Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

Downtown parking garage approved for Publix, bank, hotel and lofts.

(Courtesy Chapman Sisson Architects)

The $85 million-plus redevelopment project will include more than 230 loft-style apartments called The Flats at Twickenham Square, a Publix supermarket, hotel, office tower and about 22,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space -- all catty-corner from Huntsville Hospital.
Publix and National Bank of Commerce are the only named tenants so far.
The ground floor of the garage, accessible only from Pelham Avenue, will likely be free parking for shoppers, diners and Publix customers.
Employees and guests of the hotel and office tower would enter from Gallatin Street and drive up a ramp to the garage's second level, she said. Vehicles could exit onto either Pelham Avenue or St. Clair Avenue.
Bostick said about 40 Flats at Twickenham Square residents would have reserved parking in the city garage. But most tenants would park in a separate deck financed by the developers.
Architect Martin Sisson said there will be a covered walkway leading from the city garage, across Pelham Avenue, to the front of Publix.
Two Nashville-area firms, Bristol Development Group and PGM Properties, are working together on the apartments, grocery store and additional retail and restaurant space.
Huntsville-based Triad Properties plans to build the office tower and is also in negotiations to bring a hotel to the site.

[huntsvillefan]

It will be interesting to learn more about the office tower and hotel. These will be key buildings in downtown Huntsville's revival.

[HSVTiger]

Out at I-565 And Research Park Blvd (it changes to Rideout Rd upon entering the Arsenal) progress continues

The City of Huntsville has now spent about $28 million laying the groundwork for a massive, Department of Defense-oriented office park near Gate 9 of Redstone Arsenal.
At its meeting Thursday night, the City Council approved two more infrastructure contacts for Phase I of the Redstone Gateway project, which includes about 200 acres immediately south of the junction of Interstate 565 and Rideout Road.
Christopher Professional Enterprises of Athens won a $535,815 contract to run electric, phone, fiberoptic and other communication lines along Market Street, the park's planned retail area.
Christopher was also awarded a $254,288 contract to install the water lines serving Market Street.
The four-lane, divided boulevard will eventually be home to 150,000 square feet of hotels, retail and service businesses, said Shane Davis, the city's director of urban planning.
Reed Contracting Services is being paid $5.3 million to build Market Street, as well as a four-lane loop road serving 22 large office buildings in the park's first phase. Reed is also relocating a portion of Overlook Road.
Davis said the city has only two major contracts left to award in the first phase: demolition of a former Huntsville Utilities substation, and final grading for a five-acre lake.

The $1 billion office park will eventually include 52 buildings for Army employees and defense contractors, two hotels, restaurants, stores and an academic campus surrounding Gate 9.
Maryland-based Corporate Office Properties Trust is developing the office space; Jim Wilson & Associates of Montgomery is handling the retail area.
Huntsville Finance Director Randy Taylor estimates Redstone Gateway will generate $275 million in new property and sales taxes for the city over the 35-year life of the development agreement.
Davis said Jim Wilson & Associates has had "tremendous response" from retailers and hotel chains.
"They're getting very close to getting some deals going and selecting the first hotel tenant," he said Thursday.
According to the park's website, redstonegateway.us, the first office building -- a five-story glass structure visible from the interstate -- is now ready for occupancy. Corporate Office Properties Trust recently hired Graham & Co. as the leasing agent and property manager for Redstone Gateway.
HSV Times article

[Saj07]

Originally Posted by BlakFlava

...When you compare it to the likes of Montgomery, Mobile, Greenville, SC, Shreveport LA, Jackson, MS, and on and on. It's kind of sad really. During a recent conversation, an associate of mine expressed just how dissapointed he was when he visited Huntsville after reading so many glaring views about it. Again, no disrespect.

To use one of your examples, Shreveport, LA. The population in 1950 was over 127,000 people and around 24 square miles. Huntsville was a little over 16,000 people and the city limits was within a mile of city hall in many cases in the same year.

...Then came the german rocket scientists. Huntsville boomed. Work was largely performed at facilities located on a US miltary reservation and workers commuted to the base from home. There were no requirements for large buildings downtown.

The comparison is difficult between cities that grew when people walked or took a streetcar to work to a financial or manufacturing industry vs a city that grew when people were building rockets for defense and travelling to the moon. One doesnt do that kind of work downtown. The distant but well heard and felt rocket engine test booms were a way of life here.

