Huntsville updates

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Well it sounds like the plan is to drain the west lake and build there. Depending on how it's done it may hurt the overall appearance.
The "bridge " was the key focal point, now what? Maybe it will just be reduced in size and maintain the look for the restaurants, carosel and sometimes gondolas (do they even still do that) on that side.

They could turn it into a creek type situation and make something more out of it. Before, yea, you could dine and look at it, but it just kinda sat there. Make it flow it and it could be a bit more interesting, plus you'll have some more retail space.

[David1502]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Well it sounds like the plan is to drain the west lake and build there. Depending on how it's done it may hurt the overall appearance.
The "bridge " was the key focal point, now what? Maybe it will just be reduced in size and maintain the look for the restaurants, carosel and sometimes gondolas (do they even still do that) on that side.

It may not be necessary to drain a whole lot of the lake - Keep in mind that there is an empty space next to DSW Shoes that just has grass on it. Also, this lot has the advantage of fronting on the top level of the parking deck and they could also have a basement level as well which would also have an entrance to the lower level of the parking deck. Finally the store could rise a floor higher than the existing strip of DDW, Old Navy and Ulta, giving a three story store which would not require as big of a footprint. Therefore, they may not have to go out as far into the lake to get space for the store as it might appear.

The remaining question is the issue of having enough parking. This is the issue which prevented Von Maur from buillding three years ago. (They wanted the City of HSV to give them a sales tax abatement to pay for a new parking deck and because the City wouldn't agree to the abatement, the project died). IMHO, this would lead to their building a deck on the north side of the west lake. As it is right now, parking is pretty tight and having people walk the quarter of a mile from the parking lot in front of the Westin down to the future Von Maur is probably not realistic.

Anyway, this is a positive development and Miller Capital will probably make other additions to Bridge Street to maximize their investment. They are part owners of the Galleria in Houston, Riverchase Galleria in Birmingham, and Fashion Square in Scottsdale, so it can be seen that they do quality high end develpment. Since they have become a part owner of Birmingham's Galleria, Von Maur has agreed to come in and the Wyndham Hotel has announced that they are going to become the Hyatt Birmingham.

[HSVTiger]

From Huntsville Development News.
The planned office building for the Twickenham Square project.


Not bad but basically it will disappear next to the parking garage and the Huntsville Hospital complex across the street. A safe design, but nothing to get anyone up to come look at it. It has to fit the look of the rest of the development, or does it? A smaller footprint and a 16+ glass/stone/marble would have been dramatic and more expensive. Can't have anyone say "WOW".

[HSVTiger]

Some talks underway to possibly move the Farmers Market on Cook Ave to
the Huntsville Depot downtown. This would seem to be an excellent choice
and would be nice to see some upgrades in and around this old historic train station.

[HSVTiger]

No surprise here..just more excuses

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Madison County barely registered today when Gov. Robert Bentley announced that the state would provide money for 105 road and bridge projects across the state.
Madison County, the second largest metropolitan area in the state, will receive less than $1.5 million for two projects. That's out of $110 million that Bentley will provide across the state in the first phase of the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP).
Madison County's take from the program ranks 30th out of the 61 counties that received money.
That's considerably less than Mobile County, which will receive more than $10.1 million. Other counties receiving larger shares include Jefferson with $7 million, Baldwin with $4.7 million, Lee with $4.9 million and Montgomery with $3.4 million.
Madison County's total even falls short of two surrounding counties: Marshall County, the home of Alabama Department of Transportation Director John Cooper, will receive about $2.8 million and Morgan County will receive $3.9 million.
Most North Alabama counties received less. Limestone County will receive less than $1.2 million. Jackson County will receive less than $1.1 million. DeKalb County got $404,000.
Tony Harris, a spokesman for the state DOT, said one reason Madison County didn't have more projects approved is that other counties turned in longer wish lists. For instance, nine projects were submitted from Madison County compared to 13 from Marshall County.
Other factors, Harris said, were whether a project was eligible for federal highway money and whether a project was far enough along for the state to award a construction contract by the end of the year.
A delay tactic used by aldont, keep delaying the project and it will never be ready
"We tried to spread the projects around the state and be fair about it," Harris said from Montgomery this afternoon.
He said other areas in the state have urgent transportation improvement needs similar to Huntsville.
Recipients of the state money will have to provide a 20 percent match. With the local matches, the 105 projects are expected to cost a total of nearly $138.5 million.
The two projects chosen from Madison County are replacing the bridge on Holmes Avenue over Pinhook Creek and repaving Old Madison Pike between Hughes and Slaughter roads in Madison.
The Holmes Avenue bridge project will receive $960,000 in state money and will require a match of $240,000. The Old Madison Pike repaving will get $501,164 in state money and will require a $125,291 match.
Madison County's request for $5.5 million for a new bridge on Winchester Road over the Flint River was not chosen.
Madison County Engineer Richard Grace said this afternoon he was disappointed the Flint River bridge didn't make the cut.
"I don't know why Huntsville got one and Madison got one, but the county project didn't get chosen," Grace said.
The Flint River bridge project was likely not far enough along for the state to open bids for it by the end of the year, Harris said.
If the county can start moving on getting the right of way for the bridge and the utilities moved, the project could be included in one of the next two rounds of projects, Harris said.
Also, the $5.5 million request for the Flint River bridge was more expensive than any of the 105 individual projects that were approved, Harris pointed out.
Other proposed projects in Madison County that didn't make the cut were widening Martin Road and the building a new Church Street in Huntsville.
The others that were denied were in Madison. Those included widening County Line Road between Madison Boulevard and U.S. 72, replacing the bridge on Wall Triana Highway over Mill Creek, repaving Sullivan Street and replacing a bridge on Wall-Triana Highway between Mill and Browns Ferry roads.

