The only thing holding up the Five Points improvement project now is final state approval.
City Planner Marie Bostick hopes construction on the $1.4 million makeover of Huntsville's trendy east side business district can begin by summer.
Plans call for landscaped sidewalks; a narrower, pedestrian-friendly Pratt Avenue; benches; lantern-style streetlights; new parking configurations, and other improvements.
City officials are lobbying Cramer and other members of the congressional delegation for several million dollars for as many as three more parking garages downtown. More parking, Spencer said, will help draw more condominiums, restaurants and retail development.
The garages would cost about $6 million each, said City Planning Director Dallas Fanning. Tommy Brown, director of public parking and transit for Huntsville, said the city hopes to "partner" with private developers in building the garages in conjunction with a retail or residential development.
"We don't want to go out and just build a stand-alone garage," Brown said. "
My comments below, not part of the article,
The above mentioned garages may be linked to several major
downtown projects which may include the often rumored 20+
story condo and or a retail, entertainment complex on the MarketSquare property, or another hotel office complex.
At the moment this is speculation, but like he said "we don't go out and just build a stand alone garage."In any case something is cooking..
:fc:
