Huntsville updates

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by tascalisa

Depending on how large the footprint of the building is, I think that just 5 floors would be enough considering the size of the property. That being said, I just don't see a building that short being constructed. This is prime real estate and I don't see a developer paying so much to build for something so short.



Well, the karst topography underneath downtown Huntsville makes it difficult to build any taller buildings. The area is riddled with caves and can make construction more costly and time consuming. A building around 10 or 15 stories wouldn't really be that difficult, but it's definitely something to keep in mind.

If that were the case then the AmSouth Bank wouldn't have been built. It's almost 12 stories tall when you add the tip of the building. True there are some caverns under parts of Huntsville. But not as bad a situation as some may think. The worst part would be east of downtown in the Five-Points area.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

If that were the case then the AmSouth Bank wouldn't have been built. It's almost 12 stories tall when you add the tip of the building. True there are some caverns under parts of Huntsville. But not as bad a situation as some may think. The worst part would be east of downtown in the Five-Points area.

I don't think you really read what I said... I said it's more costly and time consuming and that a 10 to 15 story building wouldn't be difficult. The topography throughout the area can actually be a big issue, a developer just has to take certain precautions. It's not like it's impossible to build a tall building. Not that I ever said it was... By "taller" I meant something like 25+, btw.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by tascalisa

I don't think you really read what I said... I said it's more costly and time consuming and that a 10 to 15 story building wouldn't be difficult. The topography throughout the area can actually be a big issue, a developer just has to take certain precautions. It's not like it's impossible to build a tall building. Not that I ever said it was... By "taller" I meant something like 25+, btw.

You said "karst topography" which has to do with underground erosion and caves. Nothing to do with cost or time consuming.

[HSVTiger]

In an article about a future road in Madison..a company (SES) was able to have the road re routed to avoid their heli-pad. They work on military helicopters. Anyway this tidbit of info was revealed:

"In a July 16 letter to Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield, SES officials said a "local builder and land developer" wanted the new road to help attract a Cabela's outdoor superstore. The road will cross 261 acres in the Madison city limits owned by developer Louis Breland.

Cabela's did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Nebraska-based competitor of Bass Pro Shops has 47 U.S. stores, but the closest to Huntsville is about five hours away in Louisville, Ky. However, Cabela's is building a new store about 30 miles north of Atlanta in Acworth, Ga."
http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf...l#incart_river

[HSVTiger]

Todd Towers downtown renovation set to begin soon.
Todd Towers is a short walk from the 301 East luxury condos, the old Times Building,
Below the Radar Brewhouse and Belk Hudson Lofts.

[HSVTiger]

This not the Lendon development under construction west of Target

During a Huntsville zoning committee meeting this morning, Raymond Jones Jr. unveiled drawings of a planned 400,000-square-foot shopping center at the northwest corner of Carl T. Jones Drive and Ledges Drive.

Jones, who is developing the 126-acre property with relatives from the Lowe and Blue families, said the still-unnamed retail project would be "more high-end" than the Valley Bend at Jones Farm shopping center directly across Carl T. Jones Drive.

The family is working with the architectural firm that designed The Summit in Birmingham and Turkey Creek, an upscale commercial development in Knoxville, Tenn.

Jones said an "ambitious" timeline would have the first stores opening in 2015.

[mustanggt]

Now that is a good spot for Von Maur, or Saks, Nordstrom, Macy's etc..!

[TimCity2000]

man, i remember when Carl T. Jones didn't even exist! you had to go up Four Mile Post (if memory serves...).

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by mustanggt

Now that is a good spot for Von Maur, or Saks, Nordstrom, Macy's etc..!

The largest spot is 104,000 sq ft probably too small for a store like that.
A similar size JC Penney Turkey Creek in Knoxville which this development has ties to/ architect. But even a Home Depot, Kroger are all in this size range and even Bass Pro.

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

The largest spot is 104,000 sq ft probably too small for a store like that.
A similar size JC Penney Turkey Creek in Knoxville which this development has ties to/ architect. But even a Home Depot, Kroger are all in this size range and even Bass Pro.

