Huntsville updates

[*BRAVO*]

I've always been surprised by Huntsville's lack of amenities considering its vast superiority to the rest of the state

As far as infrastructure... you'll have to suffer along with the rest of us until rural Alabama is no longer calling the shots.

[HSVTiger]

Coming soon Stevie B's pizza
http://www.stevibs.com/

Stevi B's Pizza announced the signing of an agreement to develop four Stevi B's Pizza locations in North Alabama with new franchisees and Huntsville area residents Jim King and Chris Hunter.

"We took an exhaustive look at the fast casual segment and specifically the highly competitive pizza category and agreed that Stevi B's has the most business potential," explains Jim King. "In addition to elevating the category with a better quality product and upscale atmosphere, we think Stevi B's does an amazing job of endearing itself to the local community which is important to us."

King and Hunter, who operate a wide variety of business throughout North Alabama, have signed a development agreement to open Stevi B's Pizza restaurants in the areas of Madison, Huntsville, Decatur and Florence, which are estimated to create about 100 jobs in the region.

I would think the new downtown development at Twickenham Square would be a good location. Plenty of residents and walk up customers. There is currently a Mcdonald's, Pizza Hut and Captain D's a few blocks away.

[HSVTiger]

a fun and great way to experience some downtown dining
DINE & DASH

http://homegrownhuntsville.com/?page_id=103

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Coming soon Stevie B's pizza
http://www.stevibs.com/

Stevi B's Pizza announced the signing of an agreement to develop four Stevi B's Pizza locations in North Alabama with new franchisees and Huntsville area residents Jim King and Chris Hunter.

I ate at one of these in Fort Payne earlier this year. Basically a CiCi's clone. Still nice to see new things coming into the city.

[BlakFlava]

Everyone I have ever met who's ever been to Huntsville say its COUNTRY

Originally Posted by *BRAVO*

I've always been surprised by Huntsville's lack of amenities considering its vast superiority to the rest of the state

As far as infrastructure... you'll have to suffer along with the rest of us until rural Alabama is no longer calling the shots.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

“We don`t compete with Birmingham, Montgomery, or Mobile,” says Battle. “We compete with Austin, Texas, the research triangle area, Silicon Valley, the Washington, D.C. area, and Maryland.”

Originally Posted by Rail Claimore

Practically everyone in this part of the state knows this. It's the rest of the state that's been a hindrance.

I always knew that good ole Huntsville delusions of grandeur existed, but I had no idea it had risen to such great and ludicrous levels.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Tourian

I always knew that good ole Huntsville delusions of grandeur existed, but I had no idea it had risen to such great and ludicrous levels.

You are missing the entire meaning of the Mayors comments

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

You are missing the entire meaning of the Mayors comments

No I'm not. He is saying the other metros in the state do not have any qualities that Huntsville hasn't met or exceeded and this his city is in the process of achieving goals and amenities of much larger metros across the country that are leaders in their fields in technology.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Tourian

No I'm not. He is saying the other metros in the state do not have any qualities that Huntsville hasn't met or exceeded and this his city is in the process of achieving goals and amenities of much larger metros across the country that are leaders in their fields.

No, I'm quite certain he's speaking of research oriented markets. The cities he named all have heavily tech based economies. Think, if Huntsville's trying to attract a big time research firm, that firm likely isn't trying to decide between Huntsville, Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery... it's trying to decide between Huntsville, Raleigh, Austin, or Seattle. When you consider that the two largest research parks are in Raleigh and Huntsville, Raleigh becomes and obvious competitor.

I seriously doubt that the mayor chose these 4 or 5 places and they JUST HAPPENED to all be research and tech competitors with Huntsville.