Bentley said businesses depend on good roads and bridges to do business and make deliveries.
Across the state, 64 of the 67 counties submitted proposals. The Alabama Department of Transportation studied the requests and sent eligible projects to an advisory committee. The committee and Bentley selected the projects.
Bentley plans additional rounds of the program this fall and next spring. Projects not chosen in the first round can be submitted for the coming rounds.We will see
The state will borrow the money for the projects through the Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles Bond Program, or GARVEE bonds. The state issues the bonds, which are backed by federal highway money the state expects to receive.
"By using GARVEE bonds, we are able to make much-needed improvements without raising taxes," Bentley said. "In addition, this program will create construction jobs across the state as projects move forward, and by making areas more attractive to prospective employers, the ATRIP program will help with the long-term recruitment of even more jobs in the future."

[HSVTiger]

After Montgomery maybe Huntsville and Dothan

Dickey's Barbecue Pit will open its first Alabama location in Montgomery and could expand to other markets in the state.
According to a press release, the chain has inked a deal with Randy, Rosanne and Lauren Wiggins as its newest franchise owners.
An exact location and timetable for the restaurant's opening was not specified.
The Dallas-based barbecue chain was founded in 1941 and has 230 locations in 42 states.
A representative for the chain said Dickey's is in discussions with potential franchisees in Huntsville and Dothan.

[HSVTiger]

Hotel construction US 72 EAST?
Maybe a IHG (Holiday Inn Express) may be ready to go up over in the Moores Mill/US 72 area. There is some additional prep work going on near the new
24/7 exercise/gym place. Which by the way is not a bad looking building..hopefully the level of design will be high for this area.

This may actually be the planned hotel behind the new Kroger on University (US 72 WEST)
we shall see.

Anyone have updates on Constellation downtown, or is it officially dead? The Residence Inn planned was to have been completed by now.
There is a Residence Inn in the planning stage for the Madison area.

[bamastu13]

The Constellation project is just awful. Its an eyesore where prime retail, office, and hotel space should be. It should definitely be a welcoming entrance to Huntsville and downtown but all it turned out to be is an out of place hotel and a bunch of dirt. I'd like to see another company take over the project and actually do something with it. That's just my opinion. I'm interested to know what is actually going on there.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by bamastu13

The Constellation project is just awful. Its an eyesore where prime retail, office, and hotel space should be. It should definitely be a welcoming entrance to Huntsville and downtown but all it turned out to be is an out of place hotel and a bunch of dirt. I'd like to see another company take over the project and actually do something with it. That's just my opinion. I'm interested to know what is actually going on there.

Agreed, it had such high hope and promise, but maybe someone with vision
and outside of the box thinking will take over. Huntsville needs something
dramatic, high energy and the passion to see it through. It seems this developers focus has changed which is fine, but do something. It has become a
waste field of nothing at the cities most visible location, no hint of what was to be, signs, renderings, site map..nothing.
And that office building for Twickenham Square is really a disappointment as well.
Boring ,Bland, Predictable
Is anyone questioning anything from a design point of view? Meanwhile they have removed some very nice oak trees on the site. No way to be creative and design to the site instead of over it?

