Huntsville updates

[Tennhioland]

Originally Posted by stallty

The lazy river stands out as #1, reminds me of Miami's pools in their stadium. A gimmick to try and boost ticket sales that will be filled in during the next renovation.

Montgomery's Riverwalk stadium or Regions Field in Birmingham look like permanent stadiums meant to last long term. This seems like a stadium that will be there for 20 years to help a developer. I am all for Madison building a ball park, I just wish there was more thought put into the design.

I trust Populous knows what they are doing so maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.

The lazy river and pool would be part of the hotel beside the stadium. Won't help or hurt ticket sales, just part of the mixed use development surrounding the stadium.

[Tennhioland]

Mixed use development based on The Avenue coming to downtown Madison. This is wonderful for the downtown Madison area. A lot of potential there, need something like this to jump start development there.

http://whnt.com/2017/11/27/mixed-use...eement-passes/

[HSVTiger]

The 550-acre Clift Farm, Madison, has been sold to developer Louis Breland, Breland Companies, It will become "retail, dining, residential, office, multifamily and medical" office space, Breland said.
Architects and land planners with Smith Gee Studio in Nashville are working on a master plan for the property in discussion with the City of Madison and the family, Breland said. The goal is "to create a community that will have a timeless feel and preserve many of the existing natural attributes while providing premiere retail, dining, residential, office, multifamily and medical opportunities.

[HSVTiger]

Toyota /Mazda decision will be made early next year..
A 1,252-acre tract of farmland in Limestone County's unincorporated Greenbrier community is apparently the site where Toyota-Mazda might locate their $1.6 billion plant, should the companies decide to build it in Alabama.
The area, off Powell Road and Greenbrier Road has been certified as a TVA Megasite, and an Advantage Alabama site by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.
The site is only a short drive from Polaris and the Target Distribution Center off Interstate 565.
The Huntsville Mega Site lies in Limestone County with 1,252 acres not far from Interstate 565 and 65.
Residents in the area, who asked their names be withheld, confirmed there has been activity at the site within the last month related to the Toyota-Mazda project.

[Colin Giersberg]

Riding through this area, there has been quite a lot of work in replacing power poles and multiple power lines along Greenbrier Rd. and the Section of Powell Rd. that runs east and west. The large power substation at the bend in Powell Rd. had a very large transformer installed a couple of years ago. This transformer was transported from the Norfolk Southern rail spur at Greenbrier Rd. to the above mentioned substation on a multi axle platform trailer. While I don't know how much the transformer weighed, my guess is over 100 tons. It was delivered to the off-loading site on board an 8 axle depressed center flat car and was loaded on the platform trailer with a crane and several other pieces of heavy lifting equipment.
Also, a new substation was built a short distance north of the large one mentioned above. The new GE plant at Greenbrier also has a power substation south of it. Ithink that the part of Greenbrier on the north side of the rairoad tracks may be getting resurfaced soon but I am not sure of that.
Last, but not least, there is a sign on Mooresville Rd. and about a 1/4 mile south of Huntsville/Brownsferry Rd. that states that "Coming Soon, Greenbrier Parkway, This Property Available, Chase Industrial Park (Near Here)

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Colin Giersberg

Riding through this area, there has been quite a lot of work in replacing power poles and multiple power lines along Greenbrier Rd. and the Section of Powell Rd. that runs east and west. The large power substation at the bend in Powell Rd. had a very large transformer installed a couple of years ago. This transformer was transported from the Norfolk Southern rail spur at Greenbrier Rd. to the above mentioned substation on a multi axle platform trailer. While I don't know how much the transformer weighed, my guess is over 100 tons. It was delivered to the off-loading site on board an 8 axle depressed center flat car and was loaded on the platform trailer with a crane and several other pieces of heavy lifting equipment.
Also, a new substation was built a short distance north of the large one mentioned above. The new GE plant at Greenbrier also has a power substation south of it. Ithink that the part of Greenbrier on the north side of the rairoad tracks may be getting resurfaced soon but I am not sure of that.
Last, but not least, there is a sign on Mooresville Rd. and about a 1/4 mile south of Huntsville/Brownsferry Rd. that states that "Coming Soon, Greenbrier Parkway, This Property Available, Chase Industrial Park (Near Here)