[HSVTiger]

Beautiful sight this afternoon

(The Huntsville Times/Bob Gathany Photographer)

[HSVTiger]

NASHVILLE - A glance across the exhibition floor at the Army Aviation Association of America's Annual Professional Forum and Exhibition is a little like looking at a mini-Huntsville, Alabama, or a walk-through map of Cummings Research Park.
Signs for Boeing, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, L3, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, SAIC and other aviation, aerospace and defense giants crowd the ceiling inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel Convention Center. There are booths for Camber, Chandler May, DynCorp, SES, WestWind and more.
Of course, there are hundreds of other exhibitors from around the world at the "Quad-A" convention who don't have an office in Huntsville - yet.
"That's the whole reason you come up here," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, touring some of the booths Monday with a host of elected and Army officials and members of the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce.
These companies and businesses know what they have to offer the Army's aviation programs. Battle and the Madison County civic and business leaders want them to know what the Rocket City area can offer them, in addition to being located near their Army "customer" on Redstone Arsenal.
"One of driving forces that we have for our area is that we have a lower cost of living ... and we're known time and time again for quality work," Battle said.
"The value to the taxpayer is really important," he said. An engineering job in Huntsville costs a company or customer 20 or 30 percent less than it would on the East or West Coast, he said, and that can make business and taxpayer dollars go further.
Battle told how he, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and others had stopped at one exhibit to look at the work of a small but growing out-of-state business. The manager asked where they were from and, after hearing the answer, said his company was thinking about opening an office there. Did they know anyone he could call for information?
"It's almost like Redstone Arsenal North up here," said Alabama 5th District Congressman Mo Brooks after seeing some of the helicopters, Unmanned Aircraft Systems, weapons and other displays. Army program offices from the arsenal put CH-47 Chinooks and a number of other aircraft and simulators on display.
The arsenal, headquarters for the Army's Program Executive Office-Aviation and Aviation and Missile Command among dozens of other commands and federal organizations, is the "hub" around which the business represented at AAAA has been built in the Huntsville area, he said.
"What you're seeing is decades of effort by community leaders coupled with our senators and congressman, putting together a ... team that works together very well," said Brooks, who was making his first visit to a Quad-A forum. "And our reputation is becoming unsurpassed, not only in the country but in the world, for our 'gee-whiz-bang' weaponry that you see on TV anytime there's a conflict."
From The Huntsville Times

[*BRAVO*]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Beautiful sight this afternoon

(The Huntsville Times/Bob Gathany Photographer)

Beautiful shot! It looks like a postcard!

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by Tourian

No I'm not. He is saying the other metros in the state do not have any qualities that Huntsville hasn't met or exceeded and this his city is in the process of achieving goals and amenities of much larger metros across the country that are leaders in their fields in technology

Originally Posted by tredici

No, I'm quite certain he's speaking of research oriented markets. The cities he named all have heavily tech based economies. Think, if Huntsville's trying to attract a big time research firm, that firm likely isn't trying to decide between Huntsville, Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery... it's trying to decide between Huntsville, Raleigh, Austin, or Seattle. When you consider that the two largest research parks are in Raleigh and Huntsville, Raleigh becomes and obvious competitor.

I seriously doubt that the mayor chose these 4 or 5 places and they JUST HAPPENED to all be research and tech competitors with Huntsville.

Okay, just for you I'll go back and ammend my post. What I said was SOOO off base it took TWO WHOLE WORDS to make it right.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Tourian

Okay, just for you I'll go back and ammend my post. What I said was SOOO off base it took TWO WHOLE WORDS to make it right.

Well, when you come in and make an argument that a city has ludicrous delusions of grandeur, you're gonna face a bit of backlash.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by tredici

Well, when you come in and make an argument that a city has ludicrous delusions of grandeur, you're gonna face a bit of backlash.

Of course. I got back exactly what I expected. I think their mayor's statement deserved some backlash. If his honest evaluation of his city's focus was to grow in the tech area, he should have left the rest of Alabama's major cities out of his statement all together. I believe it was a backhanded jab hidden under a statement of some merit.