They probably won't start construction without an anchor signed, correct? Or would they build all that on speculation?

[JuanHunt]

How will this mall be any significantly different than the one across the street, or the one underway at the old airport(2 miles away)? At least put the parking behind the storefronts so something with some visual appeal is facing the street.

I guess I need to take up shopping as a hobby, I must be missing something.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

How will this mall be any significantly different than the one across the street, or the one underway at the old airport(2 miles away)? At least put the parking behind the storefronts so something with some visual appeal is facing the street.

I guess I need to take up shopping as a hobby, I must be missing something.

this one probably won't have a mattress king, subway, or china wok.
parking behind the stores is a good idea, anything to hide the asphalt

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

In an article about a future road in Madison..a company (SES) was able to have the road re routed to avoid their heli-pad. They work on military helicopters. Anyway this tidbit of info was revealed:

"In a July 16 letter to Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield, SES officials said a "local builder and land developer" wanted the new road to help attract a Cabela's outdoor superstore. The road will cross 261 acres in the Madison city limits owned by developer Louis Breland.

Cabela's did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Nebraska-based competitor of Bass Pro Shops has 47 U.S. stores, but the closest to Huntsville is about five hours away in Louisville, Ky. However, Cabela's is building a new store about 30 miles north of Atlanta in Acworth, Ga."
http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf...l#incart_river

Cabela's spokesman Wes Remmer said the company cannot comment on specific sites it may have an interest in. However, Remmer said Cabela's is in "expansion mode" and likes the Southeast.

The Bass Pro Shops competitor has announced plans for four new stores within about a 300–mile radius of Huntsville. The closest will be in Acworth, Ga., about half an hour north of Atlanta. Cabela's is also adding new stores in Augusta, Ga., Greenville, S.C., and Bristol, Va.

Cabela's does not have any existing or announced locations in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi or Florida.

"That part of the country is definitely on our radar," Remmer told AL.com Wednesday. "We have great customers in that region who have supported us for a long time through the Cabela's catalog and website."


Resembling giant log cabins, the newest Cabela's stores average 100,000 square feet and are packed with unexpected fun including aquariums, gun libraries, archery ranges and horse corrals.

[HSVTiger]

Probably a future tenant of one of these new developments along with
Twickenham Square , the old Holiday Inn mixed use project and the Hotel/retail proposed site across from the VBC.

Tropical Smoothie Café has announced plans to add 15 more locations in Alabama in the coming years. The chain, which has 11 locations throughout the state, including two in the Birmingham metropolitan area, is seeking franchise partners to develop new restaurants in the following cities:

Birmingham — Four locations.
Mobile — Four locations.
Huntsville —Four locations, the first of which would mark the brand's entry into the city.
Montgomery —Two locations.
Florence — One location, which would mark the brand's entry into the city.

[JuanHunt]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Cabela's spokesman Wes Remmer said the company cannot comment on specific sites it may have an interest in. However, Remmer said Cabela's is in "expansion mode" and likes the Southeast.

The Bass Pro Shops competitor has announced plans for four new stores within about a 300–mile radius of Huntsville. The closest will be in Acworth, Ga., about half an hour north of Atlanta. Cabela's is also adding new stores in Augusta, Ga., Greenville, S.C., and Bristol, Va.

Cabela's does not have any existing or announced locations in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi or Florida.

"That part of the country is definitely on our radar," Remmer told AL.com Wednesday. "We have great customers in that region who have supported us for a long time through the Cabela's catalog and website."


Resembling giant log cabins, the newest Cabela's stores average 100,000 square feet and are packed with unexpected fun including aquariums, gun libraries, archery ranges and horse corrals.

Put one at Drake and Parkway in empty Walmart building.

[mp7123]

Interesting. Probably a long shot though.

http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf..._river_default

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by mp7123

Interesting. Probably a long shot though.

http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf..._river_default

when Boeing built its facility at Huntsville International years ago it was mentioned or asked if Boeing would ever build airplanes here. The answer was not no. The have the room and infrastructure available to do it. The airport runways are a mile apart and can handle any aircraft flying today or in the future. Plus the airport owns land to build another runway if they had to. Boeing has been in Huntsville for 50 years.

