site initiative and other efforts helped boost tourism numbers.

jmanhsv

May 22nd, 2006, 12:19 AM

The Huntsville Times (http://www.al.com/living/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/living/1148203291219600.xml&coll=1) reports these stats on housing in Huntsville:

In east Huntsville, 3,100 lots with an additional 50 apartment units in concept, under construction or being sold.

In Huntsville north of I-565, there are 4,400 lots and nearly 700 apartment units.

In Huntsville south of I-565, there are more than 3,000 lots with more than 300 apartment units.

*If you do the math, that totals 10,500 lots and 1050 apartments being developed in Huntsville, though I highly doubt this is all happening within city limits, but the article leads you to believe that it is. All the East Huntsville growth is happening in Riverton and New Market; North Huntsville growth is going on in Meridianville, Monrovia and Harvest; and south Huntsville's growth "hotspot" is Hampton Cove.

jmanhsv

May 24th, 2006, 09:57 PM

Someone over at UP posted this neat map. It's the Huntsville International Airport master plan. Note the new passenger terminal on the left (in Limestone County), the massive 565/Memphis-Atl interchange, and the new airport exit.

http://www.hsvairport.org/rc/maps/images/master.jpg

brandoni57

May 29th, 2006, 08:34 PM

Memphis to Atlanta Highway?? What is the latest news on the that? its been talked about for 30 years and will probably be another 30 years before they start survey work. but if you know something about it let me know

brandoni57

June 16th, 2006, 02:43 AM

The Bridge Street Towne Center is becoming reality.

Bulldozers are moving the dirt.

Developers are in town announcing new stores and restaurants.

And Mayor Loretta Spencer is especially excited about P.F. Chang's China Bistro coming to Huntsville.

"I think they've got a product people love," said Mayor Spencer. "[When people] leave work, we want them to have a place to go nearby."

The Bridge Street Towne Center is located at Interstate 565 and Highway 72 and Research Park Boulevard in the heart of Cummings Research Park.

This shopping mecca will be built around a four star hotel called The Westin Huntsville. The hotel will also have 74 residential units on the top five floors.

A company out of Los Angeles called O & S Holdings is developing the project.

So why have they crossed the country to build their first Bridge Street type development?

"It's truly one of the most under served markets in the United States," said developer Gary Safady. "You've got the education, got the money, but I think most people's shopping patterns are going to better places to shop, Nashville or Birmingham, to get the better experience."

The hope is to keep that money in Huntsville, and also bring people from other cities here. It could turn Huntsville into a shopping destination.

Bridge Street Centre Stores and Restaurants will include:

P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Sullivan's Steakhouse

Connor's Seafood and Bravo Cucina

Coldwater Creek

DSW

Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon

Francesca's

Monaco Pictures

Anthropologie

Ann Taylor Loft

Chico's

White House/Black Market

Soma

J. Jill

Brighton Collectibles

Victoria's Secret

Bath and Body Works

Reed Jewelers

Acorn

Timanator

June 19th, 2006, 01:09 AM

i also heard of a bestwestern hotel propose to being built in downtown huntsville, its supose to be a 12 story hotel.

Rail Claimore

June 19th, 2006, 04:38 AM

That Airport Master plan would be so f*ckin' cool if completely built! I don't think you could find an airline that would want to have hub or focus-city operations here though...

brandoni57

June 19th, 2006, 09:42 PM

where did you hear about the bestwestern, cause I haven't heard anthing about that? give more information if you have it. the only thing I can think of is the new McClain development where they were planning to revitalize the market sqaure area (corner of Clinton & Parkway) with entertainment, residences and possibly a hotel.

HSVTiger

June 21st, 2006, 05:20 PM

i also heard of a bestwestern hotel propose to being built in downtown huntsville, its supose to be a 12 story hotel.

I usually post in the other MB's but might as well get in on the action here as well.
Downtown could support 2-3 more hotels, is there a location for this BW?
A new 8-10 story hotel will probably be part of the Market Square plan.
I would like to see a 20-25 plan for a Hilton/Doubletree, then you would see
some real VBC expansion plans.
Does anyone else think the top of the Embassy is weird? whats up with that
sail, it is where the Embassy logo will go but it looks unfinished.

Expect a lot of action at Bridge Street now.
The jail problem is a mess, contractor fired, construction stopped until structural issues resolved.

HSVTiger

June 21st, 2006, 05:47 PM

Huntsville was the fastest growing city in Alabama during this time period.
Of the 4 largest cities, only Huntsville showed gains
The fastest growing metropolitan statistical areas in the state between 2000 and 2005 were Huntsville, a two-county metro area that grew 7.6 percent, and Auburn-Opelika, a one-county metro area that grew 7.1 percent

HSVTiger

June 21st, 2006, 08:18 PM

Opelika has been ranked as the No. 1 "Small Market of the Year" by Southern Business and Development Magazine, a professional publication that helps corporations in their expansion, relocation and development decisions.
The rankings were released Monday, using a formula that weighs the top 100 corporate job and investment announcements.
Opelika beat out Greenville, N.C., and Rocky Mount, N.C., for the top honor.
Four Alabama communities were singled out in this year's statement. Huntsville was named "Mid-Market of the Year," while Mobile took honorable mention in the category. Anniston/Calhoun County earned Honorable Mention for "Edge Markets."
Opelika earned the top spot thanks to its success in bringing Gambro Renal Products, Jo-Ann Stores, Maxforma Plastics, Benteler and Mando Corporation to the community in 2005. And, as the magazine reports, "Opelika has been one of the hottest small markets in all of the South over the last couple of years. Look for that to continue."

Atlman1

June 21st, 2006, 09:38 PM

brandoni57

June 21st, 2006, 10:04 PM

HSVTiger

June 21st, 2006, 11:00 PM

HSVTiger, I saw a nationwide article that showed fastest growing metros in the nation, Huntsville wasnt mentioned but clearly identified on the map as growing, and Mobile+Birmingham were both mentioned as both loosing population. The embassy does look a little out of place, I think it looks like it should be in florida, but the outside area and new fountain are going to be very nice!
I wish Timanator would respond about the Best Western, because that is the first I have heard of that, itd be nice if they built a taller building, something needs to finally beat out AmSouth.

as you said in the nation overall, the others may have been in each state or region. Compared to the top 5 in the country we are so so, but good in any case.
The overall Embassy looks good it's just the top, the fountain is awsome.
At night with the colored lights should be fun

brandoni57

June 22nd, 2006, 05:56 PM

In today's paper there are four great articles on the front page about Huntsville's development and growth. This particular one I posted is about population. There is a great one on the building boom, 3,000 lots have been approved for development in the last 12 months!

Huntsville tops in population growth
City adds 6,727 people since year 2000, census says
Thursday, June 22, 2006
By TAYLOR BRIGHT
Times Montgomery Bureau tbright@htimes.com
MONTGOMERY - It hasn't taken BRAC to make Huntsville and Madison County grow briskly.

Between 2000 and 2005, Huntsville added more people than any city in Alabama, according to the latest U.S. Census estimates.

In a state where many of the urban hubs are losing population, Huntsville and Madison, which ranked third in the number of people added, continue to grow.

According to numbers released Wednesday, Huntsville added 6,727 people in the last five years - an increase of 4.2 percent.

Madison added 6,567 people in the last five years, an increase of 22.4 percent.

"Huntsville and Madison are perennially the fastest-growing cities in Alabama," said Annette Watters, manager of the Alabama State Data Center at the University of Alabama.

After Huntsville, Madison was behind only Auburn, which added 6,620 people, in the number of people who moved to town since 2000.

Overall, Huntsville's population increased to more than 166,000.

As well as Huntsville did, Madison County did even better.

"There are a lot of attractive places to live in Madison County that are not inside the city limits of Huntsville," Watters said
The county grew by 7.7 percent, increasing to 298,192 people.

Watters said the area will continue to grow, especially with the announcement of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission transfers. Redstone Arsenal is set to gain 4,700 Department of Defense jobs from BRAC moves, and another 5,000 contractor jobs are expected to follow.

"The recent BRAC announcements are really going to keep it in a high growth mode for the rest of the decade," Watters said.
Madison County's neighbor to the west, Limestone County, increased its population 7.3 percent.