This may be of interest to read:

http://www.hsvcity.com/police/NASA_Huntsville.htm

[HSVTiger]

Opportunity lost..good and bad

Good that they are expanding and growing, bad in that it could have been a perfect business for starting a downtown research park.

"US Diagnostics, an independent distributor of on-site drug screens, is building a 21,000-square-foot facility in the Village of Providence for office, shipping and receiving and warehouse space.

The building on Parade Street will have more than double the amount of space that the 19-employee company now has on Bob Wallace Avenue.

CEO Larry Hartselle, who founded the business in 1998, said he expects continued growth.

The company has already made the Inc. 5000 list of the country's fastest-growing private companies for three years, he said.

Revenue for this year should reach $11 million, Hartselle said at a ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. Revenue is on track to increase 100 percent from January 2010 to the end of this year, he said."

Another topic..there seems to be some site prep work taking place on the wedge shaped vacant lot against the Parkway and Clinton downtown. This is across from the dead in the water Titanic, I mean Constellation project.
At one time a non descript office building was planned so maybe something similar is underway. Would have been a possible spot for US. Diagnostics.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by huntsvillefan

It will be interesting to learn more about the office tower and hotel. These will be key buildings in downtown Huntsville's revival.

Triad is doing them and they put up nice looking structures for the most part (see Big Spring Summit). Mid-rise buildings that should be easy to miss.
I am expecting the downtown Publix to be something special.
This development is HUGE for downtown and should be extremely successful.
One of those "we should have done this sooner". Hey Constellation are you watching?

[HSVTiger]

Another big weekend downtown Whistlestop..this is a fantastic event good eats, BBQ!

http://rocketcitybbq.com/

http://rocketcitybbq.com/Forms/2012W...duleAndMap.pdf

[David1502]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Opportunity lost..good and bad

Good that they are expanding and growing, bad in that it could have been a perfect business for starting a downtown research park.

"US Diagnostics, an independent distributor of on-site drug screens, is building a 21,000-square-foot facility in the Village of Providence for office, shipping and receiving and warehouse space.

The building on Parade Street will have more than double the amount of space that the 19-employee company now has on Bob Wallace Avenue.

CEO Larry Hartselle, who founded the business in 1998, said he expects continued growth.

The company has already made the Inc. 5000 list of the country's fastest-growing private companies for three years, he said.

Revenue for this year should reach $11 million, Hartselle said at a ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. Revenue is on track to increase 100 percent from January 2010 to the end of this year, he said."

Another topic..there seems to be some site prep work taking place on the wedge shaped vacant lot against the Parkway and Clinton downtown. This is across from the dead in the water Titanic, I mean Constellation project.
At one time a non descript office building was planned so maybe something similar is underway. Would have been a possible spot for US. Diagnostics.

I know that this is going to sound very contrarian for this blog. However, where do you think that a company like US Diagnostics would locate in starting a research park downtown? They also would have to consider the cost of building a parking deck or else having their employees pay to park in the City of Huntsville deck on Clinton Avenue. The prime location for such a research/business park would be just west of the Clinton Ave./Mem. Pkwy interchange. However, that would require a developer to go in and buy out a lot of property and clear out whatever is there to start a new development. Another possibility would be to tear down the public housing along Holmes Ave. north of the Von Braun, however, that has a lot social and political complications as has been seen with the controversy over the HHA purchase of the Stone Gate Apartments near Byrd Spring Rd.

On the other hand, I think that the Village of Providence is an example of the private sector providing what the public sector, namely the City of Huntsville, has up until now, been unable to achieve in terms of creating a pedestrian friendly area with housing, office and restaurant/retail which Providence has done a great job of provding. The employees of US Diagnostics will have plenty of free parking and have a choice of about six restaurants in walking distance for lunch (not to mention the abundance of choices along University Dr.) Also, there will soon be three apartment complexes withn walking distance, too. So some employees could spend most of their week rarely using a car.

The Twickenham Square will provide these elements, too, however, on a smaller scale than Providence and the surrounding property is already developed - somewhat limiting its growth potential.

The Village of Providence is one of the areas best developments and is quite unique in the southeast. It offers what most on this thread are looking for in downtown HSV, but just in the wrong zipcode.

[HSVTiger]

Lack of vision, planning and progress confirmed...
Portion of a letter to the Huntsville Times, not that we didn't already know it

"The north end of the new northbound Memorial Parkway limited access road is causing a bottleneck at Mastin Lake Road that several readers have said is dangerous.

