Montgomery development news

[bystander1]

Cool to see the new development and redevelopment going on in the Midtown area. But that area will really be congested when Midtown Plaza is completed on the other side of 85. The Ann Street/I-85 exit is already congested as it is. I heard that the intersection will be redeveloped soon but I don't know how that will be possible with all of the businesses and roads closely surrounding that intersection.

[neilson]

Any new residential growth or mixed-use projects out near Hope Hull?

I'm waiting to see Southern and Western Montgomery County get their share, especially Hope Hull.

[bystander1]

^^ A 150-acre residential development is in the planning stages for land off of Hwy 31 just south of Hyundai Blvd.

[neilson]

Sweet; I just know that in 5-10 years, Hope Hull will be the next big growth area for the River Region.

[thoraudio]

Centennial Hill is one of Montgomery's few downtown neighborhoods, wedged inbetween the CBD and the interstate.

Summit aims to upgrade Centennial Hill

By David Irvin
Montgomery Advertiser

Community leaders, home owners and others interested in the revitalization of the Centennial Hill section of Montgomery will gather Saturday morning at Alabama State University to discuss ways to improve the area.

Donald Jenkins heads the Centennial Hill Gardening Project, a community organization that provides the area with educational and cultural opportunities. At Saturday's summit, sponsored by the Montgomery Improvement Association, he will talk about how he believes the community can be improved.

"The condition of (the area) is due to an extremely large number of absentee landlords," Jenkins said. "For the most part, most of our homeowners are very good homeowners, but a lot of the investors have a tendency not to do the same."

The decline of the community is unfortunate, he said, because of the historic role it played in the lives of black residents before integration.

The integration of the city contributed to the area's decline, officials with the MIA said Thursday. Following integration, the black elite living in Centennial Hill exercised their right to move to other parts of the city.

The construction of Inerstate 85 also contributed, they added, when entire blocks were condemned to allow for the interstate's construction.

But the issues of today are what Jenkins is interested in, he said. Those are the only ones that can be fixed.

"The proposed solution is to increase home ownership by offering incentives for those who want to invest in a home," Jenkins said, "to offer an opportunity for people to come to housing that they will be proud of, no matter where they come from."

Officials with the MIA hope the various sessions -- in business, education and housing -- will inform participants about investing in the area and to volunteer to develop strategic plans and research, among others.

Mary House, an educator who teaches GED classes at the Gardening Project headquarters, is hopeful about the summit.

"It is going to mean in the long run that their property is going to be more valuable, and it will mean a better place to live," she said.

Invitations were sent out for the event last month. For more information on attendance, call the MIA at (334) 265-6262.

[bystander1]

^^ Cottage Hill is another historic downtown neighborhood that will undergo revitalization. Design students at Auburn University are working on a concept for the project.

[thoraudio]

Another article on Centennial Hill

Centennial Hill neighborhood 'can be great again'

By David Irvin
Montgomery Advertiser

Lorenza Patrick loves Centennial Hill. In fact, his heart races anytime someone starts talking about the neighborhood, he said. Above all, he wants the community that lives there to fight for it.

At an economic summit Saturday at Alabama State University, Patrick and many others spoke about the historic Centennial Hill neighborhood, which over the years has fallen into disarray, with vacant buildings lining the streets, homes slouching on their foundations and criminal activity stunting economic growth.

"We have to be prepared to fight this fight on an economic development level," said Patrick, who grew up in the neighborhood and now runs the Small Business Development Center at Alabama State University.

"Somebody is going to invest downtown, but they might not look like you. And they might not be from Montgomery, and they might not be from Alabama," he told a group of mostly black business people.

In response to the scourge of decay on the Hill, a group of residents and planners who say the neighborhood can thrive again brainstormed ideas Saturday morning with the goal of making their dream come true.

Rep. John Knight Jr., D-Montgomery, opened the summit by encouraging the attendees to take seriously the task of revitalizing the Hill. He said there is no reason Centennial Hill should not have comparable housing values to those found in the Cloverdale district.

"Decay has set in, but she can be great again," Knight said.

The key to making it happen, according to summit attendees, is to develop a plan to solve some of the social problems that repulse economic development.

"Today we have high crime. We have an environment that is not appealing," said Simuel Sippial, whose father started Sippial Electrical and Construction Co. in the Centennial Hill neighborhood.

An expert in real estate and property management, Sippial said, "the worst thing that I find that detracts people from going to a certain area is crime. In order to get people attracted back to this area, you've got to build something that's going to bring them back," he said.