Decatur grew at a much smaller pace, adding 926 people, an increase of 1.7 percent.

While North Alabama cities showed healthy growth, Alabama's larger cities did not.

Birmingham lost more than 11,000 people - nearly 5 percent of its population. Mobile lost more than 7,600 people - about 3.8 percent of its population.

"Birmingham was the biggest single loser," Watters said

Watters said that just because some of the major cities lost population doesn't mean the metro areas they anchor are dying.

"The metro area is not in trouble," Watters said. "There are a lot of fast-growing areas that are part of the Birmingham economy that are not incorporated Birmingham."

jmanhsv

June 22nd, 2006, 08:24 PM

Wow, a lot of stuff has been going on while Ive been on vacation. Keep on updating.

HSVTiger

June 22nd, 2006, 10:29 PM

more possible Bridge Street additions, I stress possible

Crabtree & Evelyn
Red Robin
Coach
Banana Republic
Moe's
Doc Greens
Sharper Image
Wild Oats
Panera Bread
Barnes Noble
Gordon Biersch
Swarovski
Apple
Saddle Ridge
Eddie Bauer
Brooks Brothers

brandoni57

June 24th, 2006, 05:48 AM

I drove by Bridge Street today, it looks like they are making some progress, you can tell from the highway where the lakes are and you can make out an island in the center of one. the foundation of the Westin is being layed too. I CANT WAIT!

HSVTiger

June 28th, 2006, 08:53 PM

along I-565 across from Butler HS

http://www.ccihsv.com/images/CCI-arial-vw_md.jpg

jmanhsv

June 29th, 2006, 05:53 AM

Just got back from vacation...time to comment.
i also heard of a bestwestern hotel propose to being built in downtown huntsville, its supose to be a 12 story hotel.
There won't be a Best Western downtown anytime soon. Chances are it will be a Marriott coming to the MarketSquare redevelopment.

more possible Bridge Street additions, I stress possible

Crabtree & Evelyn
Red Robin
Coach
Banana Republic
Moe's
Doc Greens
Sharper Image
Wild Oats
Panera Bread
Barnes Noble
Gordon Biersch
Swarovski
Apple
Saddle Ridge
Eddie Bauer
Brooks Brothers

I agree with some of these like Sharper Image, Apple and Eddie Bauer. Moes is definately going there. So is Barnes and Noble (guess that means Borders is out of the question). I see Wild Oats coming here soon, but I don't see it at Bridge Street.
And where the hell has Panera Bread been? It seems like Huntsville's the last city in the country without one.
Here's some possible additional restaurants....
California Pizza Kitchen
Jillians
Johnny Rockets

HSVTiger

June 29th, 2006, 02:22 PM

Just got back from vacation...time to comment.

There won't be a Best Western downtown anytime soon. Chances are it will be a Marriott coming to the MarketSquare redevelopment.

I agree with some of these like Sharper Image, Apple and Eddie Bauer. Moes is definately going there. So is Barnes and Noble (guess that means Borders is out of the question). I see Wild Oats coming here soon, but I don't see it at Bridge Street.
And where the hell has Panera Bread been? It seems like Huntsville's the last city in the country without one.
Here's some possible additional restaurants....
California Pizza Kitchen
Jillians
Johnny Rockets

these are not guesses but very likely the tenants that will be seen. That stil leaves probably 20 still up in the air

Rail Claimore

June 29th, 2006, 02:24 PM

I'm reading the Market Square article in the Times at this very moment.

HSVTiger

June 29th, 2006, 02:24 PM

HUNTSVILLE, AL-The Santa Monica, CA-based O&S Holdings LLC has hit the 50% preleasing and presale benchmark to signal the start of vertical construction for the $200-million Bridge Street Town Centre. The developer has aligned four general contractors to complete the two-million-sf, mixed-use development in the heart of Cummings Research Park.

O&S Holdings started priming the plan last summer for the 101-acre development at the junction of Interstate 565 and Alabama 72. Patterned after classical architecture in Tuscany, Italy and Provence, France, the mix of retail, hospitality, office and high-density residential space is scheduled to start delivering in June 2007.

There continues to be a tremendous amount of interest from retailers," Gary Safady, managing member for O&S Holdings, says in a press release. "I anticipate that the property will open nearly 100% leased."

Meanwhile, a contact for the developer tells GlobeSt.com that the ideal tenants for Bridge Street Town Centre are upscale retailers who might be new to the Huntsville market. "We'd like to see retailers who unique to Huntsville and even to Alabama," she says, adding leasing is being handled in-house.

Bridge Street Town Centre's residential component, the Westin Huntsville Residences is more than 50% sold out, with 44 of 74 units reserved. Move-ins are planned to start in November 2007. The units, ranging from 750 sf to 4,300 sf, are going for $250,000 to $1.7 million. Scott Averbuch with Averbuch Realty Co. Inc. in Huntsville has been marketing the residential component.

O&S says the preleasing and presales mean it's time to forge ahead on completing the project, designed by TSA Architects of Los Angeles. Atlanta-based Winter Construction Co. will build the 210-room Westin Huntsville and its 74 residential units plus the northern half of a 550,000-sf lifestyle retail center. Brasfield & Gorrie LLC of Nashville will develop a 2,580-space parking garage and the balance of the retail component. VCC Construction Co. from Little Rock will bring on line a 73,300-sf theater, 150,000-sf office building and 95,000-sf big-box retail. The landscape architect is ValleyCrest Landscape Development from Calabasas, CA. The retail, theater and office space will be ready to fill in summer 2007 and the hotel will open in the following fall.

HSVTiger

June 29th, 2006, 02:26 PM

I'm reading the Market Square article in the Times at this very moment.

do you mean the Courthouse Square project? It's hip to be square

http://www.al.com/huntsvilletimes/pageone/thursday.pdf

HSVTiger

June 29th, 2006, 02:40 PM

[QUOTE=jmanhsv]Just got back from vacation...time to comment.

There won't be a Best Western downtown anytime soon. Chances are it will be a Marriott coming to the MarketSquare redevelopment.

[QUOTE]

Can we have more info, either why it was thought there would be a BW
or why there won't? The Marriott is a sure bet however.

Rail Claimore

June 29th, 2006, 03:02 PM

do you mean the Courthouse Square project? It's hip to be square

http://www.al.com/huntsvilletimes/pageone/thursday.pdf

Yeah, my bad.

jmanhsv

June 29th, 2006, 08:47 PM

Decatur's had some newsworthy development in the past few days. A new shopping center with Target is coming, and a possible development could be coming to the 565/65 interchange.

This article is from the June 28 edition of the Decatur Daily.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/target2.jpg
'Ready to do business' with Target as anchor

By Chris Paschenko
DAILY Staff Writer

Clearing last-minute hurdles, city leaders and a Tennessee realty firm announced Tuesday a plan to build a major retail shopping center in Decatur with Target as its anchor.

By unanimous vote, City Council members approved spending $4.75 million to buy about 26 acres at U.S. 31 and Alabama 67 to expedite construction of The Crossings of Decatur. The 200,000-square-foot shopping center will attract other national retailers, officials said.

City Attorney Herman Marks said Decatur will buy the property and convey it to GBT Realty Corp. of Nashville in September, with assurances that the developer, Decatur Investment Partners of Georgia, would reimburse the city in full for the property through tax proceeds over a 15-year period.

George Tomlin, president and chief executive officer of GBT, said construction will begin immediately after closing in early September to meet Target's grand opening Oct. 14, 2007.

"We're in final negotiations with national retailers that will be all new to Decatur," Tomlin said. "Women's apparel and clothing shops, home furnishings ... We'll be in a position to announce those in August before we close. There will be two out lots for sit-down restaurants. When we're done, it should be the nicest shopping center in Decatur."

Mayor Don Kyle said the city will purchase the property to help the developer trim from five to 12 months in construction time.

"The purchase allows us to get infrastructure in place more quickly than if we built the infrastructure on our own," Kyle said. "Projected sales volumes at the center are more than $60 million per year. Opening a year ahead would have the capability of generating $2.4 million in sales tax for us."