and these guys are locating in that area, who happen to have as one of their customers..Toyota
The German auto parts manufacturer BOCAR will build a new plant in North Alabama and hire 300 high-tech workers to supply parts for regional automobile manufacturers, officials announced today. Work on the plant will start in spring 2018 on a site adjacent to I-65 near I-565 in the part of Huntsville located in Limestone County.

BOCAR Chief Financial Officer Gerd Dressler said the company "started with more than 40 options in the U.S. and narrowed it down. And in the end, we were really convinced that Huntsville, Ala., is the place for us to be." Dressler cited the area's workforce, good infrastructure and universities as keys to the decision

[ThatGuy]

From Sep 14, 2017:

Originally Posted by RCSHSV

According to Scott McLain Constellation is one email away from starting construction..

He might need to check his Junk Mail folder

[huntsvillefan]

There was activity on the Constellation site today. Could something be (finally!) happening?

[SpawnOfVulcan]

That proposed development in downtown Madison could be very transformative for the city. Madison has become a player among Alabama cities, but it's still largely considered a suburb by others outside of North Alabama.

Establishing a solid, identifiable city-center would be an amazing step forward for the city in terms of future growth and urbanization/densification.

[mp7123]

The plant, which will employ up to 4,000 people and produce about 300,000 vehicles a year, will be located in Huntsville, Alabama, and is a boon for the state, where Toyota has a large engine plant and an existing network of automotive suppliers.

A formal announcement by company and state officials is expected on Wednesday in Montgomery, sources briefed on the matter said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1EY2PF

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by mp7123

The plant, which will employ up to 4,000 people and produce about 300,000 vehicles a year, will be located in Huntsville, Alabama, and is a boon for the state, where Toyota has a large engine plant and an existing network of automotive suppliers.

A formal announcement by company and state officials is expected on Wednesday in Montgomery, sources briefed on the matter said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1EY2PF

Huge win for North Alabama/Southern Tennessee
Big changes coming to the Huntsville metro, 4000 direct jobs could be up to 10,000 spinoff supplier jobs.
Major infrastructure upgrades will be coming

http://huntsvillemegasite.com/index....details/photos

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Huge win for North Alabama/Southern Tennessee
Big changes coming to the Huntsville metro, 4000 direct jobs could be up to 10,000 spinoff supplier jobs.
Major infrastructure upgrades will be coming

http://huntsvillemegasite.com/index....details/photos

That fact that this facility will be located right between Huntsville and Decatur almost guarantees that Morgan and Lawrence Counties will be incorporated into a new Huntsville-Decatur MSA. Additionally, the ripple effect could bring in Jackson County and the South Central Tenn counties in the Huntsville-Decatur TV market. Huntsville could make a HUGE jump into the top 100 metros with this and associated development.

Wow... Madison, Limestone, Morgan, Lawrence, Marshall Counties in AL plus Lincoln and Giles Counties in TN will see a boost.

As if the Tennessee Valley wasn't growing fast enough!

[HSVTiger]

Toyota Mazda
Site work is expected to begin in the spring, according to Huntsville Director of Urban Planning Shane Davis.
"The first thing that will happen is a mass grading," Davis said. "In three or four months, as the weather breaks, you'll start seeing that. And that will take quite some time. It may take until the end of this year to finish grading and moving 1,400 acres of dirt."
By the end of 2018 or early 2019, Davis said, structures should start rising out of the ground.
Toyota-Mazda has said they expect to begin production in 2021 and Davis said that while the plants themselves are being built, continued infrastructure work will be ongoing.