Sippial wants to see a comprehensive plan that can be put into action, he said. He said he envisions a mixed-use Centennial Hill, replete with condos, traditional and old-style houses, and plenty of room for businesses.

The Montgomery Improvement Association, which hosted the summit, produced a pledge for attendees to sign.

Officials with the association intend to put all the ideas generated at the summit into motion early next year, when they develop work teams to look at business development, education, home ownership and church community developmen

[thoraudio]

More on the Prattville bond issue.

Residents split on city's future

By Marty Roney
Montgomery Advertiser

PRATTVILLE -- Feelings about Prattville borrowing up to $48 million to land two sprawling shopping centers and a convention center on the east side of town seem to be split evenly among two groups, Old Prattville and New Prattville.

Prattville has experienced tremendous growth since the 1970s, and that influx of new residents has crowded some of those who remember when Prattville was a sleepy little farm town of 13,000. The city has a population now estimated at more than 28,000. The idea of the city going into debt to foster private enterprise seems to cause the most heartburn in natives and longtime residents.

East Main Street/Cobbs Ford Road is the main road in town now, going through subdivisions and the heart of the city's primary retail area.

"I can remember when the only thing past the Memorial Drive and East Main Street intersection was cotton fields and the Holiday Inn," said Jimmy Deas, who moved to Prattville in 1975. "Prattville is not the city we raised our children in. I would like to go back to those days."

A trip back into time is impossible, said Mayor Jim Byard. As the city's chief executive, he has to walk the tightrope of moving Prattville forward while remaining true to its small town roots.

"I grew up in Prattville. I remember the time when you knew practically everyone in town," he said. "But a city that doesn't move forward stagnates. People can say we've grown too much, but most of those people would be the first to say they are glad they don't have to shop across the river for everything anymore.

"Personally, I think the thing that makes Prattville so special is its spirit, not its size. We still have that spirit of neighbor looking out for neighbor. The growth is going to continue. If we control that growth, we can always have that neighborly spirit."

Once up and running in mid-2007, the planned retail stores will produce about $10 million a year in additional revenue, the mayor said. The bond payment, about $3.8 million a year for 20 years, will come from that new revenue. Once the payment is removed, the city would see an additional $5.6 million in revenue, city hall figures state. That money will pay for additional city services, the mayor said.

Chamber of Commerce figures state the growth will create about 1,300 new jobs. On Thursday, Circuit Judge Ben Fuller validated the bond package, removing the last procedural hurdle for the city.

Carla Nelson is a newer Prattville resident. Her family moved from Montgomery about five years ago.

"I don't think that clique feeling is as big as it used to be," Nelson said. "When we got here, there was a definite feeling that we were newcomers and would always be newcomers.

"I guess it's that way in every town. That standoffishness is not as evident now. I can understand their feelings though ... people that were born here. We've been in Prattville five years and I hardly recognize the city anymore. It's grown that much."

[thoraudio]

Follow the money

The city of Prattville is borrowing $48 million to pay for an incentives package to land retail interests in east Prattville. The package includes:

Roadwork: $5.5 million to improve and redesign the intersection of Cobbs Ford and Redfield roads
Buy land $8 million to help pay for land where the Bass Pro Shops will go. The sporting goods company will build a 100,000 square-foot store.
New conference center $4.8 million to help pay for the construction of at least an 8,000 square-foot conference center next to the Legends Hotel near the Capitol Hill Golf Course. The conference center will be operated by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, which also owns the golf course and hotel. The conference center will have at least one room that can accommodate a seated dinner for 300.

Shopping centers $7.5 million to help pay for land where a 400,000 square- foot shopping center will go in the southwest corner of the Cobbs Ford/Redfield Road intersection. The development likely will have a Target store as an anchor.
$15 million to purchase land where a 450,000 square-foot shopping center will go across the road with Bass Pro Shops as one of its anchors. The package also includes infrastructure improvements at both sites.

The total is about $40.8 million. The city also plans to borrow the first two year's worth of bond payments, which brings the total to about $48 million. The city is borrowing the first two year's payments to make sure it can meet its obligations and give the stores time to produce tax revenue.

Source: Documents filed at Prattville City Hall.

[bystander1]

The revitalization potential of Centennial Hill is probably at its highest point now, especially since the new RSA HQ will border that neighborhood.