Tomlin said the development involves more than just sales tax revenue for the city.

"Employment is another factor," Tomlin said. "The jobs it provides could be somewhere between the 200 and 300 range by the time the center is done. It's also important to keep shoppers here from driving to Huntsville. This will be a regional shopping center for Hartselle and outlying areas."

Jim Page, vice president of governmental affairs and communications with the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, agreed.

"We're looking at the leakage, and Target is one reason why people are leaving town," Page said. "If we can stop the leakage by bringing in Target and other retailers, we will keep shoppers in Decatur."

Page said the retail center would also benefit other businesses in Decatur.

"When you go to the mall, you buy gas, eat, buy groceries," Page said. "We need to cut off the reason to go to Huntsville in the first place and spend tax dollars here. It will have a much bigger economic impact than you can imagine. It's a great investment for the city."

A GBT design shows 36 potential retail slots, including 127,280 square feet for Target. Tomlin said it's too soon to know how many retail stores will join the center.

Some retailers could take up more space, reducing the total number of stores, he said.

The development would include the first Target store in Decatur.

This next article is from today's Decatur Daily.
Potential buyer at interstate?
Commission rezones I-65, Ala. 20 land from agricultural to redevelopment

By Martin Burkey
DAILY Staff Writer

After three previous failed development efforts at Decatur's only Interstate 65 interchange, a fourth proposal apparently is on the table.

The city Planning Commission in a called meeting Wednesday rezoned 535.31 acres on the southwest corner of I-65 and Alabama 20 from agricultural to the city's recently approved "redevelopment district" designation for Mitchell-Frazier Farms Limited Partnership.

No one with the partnership attended the meeting to offer a plan. However, Birmingham attorney and property owner Sam Frazier told THE DAILY this week that the property is under contract and that the potential buyer's option expires in October. Frazier said he was under a "confidentiality agreement" with the party and declined to discuss it further.

Planning Commission Chairman Gil Aldrich and Mayor Don Kyle said they don't know who's interested in the property.

"We don't want to be the ones to hold up progress," Aldrich said. "I hope it's something that's going to be beneficial to us and in the city limits and a tax-base thing."

Both Kyle and Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce President John Seymour asked the commission to approve the rezoning.

Redevelopment district zoning makes the property more attractive to a potential buyer because it allows for a variety of uses, Kyle said. Zoning is one of a developer's first big questions about a tract, Seymour said.

Development officials say the requested zoning suggests the potential buyer has several uses for the land. According to the city's zoning ordinance, the redevelopment district allows for a range of uses including light industry, commercial, retail, office and residential.

It would be the fourth attempt to buy and develop the property.

In 2001, Huntsville sports team owner Art Clarkson proposed an $84 million arena/hotel/retail complex, but he gave up in fall 2003 when he couldn't find investors to pony up the $12.6 million purchase price.

A second project fell through in 2004 when Kansas City-based developer Mike Belew couldn't win support from the Decatur City Council and Limestone County Commission for a tax incentive package to land the $345 million projects.

After those two high-visibility projects fell through, a third developer purchased an option to buy the land in April 2005, but Frazier never discussed the buyer or the project.

Rail Claimore

July 1st, 2006, 06:06 PM

^They oughta do something about that annoying "S"-curve on 67 at that intersection with 6th Avenue given how much more traffic will be generated from such a development. It's bad enough already.

jmanhsv

July 7th, 2006, 04:44 PM

http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060707/condos.jpg

This 5-story, $20M riverfront condo development just broke ground in SW Limestone County. Called Two Rivers at the Pointe (it's at the convergence of the Elk and Tennessee), the 61 condo development will feature waterfalls, a fountain, boat slips and hiking trails. Prices range from $160,000 to almost $700,000 for the penthouse. 70% of the condos have been presold.

Decatur Daily article: River Condo Developer Breaks Ground (http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/060707/condos.shtml)

HSVTiger

July 12th, 2006, 02:33 PM

Us and everybody else as well, my vote would be for Frontier

By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer accardi@htimes.com
Event gives officials only 20 minutes to woo new carriers

Huntsville International Airport officials keep pursuing new air service and programs, recently meeting with route planners from 10 carriers in an industry version of speed dating for airlines and airports.

"I feel like we've got some positive things in the works," said Barbie Peek, the airport's marketing director. "We've got a lot of opportunities to (build) traffic in this community."

Peek and Rick Tucker, the airport's executive director, traveled to the daylong JumpStart 2006 in Austin, Texas, last month to meet with representatives of four of the airport's five carriers - American, Delta, Continental and Northwest - and route planners with Frontier, Southwest, Allegiant Air, AirTran, Transtates and United. Tucker and Peek had met with officials of another Huntsville carrier, US Airways, just two weeks before at the airline's corporate headquarters.

During the JumpStart program, hosted by Airports Council International-North America, an airport had 20 minutes to make a presentation to an airline. The meetings, Peek said, were a good way "to keep airlines abreast of what's happening in the community," particularly the new jobs resulting from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations.

"Air service doesn't happen overnight," she said. "We're planting the seeds right now for BRAC in '09 and '10." Once the BRAC moves are complete, "the Washington market (for air travel) will increase 30 percent," she said, and that's a conservative estimate.

The JumpStart presentations to carriers that already serve Huntsville focused on adding nonstop flights, upgrading equipment and increasing frequency of flights, depending on the airline's strategic plans. Peek and Tucker had met with officials from the existing airlines in May to discuss the issue of more competitive fares.

"We're working with carriers to provide competitive fares and service," Peek said. Of potential passengers lost to other airports, 96 percent of them use airports in Birmingham and Nashville, and 4 percent go to Atlanta, Peek said.

Huntsville International had 105,630 passengers in June. That's down 9.1 percent from June 2005. For the first six months of this year, passenger traffic was down 9.6 percent from the same period in 2005. Dulles, Va.-based Independence Air, Huntsville's first low-fare airline, stopped all of its flights after Jan. 5 because of financial troubles.

jmanhsv

July 13th, 2006, 04:54 PM

The Huntsville Museum of Art plans to expand. From the Huntsville Times (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1152783933319150.xml&coll=1)
Art museum growth plan gets boost from Shelby
$10M to $12M expansion includes gallery, auditorium
Thursday, July 13, 2006
By RYAN HICKMAN
Times Staff Writer

The Huntsville Museum of Art is planning a multimillion-dollar expansion and this week received a $500,000 boost from U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby.

The proposed $10 million to $12 million expansion plan includes a 300-seat auditorium, a family interactive gallery, 9,000 square feet of gallery space, underground parking and an entrance from Big Spring International Park on the museum's west side.

The design concepts are still preliminary, but Bass and museum board treasurer Lee R. Hoekenschnieder said the expansion would not infringe on the park.

The expansion proposal is a "master plan that would actually enhance the park and not take any more park," Bass said. "Instead, we could build over our existing footprint."

Increasing gallery space would allow parts of the museum to stay open while exhibits are being set up elsewhere. In the past, the museum has been forced to close sometimes due to construction hassles associated with large exhibits.

"What we are trying to do is add some additional space that would allow us in our exhibition programs to never have to shut down to that extent," Bass said.

Bass said he likes the idea of adding an entrance from the park.

"We are very oriented toward Church Street and we would remain that way," he said. "But, in this configuration, it would allow us to have a second west-facing front door."

The need for parking close to the museum triggered the notion of an underground garage.

Hoekenschnieder said the expansion could be done vertically, on top of the facility or where the loading dock runs south of the building along Church Street.

But no decisions have been made on a final design.

jmanhsv

July 14th, 2006, 04:17 PM

Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1152868721135850.xml&coll=1)

City hopes waterfront land attracts fun, food
Hearing to zone tract for business, recreation Aug. 24
Friday, July 14, 2006
By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer

Two years after buying a huge chunk of waterfront property along the Tennessee River, the city of Huntsville is taking steps to develop it into something useful for the public.

The 134-acre, oblong tract stretches west from the twin Whitesburg bridges to near the boundary of Redstone Arsenal. When the city bought the land in May 2004 from General Shale Products as the company was going out of business, city leaders talked of building a mile-long greenway that could continue under the bridges to the Ditto Landing Marina.