I am not imagining Huntsville's air of superiority over the rest of Alabama.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Tourian

Of course. I got back exactly what I expected. I think their mayor's statement deserved some backlash. If his honest evaluation of his city's focus was to grow in the tech area, he should have left the rest of Alabama's major cities out of his statement all together. I believe it was a backhanded jab hidden under a statement of some merit.

I am not imagining Huntsville's air of superiority over the rest of Alabama.

See, IMO, I think William Bell would make a similar statement; maybe saying that Birmingham isn't competing with Mobile, Montgomery, or Huntsville but instead with cities like Jacksonville, Memphis, and Louisville. I don't think that would be a jab at any of the other Big 4, but simply a statement of fact. The same goes for Mobile which competes with Baton Rouge, Chattanooga, and Pensacola, not Birmingham, Montgomery, and Huntsville.

Alabama is in a unique situation where each of its four largest cities are vastly different in regards to history, culture, and economy. I don't see any problem with a mayor pointing that out. Honestly, in my opinion, it might take North Alabamians' focus off of trying to best the other cities and start actually focus on improving the city in a way that benefits the entire state.

[HSVTiger]

Latest metropolitan numbers for 2011. I include Decatur since the city limits of Huntsville and Decatur are separated only by by I-65, Decatur is not included in Huntsville's numbers

Birmingham/Hoover 1,132,264

Huntsville 425,480
Decatur 154,070

Mobile 412,577

Montgomery 378,608

US Census

[HSVTiger]

Getting prepared for hopefully Audi

With Audi and Volvo both reportedly on the lookout for U.S. manufacturing sites, Battle and local economic development officials are determined to get the Sewell farm back in play.
Last fall, the city began quietly gathering data needed to have the Greenbrier Road property certified as a Tennessee Valley Authority Megasite -- the program that helped Chattanooga land VW.
In February, the city hired former Huntsville Planning Director Dallas Fanning as a $200-an-hour consultant to assist the Megasite effort. It is also paying the Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon engineering firm $212,000 to produce detailed topographical maps of the Sewell property, which was annexed into the city several years ago..
Shane Davis, Huntsville's director of urban development, said he hopes to submit a request for Megasite consideration in the next 60 days.
The McCallum Sweeney site selection firm from Greenville, S.C., would then comb through the Sewell property to see if it qualifies. Davis said he hopes to have an answer by late summer.
Megasite status "essentially gives a stamp of approval that the site is development-ready," Davis said Thursday.
Five of the eight industrial Megasites certified by TVA since the program began have sold.
VW bought in Chattanooga. Hemlock Semiconductor chose Clarksville, Tenn., north of Nashville. Toyota went to Tupelo, Miss. Heavy-duty truck manufacturer PACCAR and SeverCorr, which specializes in recycled steel, both settled in Columbus, Miss.
Megasites remain on the market in Hopkinsville, Ky., and Stanton, Tenn., half an hour east of Memphis.
The lone TVA Megasite in Alabama - located off Interstate 65 about six miles south of Athens -- lost its certification when the owners declined to renew an option agreement with the Limestone County Economic Development Association.
HSV Times

[BlakFlava]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Latest metropolitan numbers for 2011. I include Decatur since the city limits of Huntsville and Decatur are separated only by by I-65, Decatur is not included in Huntsville's numbers

Birmingham/Hoover 1,132,264

Huntsville 425,480
Decatur 154,070

Mobile 412,577

Montgomery 378,608

US Census

But the three other metros, Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery feels waaay more metro/urban/city than Huntsville though. They also look more like urban areas. They have tall buildings and good looking downtown areas. But that's my opinion.

[Saj07]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Latest metropolitan numbers for 2011. I include Decatur since the city limits of Huntsville and Decatur are separated only by by I-65...

Dont forget that Athens city limits also now touches Huntsville's at the I65/Huntsville Browns Ferry Rd. general area!