However, the state has no plans to make any changes there for at least five years.ALDONT

As for northbound service road drivers crossing several lanes to get to the left-turn lane at Mastin Lake Road, Johnny Harris of the Alabama Department of Transportation said that's "just the way" it will have to be until an overpass is built for Mastin Lake Road.

Harris, who is the DOT division engineer for this area, said motorists also have the option of going through the intersection and then making a U-turn to return to the Mastin Lake Road intersection.

Nothing remains to be done on the project except for some striping on the service roads once some additional paving is completed, Harris said.

The Mastin Lake Road overpass will eliminate the problems, Harris said, but it is in the design phase and construction is not in the state's five-year transportation plan."

It won't eliminate the problem, it will just push it further north along with
inadequate lighting, no turn lanes, zero signage for cross streets, distance to
upcoming towns that may or may not exist. A Federal highway that has basically gone unchanged to handle traffic for 40 years.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by David1502

I know that this is going to sound very contrarian for this blog. However, where do you think that a company like US Diagnostics would locate in starting a research park downtown? They also would have to consider the cost of building a parking deck or else having their employees pay to park in the City of Huntsville deck on Clinton Avenue. The prime location for such a research/business park would be just west of the Clinton Ave./Mem. Pkwy interchange. However, that would require a developer to go in and buy out a lot of property and clear out whatever is there to start a new development. Another possibility would be to tear down the public housing along Holmes Ave. north of the Von Braun, however, that has a lot social and political complications as has been seen with the controversy over the HHA purchase of the Stone Gate Apartments near Byrd Spring Rd.

On the other hand, I think that the Village of Providence is an example of the private sector providing what the public sector, namely the City of Huntsville, has up until now, been unable to achieve in terms of creating a pedestrian friendly area with housing, office and restaurant/retail which Providence has done a great job of provding. The employees of US Diagnostics will have plenty of free parking and have a choice of about six restaurants in walking distance for lunch (not to mention the abundance of choices along University Dr.) Also, there will soon be three apartment complexes withn walking distance, too. So some employees could spend most of their week rarely using a car.

The Twickenham Square will provide these elements, too, however, on a smaller scale than Providence and the surrounding property is already developed - somewhat limiting its growth potential.

The Village of Providence is one of the areas best developments and is quite unique in the southeast. It offers what most on this thread are looking for in downtown HSV, but just in the wrong zipcode.

Good points, areas north of Holmes and along the new Meridian street corridor
to Lincoln Mill would be an exciting area for a High tech park for small companies, with light line rail system to Cummings and south to Parkway Place
Big money for sure but why not. Most of the public housing is scheduled or planned to be removed. This would be a good project for the future new urban planner to investigate. Constellation could have been a starting point for such a tie in with a high tech park but who knows what, when or ever
will happen with it.

[David1502]

Addition to Best Buy Shopping Center
In Sunday's Huntsville Times, a $450,00 Construction Permit is listed for an addition to the building at the location of Best Buy and Office Depot. This would most likely be for the former Barnes and Noble location as Office Depot and Best Buy have no room for expansion. It will be interesting to see what new tenant will go in that space. Since 2010, Earth Fare, Power House Gym, Guitar Center and JoAnn's Fabrics have all gone in the adjoining center, so it is quite remarkable about how that area has been revitalized as a retail destiantion. This has occurred despite the decline of Madison Square Mall across the street.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by David1502

Addition to Best Buy Shopping Center
In Sunday's Huntsville Times, a $450,00 Construction Permit is listed for an addition to the building at the location of Best Buy and Office Depot. This would most likely be for the former Barnes and Noble location as Office Depot and Best Buy have no room for expansion. It will be interesting to see what new tenant will go in that space. Since 2010, Earth Fare, Power House Gym, Guitar Center and JoAnn's Fabrics have all gone in the adjoining center, so it is quite remarkable about how that area has been revitalized as a retail destiantion. This has occurred despite the decline of Madison Square Mall across the street.

also the addition of Chipotle on the Earth Fare side.

and now this/ too late, too little, too stupid, no way any of this happens in 15 -20 years. Studies are just a way to delay what everybody already knows.
They can't even get a simple interchange UPGRADE done at County Line and I-565 and it's been 10 years blabbering on that. The Chinese would have had it done in 12 months or less.

"The Madison County Commission on Friday approved an agreement for traffic studies that could lead to additional lanes on U.S. 72, Interstate 565 and Research Park Boulevard.