The land sat dormant until recently when it was finally annexed into the city. Thursday night, the City Council set a public hearing for Aug. 24 on a proposal to zone the land Commercial Recreation C-5 District.

"We're putting zoning on it in order to entice opportunities," Mayor Loretta Spencer said before the meeting. Spencer believes a greenway would draw people and perhaps lure some other tenant such as a restaurant.

"I hope it would be for recreational use, and I want so badly to get a restaurant on the water," she said.

City planning regulations say a C-5 designation would allow such uses as a campground, country club, marina, hotel, amusement park, golf course, entertainment business, restaurant, souvenir and curio shops, educational facilities, Class 3 lounges (no live entertainment), certain-sized convenience stores, beer and wine retailers, and public-use venues such as libraries, museums, art galleries and exhibit centers.

Spencer said the land offer was too good to pass up in price and give the city control of the waterfront. Only one property lies between the General Shale tract and Redstone, she said.

The council set the public hearing with little discussion. The $110,000 purchase price was less than half the appraised value, city officials said when it was bought in 2004. Planning Director Dallas Fanning said part of the tract can't be developed because of flood issues, but other parts can be developed with fill material.

The zoning movement comes as the Whitesburg Bridge replacement project continues and Ditto officials ramp up efforts to lure development in and around the marina.

jmanhsv

July 19th, 2006, 05:10 PM

Huntsville is planning yet another Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. This new one in Northeast is primarily for the construction of a new high school, but some of the money is going to construction projects and expansions downtown.
Some of the proposed downtown projects:
Von Braun Center- $4 million major renovation and upgrades
Huntsville Museum of Art- $2 million expansion (see above post)
New parking garage- $4 million, to be located near the old Times building (under renovation) and 301 East condo project.
Madison County Courthouse- $2 million for new offices on the top 2 floors (the county jail was located there)
Downtown Fire Station-$4 million, relocation

See the complete list of projects (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1153300796287870.xml&coll=1)
Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1153300515287870.xml&coll=1)

jmoretti

July 25th, 2006, 01:34 AM

It looks like the old K-Mart building at Wall Traina and Hwy 20, which has been undergoing renovation, is going to be an Old Time Pottery.

http://www.oldtimepottery.com/alabama.html

BTW, this is a neat discussion--I've enjoyed following current developments here. Thanks!

jmanhsv

July 25th, 2006, 04:40 AM

^ First of all, welcome to the forum!
I had seen something in the paper about Old Time Pottery opening a store in Huntsville, but I was not sure where. Thanks for the info.

chasehsv

July 26th, 2006, 10:44 PM

does anyone have an update on the holmes avenue condominiums? i havent heard anything about it in a while.

jmanhsv

July 27th, 2006, 04:59 AM

^Nope. Schrimsher (the developer) is too busy renovating the old Times building. It's more than likely dead.

chasehsv

July 27th, 2006, 05:06 PM

thats dissapointing, i was looking forward to that. but to update on the status of ruth's chris, the steakhouse going in embassy suites, the liquor license was just approved. so i would expect to see the restaurant getting ready pretty soon.

jmanhsv

July 27th, 2006, 09:13 PM

^Ruth's Chris will probably open at the same time Embassy Suites opens, which should be sometime around November 1.

Wild Oats Market is "interested" in locating in Huntsville, according to a page ad the company put in the Times' Thursday edition. It told people to go to this website (http://www.wewantwildoats.com) and sign a petition to bring the "natural" grocery chain here. Sign it if you like, just say you live in Huntsville, AL, zip code 35801 (we want a downtown store!) ;). To people in other cities where Wild Oats has locations- is it normal for the company to do this?

Lockheed Martin will break ground on a $30M expansion at its Research Park East campus in August. The 166,000 sq ft expansion is the first for Lockheed Martin-Huntsville since 1996. Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1153991889161920.xml&coll=1)

Redstone Arsenal's Gate 9 development is coming along. The army installation has hired (created) a developmant company. Plans are to construct the new Academic and Conference Center first, with groundbreaking in January. This is where satellite offices of universities like Georgia Tech and Florida Tech, currently within the Arsenal, will move. Beyond the first phase, there are plans for more office space, some retail and a hotel. The project could eventually grow to 500,000 sq ft. Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1153991943161920.xml&coll=1)

jmanhsv

July 28th, 2006, 07:08 PM

Well, this could be seen as either good news or bad news for the Summit development. Developers are looking for a restaurant to occupy the top floor of the office building. If they can't find one, then the floor will be converted to office space. The second phase, Ovation Condominiums, has been delayed because of rising construction costs. This could be a good time to redesign the 8-story building....
Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1154078443143760.xml&coll=1)

chasehsv

July 28th, 2006, 07:59 PM

I'm curious as to why people don't like the design for the Ovation Condominiums.

brandoni57

July 30th, 2006, 08:10 AM

HSVTiger

July 31st, 2006, 03:13 PM

I'm curious as to why people don't like the design for the Ovation Condominiums.

well a few points, of course this is just my opinion which in this case is right.
From the articles and the tiny rendering shown a while back.

This building in essence will block off all areas north of the site, (Clinton St.)
Clinton should be developed as a retail strip and create access to the park.
On the south side the building was stated to look like the Summit, BORING.
Why not create a distinctive taller building (15-18 floors) with a smaller footprint, make a terraced, landscaped greenspace walkway from the parkside to Clinton. Have two separate buildings with one having several levels of parking. Build an overhead walkway across Monroe to the VBC, Develop the Clinton/Monroe corner as a restaurant/club etc.Show some creativity, make the building desirable so people want to live in it. This is lazy architecture. Why can't Huntsville have some distinctive well designed buildings? One only has to go visit other cities to see exciting condo concepts being built.
The city should demand 3-6 new concepts that are not copies of an existing building.

HSVTiger

July 31st, 2006, 03:15 PM

...probably because 8 stories is not tall enough. I'm curious as to what's being built in the lot west of the 301 East condos, if anything. One night I noticed that lot filled with contruction equipment. Anyone know?

I believe that is supplies/ materials for the 301 East project. That lot is
the proposed site for a new parking garage if the latest tif proposal is accepted.

chasehsv

August 1st, 2006, 01:21 AM

HSVTiger

August 1st, 2006, 05:16 PM

I agree with the fact that Huntsville should try and make the Ovation Condos more desirable to live in, but personally I am a big fan of buildings that do look similar. I think downtown Huntsville's skyline is attrocious. Not because of the lack of tall buildings, but the difference in them. There is not one attractive building in Huntsville. Between the Amsouth building, the dated courthouse, the new Embassy Suites(which is possibly the ugliest building I have ever seen). I think the possiblility of some downtown synchronized development, such as the Ovation Condominiums and The Summit, is very appealing. And i think I might be the only person on this board who feels that 301 East seems very out of place. I think that design and architecture is better suited in the Bridge Street development.

I agree with some of your points, what's up with the top of the Embassy Suite? The city should have asked to see something different.
Hammons was overloaded at the time and had to come up with something quick. Man the architect just threw something together and it shows.
You have to wonder if they ever made a site visit.
The ugliest building has to be the Compass Bank on Governors
The Summit is attractive and classy too short, should have been 15+.
Ovation needs to be distinctive not an extension of the Summit. Step it
back from the park (terrace levels) and make it inviting for people. Visually expand the park north.
301 East, not too bad really, it makes the Times building even more attractive, probably the best building in the city.
Don't know why Huntsville gets so shortchanged when it comes to architecture, probably too many local architects who want to play it safe.
On a positive note the renovation of the Russell Erskine was very well done.
It was never an attractive building, but it's age makes it unique.

Wildcat99

August 4th, 2006, 12:25 AM

Maybe I'm easier to please but I personally like the design of the Ovation Condos. I agree that the Summit being taller rather than the same height would be more attractive though. I think it will be a HUGE improvement to downtown to have shops, cafes, restaurants along the water in Big Spring Park. Right now we have a parking structure, who's brilliant idea was that? I kind of like the aspect of having tall buildings surrounding the park, it gives the feeling of an urban "oasis". 301 East is a nice looking building. The Embassy Suites could be better but I don't find it awful. Downtown is going to be a nice place to work, live and hang out once all these projects are done, especially the Market Square project. The first time I visited Huntsville, I came into downtown off of the parkway onto Clinton and I was struck as to how horribly ugly the approach to downtown was. Now, if there was only room for a new ballpark in that area next to the parkway, that would be awesome.

