Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

sit on projects long enough and they will go away. There are huge projects in Madison County that can use the money. How about finishing the northern loop, second bridge over the Tennessee River, controlled access around Hazel Green to the state line, finish Jordan Lane widening to the state line.
Improve and widen the I-565/Parkway interchange, Morres Mill overpasses at I-565, overpass at County Line, Martin Rd widening Redstone Arsenal.
add lanes to Research Park Blvd, widen University from Madison to I-65,
widen I-565 from Wall Triana to I-65, extend I-565 to Decatur/US 31.
upgrade and simply put up correct road signs throughout the county.
Or just ignore it and the money can be used in south Alabama..yeah that's what we wil do...

President Barack Obama's administration identified $473 million in unspent earmarks nationally and ordered the states to come up with a plan for spending their share before the end of the year, or else it will be given to other states.

On the list of projects losing their earmarks in Alabama are some large ones, including the Memphis to Atlanta highway and a connector from U.S. 231 to Interstate 10. But smaller community projects that have been moving through the process slowly also are on the list, including the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 31 in Vestavia Hills and funding for the UAB Center for Injury Sciences.

"We are freeing up these funds so states can get down to the business of moving transportation projects forward and putting our friends and neighbors back to work," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

Two large road projects account for much of the unused money: the east-west corridor from Memphis to Huntsville to Atlanta for $14.8 million, and the U.S. 231 to I-10 connector for $10.8 million.

Harris said that, after some preliminary engineering, the east-west corridor project stalled over the years with issues related to the route and how it would impact Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, especially related to post-Sept. 11 security concerns.

"We are just not at a point where it's feasible to use that money," Harris said. Another $2 million earmark for a southern bypass around Huntsville also is on the list of unspent money.

Regarding the I-10 connector in southeastern Alabama, Harris said the agency still is conducting a corridor study, and the project has not been submitted to the Federal Highway Administration for approval yet.

ALDOT intends to send its spending plan for the $51 million to Washington before an Oct. 1 deadline. It likely will go to projects that are ready to begin work in the next three or four months.

The money also will include $1.75 million of a $2 million earmark for the northern beltline around Birmingham. Harris said the preliminary engineering is under way and already funded but that construction cannot begin yet.

http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2012/08..._languish.html

[HSVTiger]

New baggage carousels just about ready at Huntsville International Airport

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by thunder89

I like the "outside-the-box" thinking this is, and is definitely an innovative idea for the Huntsville area.

Huntsville Museum of Art plans ice rink for Big Spring International Park
Pat Ammons, Aug 26. 2012

It may be hard to imagine during these dog days of summer, but come November you can strap on a pair of ice skates and glide along an ice-covered, outdoor rink in Big Spring International Park.

The Huntsville Museum of Art Foundation Board is responsible for the 50-by-70-foot rink that will be constructed on the west side of the museum where the Concerts in the Park take place each summer.

“We’ve always seen these things in big cities,” including the famed rink in Rockefeller Center in New York, said Dane Block, president of the foundation board. “I thought how great would that be to put an ice rink in Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville.”

Block projects 12,000 to 15,000 people will use the rink during that time, many coming in from out of town for the special treat.

Admission to the ice rink will be $10 a person, with $3 for skate rental for the many Alabamians who don’t have their own. All profits from the project will go to the museum’s general fund.

The cost of constructing and managing the rink will be $104,000, a sizable amount to raise. As of last week, the board had secured $92,000 toward the project with more expected to come in soon thanks to the work of Dabney Maxwell and other members of the foundation board, Block said.

But what of the city's own Ice Complex?

Battle said he didn’t think the outdoor ice rink will keep people from using the Benton H. Wilcoxen Ice Complex on Leeman Ferry Road. In fact, the outdoor rink may introduce more people to ice skating, he said.

“When this goes away, people can go for the big sheets of ice” at the municipal ice complex, he said.