[HSVTiger]

The newest member of Panalpina's fleet arrived at Huntsville International Airport just after 11 a.m. today.
The Boeing 747-8 cargo plane, which debuted at Everett, Wash., last week, touched down at 11:05 a.m. in Huntsville.
The aircraft, operated by Atlas Air, is 18.3 feel longer and 13 feet wider than the Boeing 747-4 that it is replacing.
The new capacity will allow Panalpina to carry 20 more tons of cargo on each flight.
Panalpina operates 10 scheduled flights a week at Huntsville International Airport from Europe, Mexico, Hong Kong and Brazil.
The company launched its all-cargo air-freight service between Luxembourg and Huntsville in September 1990. It was the first time a freight-forwarding company offered a scheduled cargo service between Europe and North America.
HSV Times photo

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Agreed, it had such high hope and promise, but maybe someone with vision
and outside of the box thinking will take over. Huntsville needs something
dramatic, high energy and the passion to see it through. It seems this developers focus has changed which is fine, but do something. It has become a
waste field of nothing at the cities most visible location, no hint of what was to be, signs, renderings, site map..nothing.
And that office building for Twickenham Square is really a disappointment as well.
Boring ,Bland, Predictable
Is anyone questioning anything from a design point of view? Meanwhile they have removed some very nice oak trees on the site. No way to be creative and design to the site instead of over it?

One thing I've learned over the years is that things can always be torn down. I take comfort in this fact. I mean, if things couldn't be torn down, we'd never have downtown's like Atlanta's (ones with no street grid). Huntsville's in the same boat. Eventually, the city will garner a lot of attention when the economy picks up and more interest will arrive. That's some valuable land, so it's pretty difficult to be pessimistic about its future.

[ThatGuy]

Huntsville leads state in DUI arrests for 15th straight year.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/05/...tml#incart_mce

I'd like to know if this feat is actually reducing DUI related accidents. I'll probably get blasted for this, but this could be why young people think other cities have more night-life. I think drink in moderation and DUI enforce in moderation.

[mp7123]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

Huntsville leads state in DUI arrests for 15th straight year.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/05/...tml#incart_mce

I'd like to know if this feat is actually reducing DUI related accidents. I'll probably get blasted for this, but this could be why young people think other cities have more night-life. I think drink in moderation and DUI enforce in moderation.

Obviously, it doesn't, or Huntsville wouldn't be #1 for 15 years.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

Huntsville leads state in DUI arrests for 15th straight year.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/05/...tml#incart_mce

I'd like to know if this feat is actually reducing DUI related accidents. I'll probably get blasted for this, but this could be why young people think other cities have more night-life. I think drink in moderation and DUI enforce in moderation.

I think the main reason Huntsville leads in this statistics is because it has so many checkpoints at peak times of the year for drinking. Not because there are just so many drunk people, just because the city does a better job at catching them than virtually any other city in the state.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by tredici

I think the main reason Huntsville leads in this statistics is because it has so many checkpoints at peak times of the year for drinking. Not because there are just so many drunk people, just because the city does a better job at catching them than virtually any other city in the state.

How many of the arrests for DUI are Huntsville or Madison County residents? We're the only urban area in the state that's completely surrounded by dry counties. A lot of folks come to Huntsville to drink because of that.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Rail Claimore

How many of the arrests for DUI are Huntsville or Madison County residents? We're the only urban area in the state that's completely surrounded by dry counties. A lot of folks come to Huntsville to drink because of that.

true, but the main cities in those counties are wet..bizarre isn't it?

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

true, but the main cities in those counties are wet..bizarre isn't it?

Well, that's also an inaccurate map, Decatur has had draft sales for years. Odd... no dry county has a city with draft sales according to this map. Or maybe I'm just confused. Either way, it's always shocked me that Morgan County, with over 115,000 people, is still dry.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by tredici

Well, that's also an inaccurate map, Decatur has had draft sales for years. Odd... no dry county has a city with draft sales according to this map. Or maybe I'm just confused. Either way, it's always shocked me that Morgan County, with over 115,000 people, is still dry.

Morgan County would be wet today had cities within dry counties not been able to hold referendums on their own. There's no motivation when no one has to drive far to buy booze. Morgan and Limestone counties will go wet as Huntsville continues to sprawl westward and these counties take on a more suburban nature.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by Rail Claimore

Morgan County would be wet today had cities within dry counties not been able to hold referendums on their own. There's no motivation when no one has to drive far to buy booze. Morgan and Limestone counties will go wet as Huntsville continues to sprawl westward and these counties take on a more suburban nature.

Will any wet counties in the USA ever go dry again? I know anything's possible, but it's still worth asking.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Rail Claimore

Morgan County would be wet today had cities within dry counties not been able to hold referendums on their own. There's no motivation when no one has to drive far to buy booze. Morgan and Limestone counties will go wet as Huntsville continues to sprawl westward and these counties take on a more suburban nature.

Well, you'd expect that Morgan would fall in line behind counties like Etowah, Calhoun, and Houston. But, oh well. We always have to be the last to do SOMETHING.