Wildcat99

August 4th, 2006, 12:32 AM

FYI, "House of Brews" opened downtown on North Side Square. The interior was very nicely done. I haven't had a chance to thoroughly check it out yet, but I was very impressed with the interior when I stopped for a coffee. Should be a nice and needed lunch and nightlife addition to downtown.

JAB323

August 4th, 2006, 01:34 AM

My Grandfather is from Huntsville and I used to visit. Things sure have changed.

brandoni57

August 4th, 2006, 02:59 AM

i have currently gained employment with AmSouth. Training is a little over 2 weeks long and it is self paced computer courses in the computer lab on the top floor of the AmSouth Center. THE VIEWS are awesome!! When I get bored I check out all the angles. My favorite view is looking EAST, I can see the lofts of the Terry Hutchens building and their rooftop dining tables with their view of the mountains in the background. Also, looking SOUTH I can see the mountain ranges across the river in Morgan county way beyond the Summit and Big Spring lake. Maybe I can sneak some pictures while I am up their and post them on here... So you guys can see all of Huntsville's ugly buildings from above.

jmanhsv

August 4th, 2006, 04:34 AM

Now, if there was only room for a new ballpark in that area next to the parkway, that would be awesome.
Which area are you talking about? There's a blighted area west of the Parkway and north of Clinton that I would like to see redeveloped. It's just a bunch of boarded up buildings. A new ballpark is a great idea; the city needs one.

i have currently gained employment with AmSouth. Training is a little over 2 weeks long and it is self paced computer courses in the computer lab on the top floor of the AmSouth Center. THE VIEWS are awesome!! When I get bored I check out all the angles. My favorite view is looking EAST, I can see the lofts of the Terry Hutchens building and their rooftop dining tables with their view of the mountains in the background. Also, looking SOUTH I can see the mountain ranges across the river in Morgan county way beyond the Summit and Big Spring lake. Maybe I can sneak some pictures while I am up their and post them on here... So you guys can see all of Huntsville's ugly buildings from above.
Please get us some pics Brandon! :D

Wildcat99

August 4th, 2006, 07:36 PM

I'd like to see the ballpark near the Clinton/Memorial Parkway interchange. That would provide easy access for out of towners and provide the convienence that Huntsvillians demand. It would be nice if it was a short walk to redeveloped Market Square. That way you could go out to dinner, catch a ballgame, stop into a bar after the game for a beer... without ever having to move your car. I agree that area on the west side of the Parkway, north of Clinton needs an overhaul badly. However, it would be nice if the ballpark sat on the east side of the parkway, so that behind the outfield wall was a view of downtown and Monte Sano. If my memory serves me there are just several large gravel parking lots over there for the VBC. Anyways, just a thought.

jmanhsv

August 8th, 2006, 09:21 PM

Another company expansion, and Barnes and Noble is coming to Bridge Street (you should know that if you have been reading this thread for a while.)

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) said today it will grow its Huntsville site operations through new business opportunities associated with NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration. PWR is a business unit of United Technologies Corp.

Plans are to grow the current 85-person Huntsville work force by 200 by August 2007.

The company also announced that a new program office is being formed to carry out all the activities associated with the development of the J-2X engine.

Barnes & Noble, Inc., the world’s largest bookseller, announced today that it has signed a lease agreement to open a new bookstore in Huntsville.

The bookstore, expected to open in May 2007, will be located at I-565 and Highway 72/Highway 255 in the Bridge Street Town Centre. The day prior to the opening of the new store, the existing Barnes & Noble at 5850-A University Village in Huntsville will close. The new store will stock close to 200,000 book, music, DVD and magazine titles and include a cafe serving Starbucks coffee.

Barnes and Noble is a tenant at many lifestyle centers across the country. But why couldn't they put a Borders in Bridge Street instead? I know the reason why they haven't entered Alabama is because of Books A Million, but the company doesn't have the kind of monopoly over Huntsville as they do with the rest of the state.

jmanhsv

August 9th, 2006, 09:42 PM

CityScapes, the downtown development company owned by Hudson Alpha Biotech Institute founder Jim Hudson, is selling the Hale Brothers Furniture building, which it planned to convert to condos. One of the potential buyers plan to covert it into apartments, another plans a restaurant. The 3-story building was built in the 1930s, and is close to Courthouse Square, which has been a hotspot for new restaurants and bars lately. Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1155115095288470.xml&coll=1)
I thought Sci-Quest was relocating here?

jmanhsv

August 13th, 2006, 11:42 PM

Well, here comes another downtown midrise! A local developer is building a "office village" across from the Huntsville Depot. For now, it looks like a strip center with offices and restaurants, but the developer plans to construct a 5-6 story office midrise on part of the property- "traditional Huntsville stuff, not a highrise", he said.
Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/ghannah.ssf?/base/business/115546089677190.xml&coll=1&thispage=2)

jmanhsv

August 14th, 2006, 12:07 AM

A couple of Huntsville pictures I took a week ago. I know these aren't the best pics, but you get the idea.
Here's the new Embassy Suites, expected to open November 1:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/embassy2.jpg

Here's part of the skyline, with the new Summit office tower, second from the left:http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/skyline2.jpg

Timanator

August 14th, 2006, 10:58 PM

Well, I found out more about the Bestwestern Hotel being built in Huntsville, it will be build on Research Park, the name of it will be Westin Huntsville.

chasehsv

August 15th, 2006, 01:19 AM

HSVTiger

August 15th, 2006, 02:47 PM

Well, I found out more about the Bestwestern Hotel being built in Huntsville, it will be build on Research Park, the name of it will be Westin Huntsville.
Yeah the Westin Huntsville at Bridge Street Towne Center has been known about for over a year. 12 floors with the top 6 being condos.
A big difference between Best Western and Westin.
That's it in the upper right corner

http://www.bridgestreethuntsville.com/images/P1010118.JPG

Wildcat99

August 15th, 2006, 06:13 PM

The Lord told him to build an office complex? Interesting. I haven't heard that from a developer before, usually it is about making money. Maybe the Lord is his spiritual and financial advisor. Anyways, I think that is a nice addition to the edge of downtown, near an interchange. If it is a nice looking development, it will improve the view of downtown from 565.

HSVTiger

August 15th, 2006, 09:18 PM

My parents are close personal friends with Dr. Wisda, the developer of Office Village. He is one of the most successful developers and landowners in Huntsville. I'm sure the Office Village will turn out extremely nice. You can all look forward to an amazing project he has coming for South Huntsville in the coming years. It is going to be one of Huntsville's most elite places to live when it is completed. My parents will be some of the first owners there but I'm not sure as to all of the details yet, and neither does Dr. Wisda.

I think it is a nice development and nothing wrong with it. The "traditional"
tag is irritating because a lot of people would like to see something
architecturally significant downtown that will change the skyline and image of
downtown. Probably the most high tech, cutting edge technology city
in the country and downtown still hasn't grown "up". Good stuff is happening for sure, but we're tired of good ole boy lazy architecture.
A 15-20 story building would be a huge catalyst downtown and change the
perception. Tradition is fine but vision is better.

Timanator

August 16th, 2006, 07:04 AM

The Westin Huntsville complex is suppose to be Alabama's first 4 star hotel.....yes I said (4 star hotel).

Timanator

August 16th, 2006, 07:07 AM

And Huntsville doesn't have an impressive skyline....now a 300ft tom 400ft building would change that.

HSVTiger

August 16th, 2006, 02:54 PM

The Westin Huntsville complex is suppose to be Alabama's first 4 star hotel.....yes I said (4 star hotel).

It was the first one announced, but the new RSA hotel in Montgomery
(Marriott Rennaisance) may be finished before the Westin. It will be at least
4 star they say. The Admiral Semmes in Mobile (another RSA project) will also be upscale. But in any case the Westin will be very nice and a catalyst
for other good things.

