New look planned for high-rise
By David Irvin
Montgomery Advertiser
An out of town developer wants to bring luxury condominiums to the Five Points area, a move city officials believe is a major step toward downtown revitalization.
Kim Henderson, a Montgomery native who lives in Virginia, plans to transform the former Hilltop Arms apartment complex on 600 Montgomery St. into The GrandView at Cottage Hill.
The windows of the seven-story building are shattered, the doors are boarded up and weeds surround much of the foundation. But Henderson saw a treasure when he spotted the dilapidated complex on a trip to the Capital City a few years ago.
"One man's junk is another man's gold. And that's what I saw in that building," he said.
Henderson bought the building for nearly $800,000. The total cost of renovations for the 105-unit complex is expected to be about $4 million and work should last 18 months.
Henderson employed Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, a local architecture firm, to draw up the renovation plans. The idea is to knock out many of the building's interior walls to create 37 luxury condominiums.
The low-end unit will measure 1,400 square feet and sell for about $300,000, Henderson said. Two 5,000-square-foot penthouses on the top will cost $600,000 each. All the units will be two-story except for the penthouse suites.
"It will have a rooftop deck so you can look over the city," Henderson said. "At night it is incredible."
Earlier this year the city brought in city planning firm Dover Kohl and Partners to suggest ways to redevelop the downtown area. Bringing residents downtown is key to providing an environment for businesses to thrive, said Ken Groves, director of the city's development department.
He said the city hasn't contributed any funds to the GrandView project, but "we have certainly told the owner that we are supportive of the project and we'll help where we can."
Groves believes investors will put their money forward when there is a clear plan for redevelopment, which will create solid residential, retail and commercial space downtown.
But Henderson admits, even with the city's master downtown development plan, the major impetus for him was the $157 million hotel and convention center partially funded by the city and the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
Another developer, P&T Hospitality LLC, also jumped at the chance to make money off the massive project, purchasing the nearby Commerce Building in February. At the end of October, the last tenants of the building moved out and it is now being converted into a Hampton Inn and Suites.
Other developers have been revamping buildings in the industrial district near Coosa Street and installing luxury condominiums.