Let's talk about some other developments around Montgomery since we have some new info about New Park and the area around Ray Thorington Road...particularly developments J,L, and I on the map below.
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Originally Posted by bystander1
Although there is lots of new construction going on in the city's more established neighborhoods, the outskirts of the city continue to grow seemingly without letup.
These are a few of the larger developments that I know of that will have 200 or more homes. I didn't list the ones that are 200 homes or less, they're many more of those.
As we learn the names or any other information of the known and unknown developments, please post them here. 
A. Unknown development – PUD – plans submitted to planning commission
B. Unknown development – luxury apartments – plans submitted to planning commission
C. Community Village – mixed use development – plans submitted to planning commission
D. Unknown development – PUD – plans submitted to planning commission – turned down by city council; must make changes and resubmit plans for approval
E. Unknown development – PUD – plans submitted to planning commission
F. Unknown development – PUD – roads, sewers, sidewalks, and lakes are currently under construction
G. Taylor Lakes – PUD – under construction
H. Unknown development – PUD – plans submitted to planning commission
I. Hampstead – new urban development – plans submitted to planning commission
J. *Aronov property* – no plans submitted as of yet
K. Ryan Ridge – PUD – under construction
L. Jim Wilson development – mixed use development – plans submitted to planning commission |
October 23, 2006
Top developers converge in East Montgomery
By David Zaslawsky
MONTGOMERY – It is billed as the largest smart growth development in the area.
The area’s top developers, including Jim Wilson & Associates, Aronov, Lowder and Alfa are building projects for the massive 3,960-acre site, which is now being referred to as the Taylor Road/Ray Thorington corridor in Southeast Montgomery.
Once completed over a 15-year span, the project will feature 11,880 housing units with a projected population of 27,324.
“You have Aronov, Lowder, Alfa and Wilson -- the four biggest developers in the state all positioned right here – that ought to tell you something,” said Will Wilson, vice president of development for Jim Wilson & Associates.
The economic impact is as staggering as the project – ranging from a conservative estimate of $289 million to $667 million, according to a study by University of Alabama’s Arthur Allaway. The range reflects net new dollars at 25 percent and 50 percent.
The project is expected to attract affluent residents with an estimated one-third of the median household income between $80,000-$99,000 and another third at $120,000-$149,999. The remaining one-third is expected to comprise a median household income of $50,000-$69,999.
Those residents are expected to spend and spend and spend. Here are the annual projections:
$26.1 million on food to cook at home
$21.7 million on meals away from home
$39.9 million on furniture, electronics and appliances
$91.1 million on vehicles and transportation-related expenses
$39.9 million on health care and health care insurance
$36.8 million on pet products, hobbies and entertainment
$44.2 million on utilities, insurance, repairs and general household operations
$102 million on mortgage payments, interest and charges
$7 million on women’s and girls’ apparel and related services
$3.6 million on men’s and boys’ apparel and related services
Those figures are based on the 50 percent net new dollars and using that same formula, the estimated direct retails sales expenditures will top $250 million.
After four years, the development would be able to support a women’s clothing store and a men’s clothing store according to Allaway. Here are some other milestones the development can support:
By the end of year five: A supermarket and two-three restaurants
By the end of year seven: Two supermarkets, a drug store and two personal care stores
By the end of year 10: A new car dealership and a home center.
Although residents will spend hundreds of million dollars on retail sales, the development itself will have a limited amount of retail because the nearby area of Taylor and Vaughn roads is already booming with retail outlets.
Ken Groves, planner for the city of Montgomery, said the project will “have some office space and retail – like a little village.”
The largest segment of the project is Jim Wilson & Associates’ 1,429 acres – more than four times the size of their EastChase development. It is called New Park.
“It will be a full-service community,” said Kay Yarbrough, director of marketing and public relations for Jim Wilson & Associates. “It will encompass all age groups – multi-generational.”
“We are trying to make it a place where people want to be,” Will Wilson said. “We try to give it a sense of place and by putting Jim Wilson & Associates’ name on it, people know they will get quality. We will maintain the integrity of the development as my dad has done at Wynlakes or any of his commercial projects.”
What the projected 7,000-8,000 New Park residents won’t get is another Wynlakes. “We’re not going to build a golf course; we’re not going to have a country club,” Wilson said. “It will not be as upscale as Wynlakes.”
But it will be upscale. Wilson said the first phase would feature 700-800 units in the $200,000-$300,000 price range. He said homes in the second phase would range from $300,000-$750,000. There are also 100-foot lots available for million-dollar homes.
An important element of New Park is a new YMCA facility. “We gave the Y 15 acres and $1 million in cash so they could build a state-of-the-art YMCA out here,” Wilson said.
Wilson said his company has been working with school officials and said New Park has room for an elementary school and a junior high.