Wildcat99

August 16th, 2006, 06:20 PM

I think it is a nice development and nothing wrong with it. The "traditional"
tag is irritating because a lot of people would like to see something
architecturally significant downtown that will change the skyline and image of
downtown. Probably the most high tech, cutting edge technology city
in the country and downtown still hasn't grown "up". Good stuff is happening for sure, but we're tired of good ole boy lazy architecture.
A 15-20 story building would be a huge catalyst downtown and change the
perception. Tradition is fine but vision is better.

Who would occupy a 15-20 story building downtown? I agree that would be great but somebody has to pay for its construction and tenants have to fill it. The last thing Huntsville needs is an empty office building downtown to pull down commercial real estate values. I hate to be pessimistic, but with all the high tech firms located on the research park accounting for the majority of jobs in Huntsville, who would fill it? It would be nice if some of the big defense contractors put offices downtown, but I doubt that will ever happen due to their favorable relationship with the research park. I think we may have to be happy with a smaller, quaint downtown. I don't think that is a bad thing as long as it becomes the entertainment center of the area.

HSVTiger

August 16th, 2006, 06:41 PM

Who would occupy a 15-20 story building downtown? I agree that would be great but somebody has to pay for its construction and tenants have to fill it. The last thing Huntsville needs is an empty office building downtown to pull down commercial real estate values. I hate to be pessimistic, but with all the high tech firms located on the research park accounting for the majority of jobs in Huntsville, who would fill it? It would be nice if some of the big defense contractors put offices downtown, but I doubt that will ever happen due to their favorable relationship with the research park. I think we may have to be happy with a smaller, quaint downtown. I don't think that is a bad thing as long as it becomes the entertainment center of the area.
good points, but any city in the south is faced with the same questions (Mobile and the new 35 story RSA Tower)
a few answers, supposedly downtown occupancy is at 85-90% not bad at all.
The new Summit is at around 70%. Several new condo towers,(Ovation has a chance to do something exciting but they probably won't) how about a new Regions or Wachovia North Alabama HQ. Most new buildings are built
for something unexpected. Another new hotel can be taller than 8-10 floors
especially on a smaller footprint. Include a parking deck and it goes up.
Downtown can be an extension of Research Park connect it with ligt rail along the existing tracks and you can have an office tower for up and coming
defense contractors. I don't agree we should be happy with the existing otherwise we won't change.

Wildcat99

August 16th, 2006, 08:16 PM

Wildcat99

August 16th, 2006, 08:31 PM

HSVTiger

August 16th, 2006, 09:28 PM

A downtown filled with renovated historic buildings, charming historic neighborhoods, beautiful parks, a happening nightlife and mid-sized office buildings is not inherently inferior to a downtown that has one big building. From street level, Huntsville's downtown is very attractive. My point is there is a lot that goes into making a vibrant downtown and Huntsville already has or is working on a lot of the things I listed above. A flagship building would be nice, but I'd rather see the people of Huntsville get out of TGIFridays and O'Charley's and head downtown to eat/play.

we are seeing that for sure, the new Ruth's Chris on the canal, Washington Square restaurants, Five Points, and the new Market Square development
all are doing their part. TGIFridays in a 15-20 story condo or DoubleTree
hotel is possible. Been to downtown Columbia SC, Chattanooga, Greenville SC.
Asheville, all similar in size to Huntsville. To create energy you have to have
something that starts it, skyscrapers do that. We have a good foundation
now let's go up.

jmanhsv

August 16th, 2006, 10:58 PM

I don't know if a light rail would work, that would be so foreign to people in Huntsville. If they could drive as fast or faster, that is what they would do. I like your idea of having a downtown extension of Cummings research park for small businesses.
Remember, many people in this town have come from cities with extensive public transit like DC. I think we should create a regional transit authority (get it out of the hands of the city) and expand bus and build commuter rail. I know this is impractical for the city right now, but if we start designing it right now, we will have it when we need it.
A flagship building would be nice, but I'd rather see the people of Huntsville get out of TGIFridays and O'Charley's and head downtown to eat/play.
Why not bring TGIFridays and O'Charley's downtown? I ate at a TGIF in downtown Memphis recently, it was one of the best ones I've been to.

Timanator

August 17th, 2006, 02:10 AM

You know......when I get out of High School....im going to collage to take buisness skills... Im hoping to start a large bank corperation....Huntsville will be the national HQ....And im hoping to errect a 40 to 50 story building here....That would sure change the way Huntsville's skyline looks forever....heh...that could even attract more High end commercial buisness, maybe even make this HQ building Alabama's tallest :tiasd: ...

Timanator

August 17th, 2006, 02:14 AM

But im only 15.....I have a large imagination......lol

chasehsv

August 17th, 2006, 03:37 AM

No offense Timinator, but you can't just say that. You have no background, investors, clientelle, or resources to do that. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Timanator

August 17th, 2006, 04:27 AM

I know that....but its a dream of mine ive had for sometime now....but I will learn more of this stuff when I take buisness skills.

HSVTiger

August 17th, 2006, 02:23 PM

I know that....but its a dream of mine ive had for sometime now....but I will learn more of this stuff when I take buisness skills.

You keep dreaming Timanator, dreams can become reality and you have the passion to make it happen. We need as many dreamers as possible.
HSV has come a long way, but we are nowhere near our potential.

Wildcat99

August 17th, 2006, 05:40 PM

we are seeing that for sure, the new Ruth's Chris on the canal, Washington Square restaurants, Five Points, and the new Market Square development
all are doing their part. TGIFridays in a 15-20 story condo or DoubleTree
hotel is possible. Been to downtown Columbia SC, Chattanooga, Greenville SC.
Asheville, all similar in size to Huntsville. To create energy you have to have
something that starts it, skyscrapers do that. We have a good foundation
now let's go up.

A chain restaurant or two wouldn't be a bad thing downtown if the city was very strict on what it could look like. Meaning no stand alone restaurants surrounded by a parking lot, they would have to blend into the surrounding architecture. I was referring more to getting people off University Drive and getting them to go downtown. The new Market Square development could be a good location for that type of thing. I'd like to see a downtown Rosie's. That place is always packed, a downtown version (like they have in Florence) would be a nice draw.

I'd like to see a 15-20 building downtown, I'm not disagreeing with that. It is just a lot of office space to fill. Hopefully we don't have to wait for Timinator's bank to open. :)

chasehsv

August 17th, 2006, 11:27 PM

Timanator

August 17th, 2006, 11:30 PM

But I wonder if Huntsville would allow me to build a 800 to 850ft National HQ bank building in DT Huntsville? But hey....if my dream does come true....ill probolly become a billionaire.

chasehsv

August 18th, 2006, 11:12 PM

I'm sure that city planning would not deny you if you wanted to build an 850 ft building in Huntsville as long as the site was ok.

Wildcat99

August 19th, 2006, 04:03 PM

I personally like University Drive. It has everything that I need within 5 minutes from my house. The reason everyone goes to University Drive is not because downtown sucks(which it does) but the fact that people from Madison and Monrovia are not going to drive 20 minutes to eat dinner when we can just go to University Drive and eat and shop.

Ahhh, convienence. The suburban lifestyle. I have a real distaste for communities like Madison and Monrovia because I feel the land usage is wasteful and flat out unattractive. Sprawl. What does everyone hate about the suburbs of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston...sprawl. There is nothing unique, nothing with character, nothing that defines the area. Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy... could be anywhere in America. A little of that type of development goes a long way and Huntsville has more than enough suburban strip mall development for a city of its size. Dowtown defines a city, without it, there is no identity. I choose to support downtown businesses as much as possible because I want to see it grow.

brandoni57

August 19th, 2006, 10:15 PM

Tim you build a high rise but nothing too tall because the city wouldn't allow it. Supposedly there is a a height restriction due to concerns of unstable ground from the spring downtown. I haven't researched the matter so I don't know if this is true, but I have heard it by WOM. Huntsville will never have a highrise over 800 feet, and for good reason, it would dwarf our "mountains." A couple 20 - 25 story office buildings and/or condos would be just fine. And Huntsville's skyline from gound level only really looks good from the southwest corner of the lake downtown. Now from above the city looks awesome. While I was on the top floor of the AmSouth building in training looking south Huntsville looks like a city in the carribean. There are buildings standing between very green rolling hills and mountains, and the hospital has its own skyline jutting out of the green landscape.