Cottage Hill should benefit from the future efforts to improve Bell Street from the new convention center to Maxwell AFB, and because it borders the riverfront. Getting rid of the used car lots across from Overlook Park and replacing them with some high-rise condos with nice views of the river would be really cool for the Cottage Hill area.

[thoraudio]

Unfortunately, until Bell Street west of 65 is nicer... nobody's gonna want to put condo's there. We'll see what changes happen once Riverside Heights is demolished and handed over.

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by thoraudio

Unfortunately, until Bell Street west of 65 is nicer... nobody's gonna want to put condo's there. We'll see what changes happen once Riverside Heights is demolished and handed over.

Yes, precisely what I'm talking about.

[bystander1]

Here's another huge New Urban project to be built in the city. It's called Hampstead. It will join The Waters and Grove Park---- other New Urban projects under construction in Montgomery.


Hampstead


The Waters

Grove Park

[thoraudio]

looks like a nice place... I'd live there if they wouldn't charge $300,000 for a 1500 sq ft 3/2.

[DruidCity]

They charge so much because of the snow

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by DruidCity

They charge so much because of the snow

:nuts: Funny thing is, they completely changed the look of their website the day I posted the link to their site. I thought that is was strange that they added the snow scene...it made me think I was on the wrong site.

Notice this obvious disclaimer on their new homepage.

[bystander1]

Interesting article on riverfront development from WSFA website...



Auburn Students Develop Ideas for Downtown Montgomery
Dec 8, 2005, 07:44 AM CST


Auburn University architecture professor David Hinson had his fifth year seniors develop ideas for the Montgomery riverfront area as their fall project. He says, "We wanted them to have a design problem that challenged them, and this one certainly did."

Auburn alumnus and Montgomery architect Don Brown contacted his former student, Professor Hinson, about the project. "What they're proposing, I think, will give potential property owners and developers and idea about how they can maximize their land, their investments," says Hinson.

The plans breath new life into the downtown area. The proposals combine the river and baseball, with shopping, restaurants and housing. Student Stephanie Sodeke says, "I think it will be a really great thing for the community."

The project is a win-win situation. "It's a very difficult problem that is a mature challenge for these students. Then as a free benefit to Montgomery, give people and idea of what could happen," says Brown.

The aspiring architects would now like to see their visions turn into reality. "I hope one day I come here again and see my design. I will be happy," says Jin Sunwoo.

The proposals will stay on display at the Icehouse in Montgomery for the next few months.

[nick1982]

Tuskegee University assigned some of its fourth and fifth year architecture majors the task of designing a block of Downtown Montgomery. This was a couple of years back, though.

[thoraudio]

Kia still a possibility.

Kia plant may be up for grabs

Staff and wire report


The news that the supposed front-running city for a Kia automotive plant doesn't meet the Korean automaker's criteria has local officials ready to step up efforts to attract the plant.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour said this week that Kia officials did not realize Meridian, Miss., had a population of fewer than 39,000. Meridian had been the apparent choice of the automaker for a new U.S. manufacturing plant.

Meridian was attractive to Kia because of its relative close proximity to the Hyundai plant in Montgomery. Kia is associated with Hyundai.

Erich Merkle, an auto industry analyst in Detroit, said it's important to have a population that's large enough to support an auto plant.

"My guess is that they are still going to be in that region. Now whether it is going to be in Alabama or Mississippi, or in which town, it's hard to say," Merkle said. "I've got to believe they are going to locate still down there. Logistically, they want to stay close to that supply base."

Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright was traveling Friday and could not be reached for comment, but a spokesman said the city "would love to explore the possibility of Kia coming here."

"When the site work was done to land Hyundai, it was done in a way to allow for expansion at that location," said Michael Briddell, executive assistant to Bright. "There obviously would need to be a lot of teamwork between the state and economic development personnel along with the city and the county for it to become a reality."

Briddell said the city would like to move forward in pursuing another automotive plant but would need the cooperation of the state, county and other entities to offer enough incentives to lure a project of that magnitude.

Some people have expressed concerns about whether the city would be able to fill that many jobs, but Bright and Briddell have said the people would come if the job opportunities were available.

Hyundai has hired more employees and more suppliers have located in the area than originally expected, Briddell said.

He said more than three dozen tier-one and tier-two suppliers have located in the region.

Hyundai and its suppliers employ more than 3,000 people.

Louisiana, Arkansas and Kentucky also are interested in the plant.

[bystander1]

Hard to believe that they didn't know Meridian's population base before calling it their front-runner location...