Again, I really like the idea. And am certainly glad to be a supporter of any kind of new ideas to get people from around town, and out, into the downtown area. Kudos Mr. Block

Sound familiar?
From Greenville SC
Ice on Main, the popular outdoor skating rink that debuted in Village Green last year, is headed back to downtown for an extended season.

With more than 18,000 skaters last year, the event exceeded expectations and was extended by more than a week to accommodate more guests. This year, organizers have set a longer schedule in the hopes of drawing even more visitors.
The rink will open at the Main@Broad complex on Nov. 23, the day after Thanksgiving, and run through Jan. 21, a school holiday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“Our vision has become a reality,” said Dana Souza, director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Greenville.
Upgrades to Ice on Main will include clear dasher boards (the walls that surround the rink), more seating for those who prefer sipping hot chocolate to skating and upgraded seasonal decor, said Bo Aughtry of Windsor/Aughtry, a primary sponsor of the event.
The entry fee remains the same as last year: $10 for adults, $8 for kids, including skate rental. Hours and special events information is available online at www.iceonmain.com.

[HSVTiger]

Huntsville was considered at one time, and probably still is for other auto plant possibilities..

Audi picks Puebla, Mexico, as the site for a plant to supply more U.S.-market vehicles.

Audi is a unit of German automaker Volkswagen Group, which also sells the Volkswagen brand. Audi and the VW Group said today that, after a wide site search, they have decided to construct a factory at San José Chiapa in Puebla, and will build the successor to the Audi Q5 SUV there for sale globally.

Factory construction is to start in 2013, and production is to begin in 2016.

The Volkswagen brand builds Jettas and Beetles at a factory in Puebla. The Audi site is about 40 miles from there.

[HSVTiger]

At Providence..they should make a strong effort to save as many trees as possible instead of clearing the land to plant stick crepe myrtles.

Providence developers David and Todd Slyman recently unveiled plans for 460 new homesites in what is now a wooded area between Indian Creek and U.S. 72 W., just south of the current residential development.

The city Planning Commission approved the layout of the first 49 lots last week. The Slyman brothers hope to hire a contractor soon to begin clearing trees, paving streets and running utilities.

"We'd like to get started in the next 30 to 45 days," Todd Slyman said Tuesday.

[HSVTiger]

A groundbreaking ceremony this morning will mark the beginning of work on a fourth wing of the Von Braun Complex on Redstone Arsenal

A Missile Defense Agency spokesman said construction will begin in October on the nearly $59 million, five-floor, 225,000-square-foot Von Braun IV building. It is expected to open in fall of 2014 and will provide offices for about 850 Missile Defense Agency employees who now work elsewhere on the arsenal and in Huntsville

[HSVTiger]

They have been dancing around this for close to a decade now, very impressive. Imagine if they put that much effort into pushing projects.
They would rather see these projects die on the vine.

I-565 Interchange

Talk about the need for an interchange at County Line Road and I-565 has been around for years. A 2006 ALDOT study first indicated the need for an exit ramp and additional lanes off I-565 onto County Line Road.

In 2010, ALDOT officials unveiled the interchange plan to residents. Improvements would help alleviate traffic at the Wall-Triana and I-565 interchange, which ALDOT Division Engineer Johnny Harris described at the time as "operating at near capacity."

Construction was expected to begin this year or in early 2013, however, Madison City Engineer Gary Chynoweth said work won't begin that soon.

"Realistically, it's going to be late next year before we see anything started," he said.

Johnny Harris, division engineer with ALDOT, said environmental studies are complete, and the state is beginning its right-of-way acquisition procedures at the intersection.

"If that (right-of-way acquisition) is done before the end of 2012, we could see work starting in 2013," Harris said. The project is expected to take up to two years to complete.

The project includes the addition of an exit ramp for westbound I-565 drivers, with an entrance ramp onto I-565 for those traveling east.