The commission plans to issue a contract for a traffic study of Research Park Boulevard between U.S. 72 and I-565 and of I-565 from Wall Triana Highway to Interstate 65. Another contract will be awarded for a traffic study of U.S. 72 between Providence Main Street and County Line Road.
Isn't the state supposed to do this? Why do they count cars then?

The goals of the studies will be to increase capacity and improved traffic access management for traffic heading to and from Redstone Arsenal.
(Never mind projects that have been planned for 20 years and still not started, try completing something!)

"None of us want (U.S. 72) to turn into what (U.S. 280) has become in Birmingham," Commission Chairman Mike Gillespie said after the meeting.The studies could recommend that U.S. 72, I-565 and Research Park Boulevard each be expanded to six lanes.

"I think we'd like to see that happen," Gillespie said. "It depends on what the studies show and it depends on funding." there is none

The studies will be paid for with $298,888 left from an earlier grant from the Office of Economic Adjustment in the federal Department of Defense.

The agreement approved at Friday's meeting is among Madison County, Huntsville, Madison and the Office of Economic Adjustment and sets out the responsibilities of each entity.

Hey ALDONT you win.. we know that your corrupt club will only work on what you want, when you want, and it will be delayed at every step along the way until you get what you want. Huntsville one of many cities and towns in this state held hostage by the politics of ALDONT

[HSVTiger]

Sounds good but big deal, it won't impact these projects at all because they (ALDONT) will still cite money shortage.
Hey ALDONT here is an idea, on the newly completed 10 year late north meml
pky ovps's why not install some signs to tell motorists that this controlled access expressway is coming to a dead stop at Mstn Lke Rd.
Why not some indication where this road to nowhere actually goes. Southbound how about indicating that an interstate spur connecting a major north south interstate (that would be I-65) is coming up.
ALDONT driven by the motto.."we will do the bare minimum..our jobs depend on it"


The demise of Senate Bill 503 came as welcome news to Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, who last week called the potential revenue loss an "untenable" situation for the city.
Also under the bill, 3 percent of TVA money now given to the Metropolitan Planning Organization for specific road and bridge projects - the Northern Bypass, replacing narrow bridges on Old U.S. 431 and widening congested parts of Winchester, Zierdt, Jeff and King Drake roads, Bob Wade Lane and Old Madison Pike - would have been reallocated to the county and local cities based on population.
"Those seven roads projects would have basically gone away," Battle said Tuesday.

[HSVTiger]

You can sense the joy in Johnny's voice..
A letter in the HSV Times.

Q: Several years ago there was much activity concerning a Memphis-Atlanta freeway project. Whatever happened to this project? -- Ervin D. Baltimore, Meridianville

A: The project "is on indefinite hold," said Johnny Harris, the Alabama Department of Transportation's division engineer for this area.

Former U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, secured millions of federal dollars for environmental studies and planning for the Memphis to Atlanta superhighway in the 1990s, but no money for construction of the $3 billion highway has been secured.A portion of the proposed highway is the Patriot Parkway, commonly called the southern bypass, that was to cross Redstone Arsenal but was nixed by the Army because of security reasons after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Huntsville planners are studying a new route for Patriot Parkway that would avoid the arsenal. But there is no money designated to build the $539 million highway between Interstate 565 near Rideout Road and Memorial Parkway near Hobbs Island Road. -- Keith Clines


Another dead project, Huntsvillians/North Alabama should be satisfied with
what we have, because all of your tax dollars are going to road projects Birmingham south.
There will be little if any major road projects constructed in this area for at least 5 years and by then another "study" will have to be done.

[*BRAVO*]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

"None of us want (U.S. 72) to turn into what (U.S. 280) has become in Birmingham," Commission Chairman Mike Gillespie said after the meeting.The studies could recommend that U.S. 72, I-565 and Research Park Boulevard each be expanded to six lanes.

It should be noted simply expanding the highways to six lanes will not solve your problems. U.S. 280 is 6-8 lanes throughout Greater Birmingham.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by *BRAVO*

It should be noted simply expanding the highways to six lanes will not solve your problems. U.S. 280 is 6-8 lanes throughout Greater Birmingham.