FYI Regions will not build downtown, they haven't renewed their lease at existing downtown location and rumor has it they are about to sign a lease with Colonial the owner and property managment company of the AmSouth center. Floors 1, 2, 3 and 11 are for the main tenant AmSouth Bank (soon to be Regions). Floors 4 through 10 are unaffected by the merger because they are tenants like lawyers, developers, accountants, etc. that will always be there regardless of the name on the roof... soon to be "Regions Financial" All regions will need to run smoothly are those four floors of space.

brandoni57

August 19th, 2006, 10:39 PM

Ahhh, convienence. The suburban lifestyle. I have a real distaste for communities like Madison and Monrovia because I feel the land usage is wasteful and flat out unattractive. Sprawl. What does everyone hate about the suburbs of Atlanta, Dallas, Houston...sprawl. There is nothing unique, nothing with character, nothing that defines the area. Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy... could be anywhere in America. A little of that type of development goes a long way and Huntsville has more than enough suburban strip mall development for a city of its size. Dowtown defines a city, without it, there is no identity. I choose to support downtown businesses as much as possible because I want to see it grow.

I totally agree with you Wildcat99. Sprawl is getting horrible in Huntsville. Just the other day driving Cecil Ashburn over the mountain towards Hampton Cove it hit me like a bag of dirt. You can see dirt flying everywhere out there. At what point do we say enough is enough? Huntsville had at one point the world's largest Urban Farm- Jones Valley, now the southern half of it is about to be completely developed and only the Jones heirs no their price tag for the northern half where you can see the tree line of the mountain so finite against the plains where the cattle graze.
Wasted real estate is what it is when developers build something new downtown that is not over 12 floors. It will cost more 30 years from now when the lots are built up downtown to dynamite 30 year old too short buildings to build TALLER 15-25 story buildings they should have built to begin with!! Unfortunately I don't think Huntsville will get it until its too late, in just 20 years the 72 corridor will be sprawl from Athens to Jackson county... the 231 from Tennessee to south of the river. And all Huntsville will be is neighborhoods and parking lots for our shopping. And THEN! when its really too late it will take another 10 years to plan and build a much needed "light rail train" that wouldn't have ever been needed in the first place with proper planning!

Timanator

August 20th, 2006, 06:08 AM

So what your saying Huntsville will proboly forever have an european typr skyline?

Timanator

August 20th, 2006, 06:12 AM

And when will they get that high-way over pass done on Memorial Parkway...I mean common...Huntsville is growing fast...and we dont have the time to doddle around on this project.

Timanator

August 20th, 2006, 06:13 AM

Timanator

August 20th, 2006, 06:14 AM

Timanator

August 20th, 2006, 06:16 AM

Sorry...must have clicked the Post Reply button twice

emutiny

August 20th, 2006, 06:38 AM

Embassy Suites Hotel

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/embassy.jpg

This 10 story hotel is still on the ground floor. The building should be completed in about a year. The city, along with the construction of the hotel, is building a "riverwalk" to expand the ever shrinking Big Spring Park (right side of picture). Here are the plans for that:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b191/james527/012104_riverwalk.jpg

The part nearest to the pedestrian bridge was completed last week. There are plans to put a small ampitheatre at the west end of the riverwalk (left side of the picture) and use "water taxis" to escort people around Big Spring Park. The last idea is being protested by citizens (including myself) because it would involve demolishing the "Red Bridge", a gift from the Japanese government given to the city in 1987.

there is an embassy suites in cary, nc that looks very similar to this one. Ill see if i can find a pic.

Timanator

August 20th, 2006, 06:41 AM

Man...You know the AmSouth building looks pretty good...but if it was built...lets say in 2000...would it have been taller?

brandoni57

August 20th, 2006, 09:27 AM

road construction is slow man, you know that. and yes, if AmSouth Center had been built in 2000 they would have found a way for it to be shorter and uglier. Dont give up on your dream, fight the city and win the city... be the BIGGEST. for the record: Downtown does not suck, the skyline is sub par, but the night life is great, and getting better all the time, I just got back from House of Brews, that place is off the wall and totally unique to Huntsvegas. upstairs lounge with couches and jazz music and NO smoking with ALL drinking.

HSVTiger

August 21st, 2006, 02:37 PM

There are no height restrictions, maybe air rights but nothing to keep
height limited. Remember also the official downtown boundaries are considered to be The Parkway to the west, although that will be expanded
further west, Governors Dr. to the south, includes all of the Medical District,
(Big new developments will occur once the HUD projects are moved and redone) East is California, and North is Pratt. So when the thinking is expanded beyond the courthouse square there is tremendous potential
and projects going on. Now If someone would just do my trolley(Light rail) from 5 Points, VBC to Parkway Place :nuts:

Wachovia could own North Alabama with a 25-30 story scraper. Have a 5 story lobby, a built in parking deck 8-10 floors and a restaurant with outdoor
seating on the top two floors and you would have a new destination downtown. Build two condo towers 15 and 20 at the Ovation site with on the street retail, clubs, restaurants and then you have the energy required to
build an exciting downtown,(301 East is a good first step) this is called the tipping point by some. We haven't reached that point yet. :scouserd:

brandoni57

August 23rd, 2006, 05:52 AM

If any bank could or should build a new high rise downtown its Redstone Federal Credit Union, they pretty much have the majority of the Huntsville market, and they have no downtown location. Why in the world do they not have at least one branch downtown??? Is it possible they are holding out to build a large high rise with a branch on the bottom floors? I know they have the huge main office off of Wynn, but man that'd be nice having a Huntsville based bank with the tallest building downtown.

Yeah, I suppose the downtown area is more or COULD be more than just around the spring. I am kind of hoping our new high rise core becomes the area north of the AmSouth Center and south of I-565, and carried over west and south (via demolishing and moving the project housing tenants) towards the heart of huntsville area that McClain is redeveloping. There shouldn't be any threat of sinking buildings due to springs/caves beneath the surface in that area anyway.

jmanhsv

August 23rd, 2006, 10:55 PM

^I agree. RFCU (correct me if I'm wrong) is the largest Huntsville-based financial company. They need to build something downtown. If they don't want to build something downtown, then they should build something taller than that sprawling 3-story complex in Research Park. But, if they ever do build something downtown, chances are it would have a blue roof. :)

And also, part of the area you mentioned as the new "highrise core" is designated on the Downtown Master Plan as a future "office district." I think it's the area north of Monroe and west of the Depot, which would include the projects and the "office village" being developed.

Wildcat99

August 23rd, 2006, 11:17 PM

Yeah, I suppose the downtown area is more or COULD be more than just around the spring. I am kind of hoping our new high rise core becomes the area north of the AmSouth Center and south of I-565, and carried over west and south (via demolishing and moving the project housing tenants) towards the heart of huntsville area that McClain is redeveloping. There shouldn't be any threat of sinking buildings due to springs/caves beneath the surface in that area anyway.

There is a large paved parking lot with a large gravel lot next to it bounded by Holmes, Jefferson and Spragins on three sides. It would be a great location for a 25 story or so building. I hate to see large parking lots like that downtown, it would be a prime lot for infill because from that location you could easily walk to anywhere downtown.

Wildcat99

August 23rd, 2006, 11:40 PM

I totally agree with you Wildcat99. Sprawl is getting horrible in Huntsville. Just the other day driving Cecil Ashburn over the mountain towards Hampton Cove it hit me like a bag of dirt. You can see dirt flying everywhere out there. At what point do we say enough is enough? Huntsville had at one point the world's largest Urban Farm- Jones Valley, now the southern half of it is about to be completely developed and only the Jones heirs no their price tag for the northern half where you can see the tree line of the mountain so finite against the plains where the cattle graze.
Wasted real estate is what it is when developers build something new downtown that is not over 12 floors. It will cost more 30 years from now when the lots are built up downtown to dynamite 30 year old too short buildings to build TALLER 15-25 story buildings they should have built to begin with!! Unfortunately I don't think Huntsville will get it until its too late, in just 20 years the 72 corridor will be sprawl from Athens to Jackson county... the 231 from Tennessee to south of the river. And all Huntsville will be is neighborhoods and parking lots for our shopping. And THEN! when its really too late it will take another 10 years to plan and build a much needed "light rail train" that wouldn't have ever been needed in the first place with proper planning!