Part of the holdup centered on concerns about the small stone-faced house near the site of the proposed intersection. The home is about 70 years old, and questions over its historic value - there are few examples of its brown fieldstone construction remaining in North Alabama - delayed the project. Since moving the house was not an option, Chynoweth said the interchange location was moved, pushing more of the construction cost onto Huntsville and increasing the land Madison will retain once work is complete.

The east side of the County Line Road interchange is in Madison, while the west side is in Huntsville. Another section, including the portion where the old house is located, is in unincorporated Limestone County. Madison will retain 68 acres of desirable commercial land at the intersection once it's complete.

Design, property acquisition, utility relocation and construction costs for the project are expected to be $36 million. Madison will be responsible for 10 percent of that total.

[stewdog1]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

They have been dancing around this for close to a decade now, very impressive. Imagine if they put that much effort into pushing projects.
They would rather see these projects die on the vine.

I-565 Interchange

Talk about the need for an interchange at County Line Road and I-565 has been around for years. A 2006 ALDOT study first indicated the need for an exit ramp and additional lanes off I-565 onto County Line Road.

In 2010, ALDOT officials unveiled the interchange plan to residents. Improvements would help alleviate traffic at the Wall-Triana and I-565 interchange, which ALDOT Division Engineer Johnny Harris described at the time as "operating at near capacity."

Construction was expected to begin this year or in early 2013, however, Madison City Engineer Gary Chynoweth said work won't begin that soon.

"Realistically, it's going to be late next year before we see anything started," he said.

Johnny Harris, division engineer with ALDOT, said environmental studies are complete, and the state is beginning its right-of-way acquisition procedures at the intersection.

"If that (right-of-way acquisition) is done before the end of 2012, we could see work starting in 2013," Harris said. The project is expected to take up to two years to complete.

The project includes the addition of an exit ramp for westbound I-565 drivers, with an entrance ramp onto I-565 for those traveling east.

Part of the holdup centered on concerns about the small stone-faced house near the site of the proposed intersection. The home is about 70 years old, and questions over its historic value - there are few examples of its brown fieldstone construction remaining in North Alabama - delayed the project. Since moving the house was not an option, Chynoweth said the interchange location was moved, pushing more of the construction cost onto Huntsville and increasing the land Madison will retain once work is complete.

The east side of the County Line Road interchange is in Madison, while the west side is in Huntsville. Another section, including the portion where the old house is located, is in unincorporated Limestone County. Madison will retain 68 acres of desirable commercial land at the intersection once it's complete.

Design, property acquisition, utility relocation and construction costs for the project are expected to be $36 million. Madison will be responsible for 10 percent of that total.

That house needs to be razed. If the owners don't care to keep it up, it makes their claim of historic to be iffy at best.

Methinks they were just holding out for more and more money by claiming it was historic.

[HSVTiger]

In the new (renovated/rebuilt) DoubleTree Hotel, should do well, great location and an excellent hotel.

HSV Times article

If The Times seems to write about local chef James Boyce a lot, it’s because he’s always up to something. The California transplant pops up on national TV shows (look for him on “CBS This Morning” on Saturday), provides recipes and cooking insights for magazines (Wine Spectator this month) and is inching toward running a half-dozen fine dining restaurants here.

If you’re keeping count, his latest makes five, in addition to Cotton Row, Commerce Kitchen, James Steakhouse and Pane e Vino in the art museum.

The new Cafe Alana Shay is in the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton, which used to be a Radisson, at South Memorial Parkway and Martin Road.

The menu is divided into six categories: Begin (appetizers), Flats (flatbread pizzas like margherita, Cajun shrimp and short rib), salads, sandwiches, After 5 Selections and Sweets.

Before you ask: The prices top out at $20 for dinner entrees. For lunch, you can eat well – grilled chicken BLT, crispy tilapia po-boy – for just $8.

[huntsvillefan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Huntsville was considered at one time, and probably still is for other auto plant possibilities..

Audi picks Puebla, Mexico, as the site for a plant to supply more U.S.-market vehicles.

