Major downtown development set to begin soon..
I question the streetscape design and should there be better access to an extended Big Spring Park. Here is also an excellent chance to go vertical and create something dynamic instead of a parking garage facade. But a new possible Publix and another downtown hotel are big positives.
Mayor Tommy Battle announced Monday that parties are near agreement to start a major downtown retail, commercial and residential development on the site of the old Councill Courts public housing project. Final approval by all four of the partners - the city, Huntsville Housing Authority and two developers - is expected in the next two weeks, Battle said.
The total value of the development, which will be in the area bordered by Gallatin Street and Lowe and St. Clair Avenues, will be $85-$90 million, Battle said. It includes 200 new apartments, a major grocery store, a new hotel, retail shops and an office building. Final completion will take up to three years, Battle said.
"This is one of the premier developments we've been looking for for a long time," Battle said. "It has all the elements we've been looking for." Battle said the 200 new "loft-style" apartments are being designed with young professionals in mind, and the development should create new excitement and interest in downtown Huntsville.
The city will contribute $8 million in funds and the developers $2 million to get started, Battle said, and the first thing to be built is the 700-space parking garage. Battle said "there are still some balls in the air, still some things to be worked out" on the deal, and that it has at least one "go/no go point" when bids come in on the garage. The City Council, which must approve the deal, has already authorized an architect to begin designing the garage.