[HSVTiger]

Guess the pressure from the City of Huntsville on aldont to do SOMETHING this decade for the primitive archaic road over Chapman Mountain..morons. aldont works so hard to keep from doing anything. Sure this will be used as another excuse not to build overpasses that have been promised for 20 years and are already funded.

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has scheduled a public involvement meeting for Project APD-0002, which will include intersection improvements and add an additional westbound lane on US 72 East from Shields to Maysville Road.

This meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 3rd from 5-7PM in the Riverton Intermediate School library, 399 Homer Nance Road

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

when Boeing built its facility at Huntsville International years ago it was mentioned or asked if Boeing would ever build airplanes here. The answer was not no. The have the room and infrastructure available to do it. The airport runways are a mile apart and can handle any aircraft flying today or in the future. Plus the airport owns land to build another runway if they had to. Boeing has been in Huntsville for 50 years.

Yea, I don't think Boeing would rule Huntsville out, but it does sound more like they're just trying to sweeten things on their end in Washington. Really though, if the unions called Boeing's bluff, I don't think they'd hesitate to build another plant elsewhere.

In one of the articles I read, a Seattle paper mentioned that Huntsville doesn't have the capabilities to bring in large cargo via water, which simply isn't true. It may not be as convenient as a port city like Seattle, or even Mobile for that matter, but ULA's plant in Decatur has proven that North Alabama is extremely capable of utilizing waterways for the transportation of large cargo.

[HSVTiger]

Boeing serious about Huntsville

Mayor Tommy Battle confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Huntsville is one of several U.S. cities in the running to potentially produce Boeing's next-generation 777X jetliner.
While Battle was unclear exactly how many jobs will be associated with the 777X, he said the economic impact would be similar to the last BRAC that brought 4,800 high-paying Department of Defense jobs to Huntsville.

"It's probably in that range if they move everything to one place," he told AL.com Tuesday afternoon.

Battle, Gov. Robert Bentley, Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield, Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong and other officials had about a two-hour meeting with Boeing executives in Birmingham earlier today.

On Nov. 13, International Association of Machinists members soundly rejected an eight-year labor contract extension that would have guaranteed the 777X jet would be manufactured in Washington state. Boeing said the vote left the company "no choice but to open the process competitively and pursue all options for the 777X."

The Rocket City is among the potential options.

Battle said Boeing already owns about 300 acres between the two runways at Huntsville International Airport. The site is large enough to accommodate Boeing's need for about 1 million square feet of production space, he said.

Battle said the Boeing executives seemed intrigued with Huntsville's pitch of a highly qualified workforce that could perform all the necessary engineering, production and systems integration work for the 777X at a single location.

"We have a storied history with aeronautics," said Battle. "We can work with commercial aviation. The governor is very engaged in this process, the secretary of commerce is very engaged.

"We look at this as a great opportunity for us."

But the competition for Boeing will be fierce. South Carolina is already wooing the company to produce the 777X in Charleston, where Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is made. The Los Angeles Times reported last week that Long Beach, Calif., is also a possibility.

"They're looking at numerous areas," said Battle. "They said they were going to be in five states and had been in some of the western states, too. It'll be a pretty wide-open competition for this."

During a speech today sponsored by the Birmingham Business Alliance, Bentley said Boeing's "significant engineering and design presence" in Huntsville could be an advantage for Alabama. The company's defense and aerospace division already employs about 2,600 people in Huntsville - many of them involved in developing NASA's new heavy-lift Space Launch System.

"I am not saying we are going to get it, but let me tell you they do like Alabama," said Bentley.

Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said at this week's Dubai Airshow that the company hopes to make a decision on the 777X within three months. The company said previously that some engineering work on the jetliner will be done in Huntsville and other company locations outside the Seattle area. Boeing engineers in Huntsville previously performed engineering work on the 787 Dreamliner.

Battle said he expects Boeing to seek formal proposals soon from the cities competing for the 777X production work. "Our cost of living is a selling point, our availability of labor is a selling point," he said.

Huntsville Times