Audi is a unit of German automaker Volkswagen Group, which also sells the Volkswagen brand. Audi and the VW Group said today that, after a wide site search, they have decided to construct a factory at San José Chiapa in Puebla, and will build the successor to the Audi Q5 SUV there for sale globally.

Factory construction is to start in 2013, and production is to begin in 2016.

The Volkswagen brand builds Jettas and Beetles at a factory in Puebla. The Audi site is about 40 miles from there.

Too bad Huntsville was passed over by VW and then Audi. Any other possibilities?

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

A groundbreaking ceremony this morning will mark the beginning of work on a fourth wing of the Von Braun Complex on Redstone Arsenal

A Missile Defense Agency spokesman said construction will begin in October on the nearly $59 million, five-floor, 225,000-square-foot Von Braun IV building. It is expected to open in fall of 2014 and will provide offices for about 850 Missile Defense Agency employees who now work elsewhere on the arsenal and in Huntsville

HSV Times photo

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by huntsvillefan

Too bad Huntsville was passed over by VW and then Audi. Any other possibilities?

Volvo/Fiat

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Volvo/Fiat

That model from the Fiat SuperBowl comercial would definately be welcome!!

[HSVTiger]

HomeGoods plans to open its new store in Huntsville on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 8 a.m.
The 25,000 square-foot store is in the former Barnes & Noble space in University Plaza at University Drive and Old Monrovia Road.

[Jugernagt]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

HomeGoods plans to open its new store in Huntsville on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 8 a.m.
The 25,000 square-foot store is in the former Barnes & Noble space in University Plaza at University Drive and Old Monrovia Road.

The really strange thing about this is two weeks ago I saw a crew erecting a new "15,000 SF Available" sign in front of that shopping center. I wonder if either Office Depot or Best Buy is planning to movie out.

[David1502]

Originally Posted by Jugernagt

The really strange thing about this is two weeks ago I saw a crew erecting a new "15,000 SF Available" sign in front of that shopping center. I wonder if either Office Depot or Best Buy is planning to movie out.

I thought the same thing, too, until I looked at the Shopping Center Group's website and saw that the 15,000 sq. ft. site for lease is the old Just for Feet, and later Lazyboy (I think) furniture store. This is the free standing building behind the Chevron station and near Office Depot.

The only other empty space in the adjacent shopping center is a small space between Chipotle's and Earth Fare, and it appears something is going in there, now. It is quite remarkable that just three years ago, the Earth Fare shopping center was completely empty and the former Barnes and Noble space wsa empty, too. Now, the only empty space in the tow adjacent centers appears to be the former Just for Feet building.

[Jugernagt]

Originally Posted by David1502

I thought the same thing, too, until I looked at the Shopping Center Group's website and saw that the 15,000 sq. ft. site for lease is the old Just for Feet, and later Lazyboy (I think) furniture store. This is the free standing building behind the Chevron station and near Office Depot.

Yeah, totally forgot about that building. Thanks for the reminder. I think that was a Lane Furniture store.

[HSVTiger]

Excellent food,drink, great location, 1st floor Times Building downtown.

"The city of Huntsville is getting a taste of a new kind of beer, courtesy of a change in state law.

A new brewhouse called Below the Radar is now open in downtown Huntsville. It's the city's first such operation since legislators changed a state law that prohibited selling alcohol at the same location where it was made.

A group called Free the Hops lobbied lawmakers to amend the state law. Member Rich Vartain says about a dozen breweries are now open statewide because of the change."
WAFF TV

http://www.huntsvillebeer.com/2011/0...low-radar.html

[HSVTiger]

Does anyone really think this will happen within 20 years? It will be a first if ALDONT delivers what they are saying here..
construction in phases will be their delay tactic

The Alabama Department of Transportation asked that the project be moved into the FY 2012-15 Transportation Improvement Program with the DOT pledging $53 million in federal and state highway money for the work.