Tommy Tyson, land use controls administrator for the city of Montgomery, said Wilson’s project will have 300,000-plus square feet for retail use, which is the equivalent to the Wal-Mart-anchored Midtown Plaza in Montgomery. There is another 170,000 square feet of office space that is located next to the retail area. There is a site for a church adjacent to the office space, but Wilson said it may not be built.
Wilson said the retail segment could include a grocery store, pharmacy, bank, dry cleaners, hardware store and “a couple of nice restaurants – three-four at the max.”
“We really haven’t focused on the retail component – that will come later when we have enough houses built to support it,” Wilson said. “Then we will figure out what’s the best fit and what our needs are. Right now our main focus is on the subdivision and getting houses in there.”
The development will feature five neighborhoods and a combined 3,497 units, which includes apartments, lofts and might feature assisted and independent living.
Four ponds dot the project, totaling 100-plus acres and there is a 15-plus acre town center. Nearly 170 acres has been set aside for natural buffers and undisturbed wetlands – about half the size of EastChase.
Adjacent to New Park is the 416-acre Hampstead project being developed by Anna Lowder and Harvi Sahota. It will contain 1,800-plus residential units, 30-50 retail outlets, 8-10 restaurants, seven multi-use buildings and office space, according to Lowder, director of development for Hampstead, along with her husband Harvi Sahota. Hampstead is also planning a school, church and playfields.
The residential units will range from around $150,000 to $1 million-plus custom homes. Lowder said there will be luxury apartment homes and “standard apartments that are affordable.”
A 10-acre man-made lake forms the center of the development, which features three neighborhoods and each will contain civic buildings and public-gathering spaces. Two of those neighborhoods will have townhouses, single-family residences, apartments and lofts similar to ones developed by Lowder and Sahota in downtown Montgomery.
The town center facing Taylor Road will have the most commercial buildings, Lowder said, including three of the development’s restaurants. It will be constructed during Hampstead’s first phase. Construction is scheduled to begin in the spring.
Some of the buildings in the town center facing Taylor Road will include apartments and live-work units, where a small business owner works downstairs and lives upstairs. There will be a formal town square designed around the Hampstead Town Hall, a gathering spot for residents and visitors.
“The stores will be locally owned small businesses,” Lowder said. “We will have salons, art galleries, pet shops, banks, dry cleaners, hardware store, travel agent, mortgage corporation and hopefully doctor’s office, lawyer’s office – everything you need.”
She said businesses would range from about 500 square feet – a live-work unit – to about 1,200 square feet.
A second neighborhood center will wrap around the lake and the area will feature outdoor areas. Lowder said the third neighborhood would be a more rural setting.
Meanwhile, Michael “Mickey” Griffin, director of corporate services for Aronov, said his company is developing about 750 acres in the overall project and it might be an extension of its Deer Creek subdivision. But he said that Aronov might opt to “create a whole new environment.” The land is adjacent to the New Park development.
Griffin said the project could begin within a couple of years.
“It’s in flux now,” Griffin said. “Everything is determined by market conditions. It will be residential and there will be pockets of retail to support the residential. Any time you have a large group of rooftops in a certain area, you are going to need all types of commercial uses, civic uses and religious uses.”
Tyson said Aronov’s project will have 150,000-plus square feet of retail space. Griffin said he expects the development will have restaurants.
The development might also have office space, Griffin said. “We’ll have to see how that develops. The market dictates generally what happens on dirt.”
Meanwhile, Alfa’s project is an expansion of Sturbridge Plantation, which was originally 425 acres, but now encompasses 750 acres.
J. Mark Fain, real estate investment specialist for Alfa, said the company has “three-four years worth of vacant land to develop” before working on a 140-acre tract next to Hampstead that will have another 250-300 single-family homes.
When the project is completed, it will have 850-900 single-family homes in addition to the 360 multi-family units and offices at Sturbridge Commons as well as shopping at Sturbridge Village.
“Sturbridge is one of the first master-planned communities that incorporated a shopping component, a small office component and a multi-family component all into one plan,” Fain said.
The existing single-family homes at Sturbridge Plantation range from the upper $100,000-mid $400,000, Fain said.
“New homes on 100-foot lots range from $400,000-$650,000,” Fain said. He said there are 100-foot lots that back up to a recently developed lake.
“We do a lot of listening and watching the bigger players as different elements come out,” Fain said.
The Ida Belle Young estate owns about 200 acres adjacent to Alfa’s property and Fain said the company “looks at most any land in East Montgomery.”
After the nearly 4,000-acre project is completed, Tyson said an additional 1,000-1,500 acres around the area would be developed “probably 20 years from now.”
David Zaslawsky is editor of the Central Alabama Business Journal. You can call him at (334) 230-2225 or e-mail at cabj@cabj.biz