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That farmer's market looks good. They need to fast track that. I don't see anybody else clamoring for the old Tuscaloosa Chevy property. The Ampitheathre looks pretty large. Is there even enough land on that property? I've never gotten a good sense of scale for that area.
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I heard that the city-owned parcel where the amphitheater is going is about 16 acres (though that includes a bit of land under the bridge.
The city also owns property on the other side of the railroad track.
Once the farmer's market moves to the riverfront, that parcel will open up, too, as the city owns the whole side of the hill there (farmer's market up through the "Cityfest block").
The Chevy property is another 7+ acres, if I recall.
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And about that hotel/convention center... Unfortunately, it's probably way too expensive to finance in this economy. If only David Bronner would bestow some his magic investment money this way...
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That's true, but that hotel/convention center plus that office building on the same link would've been enormous for downtown. It was hard to tell from the rendering, but looked like at least 20 stories. I have no idea who would've even had plans drawn up for such a thing.
Bronner had looked at a site on the UA campus (roughly across University Blvd from Newk's, where UA built the big parking lot) a few years ago for a possible hotel. I don't think the city wanted to pay the incentives he wanted.
We're definitely overdue for an RSA development, compared to the rest of the state.
Although not "urban development" per se (but was created to protect the land from the eastern bypass and related development) , I found a discussion of the plans for the 250-acre Hurricane Creek nature preserve on the newspaper forum:
http://forums.tuscaloosanews.com/eve...5/m/4471033788
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The University just needs to plop and anchor on its end so we can make full use of the riverfront.
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I know they were talking about a UA rowing center at one point.
Long-term, also keep an eye on the area near the Riverview boat landing for future riverfront development. The "Bluffs at Waterworks Landing" apartments that are there now (that the university contracts for overflow student housing)
are only the first phase of development of a 30+ acre property that includes an old city water treatment facility. Probably half or more of the land will need to be preserved in a natural state, but there is still room for significant development there. If UA does go ahead and buy Bryce, that property would be extremely convenient. I could easily imagine a hotel or sizable condo there.
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I'll be on the 11th floor of Rose
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My condolences
That does remind me, though, of the next tower over that Pate owns:
http://www.claravernerapartments.com/
I wonder if the Clara Verner property is large enough that Pate could eventually build a second tower there ?