Absolutely, ALDONT has no viable solutions, 280 is a difficult if not impossible
to solve now due to ALDONT's innability to be proactive on any project.
University COULD be remedied along with several other major roads in Huntsville to keep from becoming a U.S. 280 but won't because it's easier to say more studies, no money, and we just don't feel like it.
At least Birmingham is getting major upgrades to the interstate system and woefully needed.
Right now North mem'l pkwy could be a glorious controlled access freeway to the Tennesse state line (beginning north of Oakwood) by veering off the ancient goat path and bypass the current train wreck of existing farms, car lots, abandoned buildings and poor design if ALDONT would do their job and put forth a futuristic plan that had vision and modern solutions.

[HSVTiger]

Maybe something will come from this, if just to get people to see beyond their kitchen window..

Mayor Tommy Battle and about 40 other civic leaders will climb aboard a bus bound for Greenville, S.C.

Their mission: Find out how the former textile manufacturing hub managed to create one of the nation's livelier downtown shopping, dining and entertainment scenes.

Big Spring Partners, the nonprofit agency spearheading Huntsville's downtown revitalization efforts, organized the three-day Greenville trip as a sort of case study in how to remake a center city.

"We don't want to replicate any city -- that's not our intention," Big Spring Partners Executive Director Mary Jane Caylor said Wednesday. "We just want to take their best practices and successes and see how they can be applied to Huntsville."

In the 1970s, downtown Greenville was like a lot of other Southern towns: listless, creaky, dead after 5 p.m.

When Battle and the others step off the bus this afternoon, they'll find a downtown brimming with restaurants -- 99 at last count -- and people.


Downtown Greenville is home to 99 restaurants -- many of them with patio dining. (Photo courtesy Greenville Chamber of Commerce)
They can walk across a 345-foot-long suspension bridge over the Reedy River, take in a show at the Peace Center for the Performing Arts or visit Fluor Field, a minor-league baseball stadium modeled after Fenway Park in Boston.

Hank Hyatt, vice president of economic development at the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, said the downtown renaissance began in the 1980s with construction of a Hyatt Regency hotel on city owned land.

Other crowd-pleasing projects followed: the 2,100-seat Peace Concert Hall; Falls Park, a pretty urban oasis on the Reedy River anchored by the $4.5 million Liberty Bridge; Fluor Field, named America's best new ballpark in 2006.

"The city's been really methodical and committed to a vision," Hyatt said Wednesday. "They've worked with the private sector and provided the necessary platform for these partnerships to take place."

The Huntsville delegation will hear Greenville's success story firsthand from Hyatt, Mayor Knox White, City Manager John Castile and others, tour the area and check out the Artisphere Arts Festival --Greenville's version of Panoply.

"They have a lot of energy in their downtown, and I think everyone across the Southeast is trying to figure out how to follow their best practices," Huntsville Economic Development Director Michelle Jordan said Wednesday.
HSV Times

[MovingAL]

I love Greenville's downtown. I spent a lot of time there while in grad school. Main Street is great and the cross streets are really coming into their own.

Another town the City should look to is Asheville, NC. Their downtown is phenomenal. Microbreweries, local shops and restaurants that feature local produce: amazing place. The Asheville downtown is more expansive than Greenville's and feels more "Asheville" than Greenville feels "Greenville", in that Asheville feels like something you wouldn't see anywhere else, whereas Greenville looks like Fayetteville Street in Raleigh, NC or any other main street.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Funny, both Decatur and Huntsville are now looking at Greenville as a model. Though, Greenville may be a more accurate model for what Huntsville can strive to achieve.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Absolutely, ALDONT has no viable solutions, 280 is a difficult if not impossible
to solve now due to ALDONT's innability to be proactive on any project.
University COULD be remedied along with several other major roads in Huntsville to keep from becoming a U.S. 280 but won't because it's easier to say more studies, no money, and we just don't feel like it.
At least Birmingham is getting major upgrades to the interstate system and woefully needed.
Right now North mem'l pkwy could be a glorious controlled access freeway to the Tennesse state line (beginning north of Oakwood) by veering off the ancient goat path and bypass the current train wreck of existing farms, car lots, abandoned buildings and poor design if ALDONT would do their job and put forth a futuristic plan that had vision and modern solutions.

Let's be fair here. I don't see Montgomery getting a lot with their roads(the Outer Bypass is gonna be a Toll Road). Mobile's still waiting on their Western Bypass and Wallace Tunnel Replacement Bridge for I-10. Dothan's probably never gonna get their I-10 spur, and has there been any substantial progress on I-85's western extension?

Point is, outside of Tuscaloosa, it seems like all of Alabama is getting the shaft.