I hope they limit the Jones Valley development because that is a very pretty area. If they eat up all that farmland it would be a real shame. I'm afraid they will. I never understand why all these developments have to be single story. Why not have a second floor above these huge shopping centers? Doctors, dentists, lawyers and other small businesses could use it and benefit from the exposure Target or whatever retailer provides.

chasehsv

August 29th, 2006, 02:37 AM

RFCU is not going to build a downtown highrise anytime soon. It was in the last two years that they finished remodeling their mainbranch. I'm not saying that it isn't going to happen, but just not in the next 10 years.

Timanator

August 29th, 2006, 05:58 AM

jmanhsv.......does this mean we could have a building taller than the AmSouth Building?

jmanhsv

August 29th, 2006, 09:29 PM

^If you're referring to my last post about the office district, no, it doen not mean that we're definitely getting a high-rise in that area. It just means that the city will encourage office development in that area. But first they need to come up with a redevelopment plan for the housing projects in that area, and that probably won't happen until the Councill Court redevelopment is complete.

Mister_E

September 8th, 2006, 11:14 AM

I'm sorry to announce that Huntsville has officially disappeared off the face of the map... With the recent annexation boom going on in Birmingham, Nashville and Atlanta the city government just decided to dissolve and become a part of the big three... So that explains the lack of developement news here...

jmanhsv

September 8th, 2006, 11:33 PM

^What? There has been some development, like plans for Huntsville's first ALDI on 72 West and a Red Robin in Jones Valley, but that's small stuff. This thread is for bigger developments, like skyscrapers (hence the forum name). I talk about the small developments over at UP. BTW, a Huntsville-Decatur subforum is about to be formed over there, if anyone would like to check it out.

jmanhsv

September 9th, 2006, 04:21 PM

And now, the hope for some big retail development.
Huntsville Times article (http://www.al.com/business/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/business/1157793453116920.xml&coll=1)
Mayor reaches out to retailers
Saturday, September 09, 2006
By WAYNE SMITH
Times Business Editor

As Federated Department Stores relaunches the Macy's brand nationwide, what is the chance a Macy's could wind up in Huntsville?

The retailer isn't saying, but city officials say they would welcome the high-end department store with open arms.

Mayor Loretta Spencer said Friday that she wrote to Macy's president three weeks ago asking him to consider Huntsville.

She also sent letters to the top executives at Nordstrom and Rich's, two other high-end retailers who do not have a presence in Huntsville.

She hasn't heard back, but Spencer said she followed the letters by sending a CD promoting Huntsville and the surrounding area. "It shows our attractions, our nightlife,'' she said. "I'm hoping they'll see it as an invitation to take a closer look at us."

Spencer said Macy's is a topic often discussed. She said if the city had been able to reach an agreement with the Peabody Hotel a few years ago, it would have helped it attract Macy's. "The city couldn't afford to put up that kind of money," Spencer said. "We can't do as much for retail and commercial as we can do for industry."

She hopes that will attract more interest from major retailers, adding that Huntsville draws shoppers from all over North Alabama and southern Tennessee.

"When you can show them what our economy is like. We're a mid-sized city, but the things we have to offer can compete with larger cities. Our shopping areas are more confined."

A Macy's East spokesperson couldn't be reached for comment Friday about the Huntsville market.

Macy's has two stores in Birmingham, and several in the Nashville area.

Mister_E

September 15th, 2006, 08:39 AM

hey jman.. how about that sleek new 85 story tower downtown? real nice don't you think?:) i really like the changes they've made to the former sci building.. i haven't seen anythng like that in this city..

jmanhsv

September 22nd, 2006, 10:57 PM

Verizon Wireless will build its state HQ and call center in Research Park. The $44 million center will be open in late 2007 and will employ 1300.

Verizon project promises 1,300 jobs
Friday, September 22, 2006
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer

Verizon Wireless plans to build a $44 million, 152,000-square-foot Alabama headquarters and customer service center in Thornton Research Park in Huntsville.

The center is scheduled to be completed late next year and is expected to have about 1,300 employees by the end of 2008. The starting salary at the call center will be $26,000 a year.

"This is a huge investment that's going to make a difference," said Gov. Bob Riley, who made the announcement Thursday at the Von Braun Center, standing in front of a blue and white sign with "1,300 New Jobs" stamped across it. "It's going to improve on (the community's) quality of life."

The company already has about 24 call centers nationwide, said Jim McGean, president of Verizon Wireless' Georgia/Alabama region. "We've looked for communities to partner with because we're here to stay, we're here to grow," he said. "Every time we build them, we expand them even within the first year."

The company was attracted to Huntsville, McGean said, because of its strong quality of life and proximity to a number of other states. Another plus for Huntsville was that it wasn't already saturated with other call centers, McGean said, which should help the company find workers.

"I'm very excited to be here," McGean said. "Our team is very excited to be here."

The bulk of the Huntsville's center support will be for customers in the Northeast, he said. Calls will be handled concerning service and billing questions, products and services.

The company plans to break ground by the end of the year, and hiring is expected to begin next summer. Blake Messinger, director of corporate real estate/facilities operations for Verizon Wireless, said he wouldn't be surprised if the company starts interviewing, hiring and training in early to mid-spring.

Messinger said the company's $44 million investment includes the purchase of about 25 acres from the UAH Foundation - the nonprofit organization that administers land sales in Cummings Research Park East and Thornton Research Park - the building, furniture, fixtures and equipment and the information technology infrastructure.

The company paid about $1.25 million for the site, Messinger said.

"When Verizon Wireless ramps up (to 1,300 employees), it will be one of the community's top 10 private-sector employers," said Evans Quinlivan, vice chairman of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.

Incentives package

The City of Huntsville, Madison County, the State of Alabama and the Tennessee Valley Authority pitched in $1.25 million in cash, said Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development Office. Of that amount, $850,000 is coming from the state, he said.

An estimated $1 million in training through the Alabama Industrial Development Training is also part of the incentives package.

Verizon Wireless looked at "a lot of different communities" for the center, Riley said, but what sold the company on Huntsville was "your quality of life. ... It's not incentives."

jmanhsv

October 5th, 2006, 11:35 PM

The Country Club Apartments on Airport Road will be razed and redeveloped as a mixed-use development, with offices, condos and retail. This property is in the middle of the vibrant Airport Road retail area, which is about 2-3 miles south of downtown. Huntsville Times article
(http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/116003984019530.xml&coll=1)
Condos, stores may replace apartments
Rezone sought for Airport Road site; plans 'preliminary'
Thursday, October 05, 2006
By JOHN PECK

Soon, the 1960s-era Country Club Apartments on Airport Road may be razed for a development featuring condominiums, assisted-living units, restaurants and shops.

Plans are "very preliminary," said a prospective developer, William Stroud of Triad Properties, and the apartment owner representative, Scott Averbuch.

"We don't have a finalized deal," Averbuch said.

"We're in the process of reviewing alternative site plans," Stroud said. "Our concept is generally to have retail fronting Airport Road and turning into the site along a private road with a Main Street atmosphere."

A private access road would enable developers to use cobblestone and other nontraditional road features conducive to walking and sidewalk dining, he said.

A public hearing has been set before the city Planning Commission on Oct. 24 on a proposal to rezone the 21.29-acre site. The rezoning would split the site from R 2-A residential use to C-1 (commercial) for 8.31 acres fronting Airport Road and R 2-B for the remaining 12.98 acres. The R-2B zoning has different height and density requirements that would allow offices and assisted living. The C-1 zoning is needed for offices, shops and restaurants.

Averbuch said that his family developed the 200-unit apartment complex in 1962 and that redevelopment is inevitable. "We have been looking at it for a number of years."

Stroud said he envisions a complex with as many as 100 condos. He said Triad likely would form a partnership with someone else if assisted-living units become part of the mix. Triad is developing the Big Spring Summit office tower downtown.