The DOT made the request because it expects that the additional lanes will be needed for future development in Limestone County, said Steve Dinges, an assistant director of the Huntsville Planning Department who oversees transportation planning.

"They anticipate that if a big plant goes into that area, they will need more access on I-565 and I-65," Dinges said.

The highway also has some existing bottlenecks during morning and afternoon rush hours when commuters are going to and from Decatur and points beyond, Dinges said.

At least two automobile manufacturers have considered a 1,500-acre tract in the Greenbrier area for a new plant, and the city is waiting to learn if the Tennessee Valley Authority will designate the property as a megasite for industrial development.

The city also has a master plan for more than 9,000 acres in Limestone County that the city annexed in 2008. The plan designates different parts of the annexed area for industrial, commercial and residential development.

The first phase of widening I-565 will be between I-65 and Greenbrier Road. Preliminary engineering is slated for 2013 at a cost of $800,000. Construction would start in 2014 and cost $15.7 million.

The next phase will be between Greenbrier Road and the Madison County line. Preliminary engineering would be done in 2014 at a cost of $1 million and construction costing $19.6 million would start in 2015.

The final phase will be from the county line to the existing six-lane east of Wall Triana Highway. Preliminary engineering is scheduled for 2013 at a cost of $800,000. Construction would start in 2015 and cost $15.1 million.

I-565 would be six lanes the entire distance in 2017 if construction starts on the final phase in 2015.

"Yes, I think they are," Dinges said when asked if he thinks the state will stick to the proposed schedule. "They already have the right of way."

The DOT will coordinate the I-565 widening plans and the plans for the County Line Road and I-565 interchange that is scheduled to start construction in February, Johnny Harris, the DOT's division engineer for this area, said at Wednesday's MPO meeting.

[stewdog1]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Does anyone really think this will happen within 20 years? It will be a first if ALDONT delivers what they are saying here..
construction in phases will be their delay tactic
The Alabama Department of Transportation asked that the project be moved into the FY 2012-15 Transportation Improvement Program with the DOT pledging $53 million in federal and state highway money for the work.

The DOT made the request because it expects that the additional lanes will be needed for future development in Limestone County, said Steve Dinges, an assistant director of the Huntsville Planning Department who oversees transportation planning.

"They anticipate that if a big plant goes into that area, they will need more access on I-565 and I-65," Dinges said.

The highway also has some existing bottlenecks during morning and afternoon rush hours when commuters are going to and from Decatur and points beyond, Dinges said.

At least two automobile manufacturers have considered a 1,500-acre tract in the Greenbrier area for a new plant, and the city is waiting to learn if the Tennessee Valley Authority will designate the property as a megasite for industrial development.

The city also has a master plan for more than 9,000 acres in Limestone County that the city annexed in 2008. The plan designates different parts of the annexed area for industrial, commercial and residential development.

The first phase of widening I-565 will be between I-65 and Greenbrier Road. Preliminary engineering is slated for 2013 at a cost of $800,000. Construction would start in 2014 and cost $15.7 million.

The next phase will be between Greenbrier Road and the Madison County line. Preliminary engineering would be done in 2014 at a cost of $1 million and construction costing $19.6 million would start in 2015.

The final phase will be from the county line to the existing six-lane east of Wall Triana Highway. Preliminary engineering is scheduled for 2013 at a cost of $800,000. Construction would start in 2015 and cost $15.1 million.

I-565 would be six lanes the entire distance in 2017 if construction starts on the final phase in 2015.

"Yes, I think they are," Dinges said when asked if he thinks the state will stick to the proposed schedule. "They already have the right of way."

The DOT will coordinate the I-565 widening plans and the plans for the County Line Road and I-565 interchange that is scheduled to start construction in February, Johnny Harris, the DOT's division engineer for this area, said at Wednesday's MPO meeting.

I'll believe it when I see it. I wonder what the odds makers in Vegas think about it.