[stewdog1]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Toyota Mazda
Site work is expected to begin in the spring, according to Huntsville Director of Urban Planning Shane Davis.
"The first thing that will happen is a mass grading," Davis said. "In three or four months, as the weather breaks, you'll start seeing that. And that will take quite some time. It may take until the end of this year to finish grading and moving 1,400 acres of dirt."
By the end of 2018 or early 2019, Davis said, structures should start rising out of the ground.
Toyota-Mazda has said they expect to begin production in 2021 and Davis said that while the plants themselves are being built, continued infrastructure work will be ongoing.

Let's hope upgrades to 565 will be part of that... I'm sure 2035 at the earliest.

[huntsvillefan]

The road expansions need to happen NOW - before the inevitable congestion.

[skycaptain]

Originally Posted by mp7123

The plant, which will employ up to 4,000 people and produce about 300,000 vehicles a year, will be located in Huntsville, Alabama, and is a boon for the state, where Toyota has a large engine plant and an existing network of automotive suppliers.

A formal announcement by company and state officials is expected on Wednesday in Montgomery, sources briefed on the matter said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-u...-idUSKBN1EY2PF

I almost feel sorry for North Carolina. But then I think about the fact that it had the largest film industry in the South for years, and then its legislature determined that all those movie and television production jobs were not real, and they pulled the plug on the incentives. Perfect example of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. And in this case, they also killed the bird in the hand, and the two in the bush remain illusive.

Now, back to Alabama. I am more than ready for Alabama to begin pursuing the R&D and HQ facilities for those automakers with same zeal they have pursued the manufacturing. Just like Nashville and TN went after Nissan in 2006. We did not even make a pitch for the Mercedes HQ.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by skycaptain

I almost feel sorry for North Carolina. But then I think about the fact that it had the largest film industry in the South for years, and then its legislature determined that all those movie and television production jobs were not real, and they pulled the plug on the incentives. Perfect example of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. And in this case, they also killed the bird in the hand, and the two in the bush remain illusive.

Now, back to Alabama. I am more than ready for Alabama to begin pursuing the R&D and HQ facilities for those automakers with same zeal they have pursued the manufacturing. Just like Nashville and TN went after Nissan in 2006. We did not even make a pitch for the Mercedes HQ.

Yea, I was shocked when I read that Mercedes was putting their North American HQ in Atlanta instead of Birmingham. I do understand that the airport situation made it a good landing spot, I just thought that being closer to their manufacturing base would be better for them.

As far as Toyota/Mazda goes in regards to North Carolina, I find it a bit shocking that they chose Alabama even after NC was willing to pay TWICE the incentives that we ultimately did. I guess that says a lot about the location and relationships they made here. It'll also probably say a lot to many other manufacturers, too.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by tascalisa

Yea, I was shocked when I read that Mercedes was putting their North American HQ in Atlanta instead of Birmingham. I do understand that the airport situation made it a good landing spot, I just thought that being closer to their manufacturing base would be better for them.

As far as Toyota/Mazda goes in regards to North Carolina, I find it a bit shocking that they chose Alabama even after NC was willing to pay TWICE the incentives that we ultimately did. I guess that says a lot about the location and relationships they made here. It'll also probably say a lot to many other manufacturers, too.

It does, Alabama and North Alabama officials out worked and out hustled their NC counterparts. The Huntsville site overall is better, when said and done the incentives will probably be very similar. NC focused mostly on the money; AL spent a lot of time on the relationships and doing whatever it took. Experience with landing other Auto plants helped tremendously as well.
Huntsville had been getting ready for this for nearly 10 years.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

It does, Alabama and North Alabama officials out worked and out hustled their NC counterparts. The Huntsville site overall is better, when said and done the incentives will probably be very similar. NC focused mostly on the money; AL spent a lot of time on the relationships and doing whatever it took. Experience with landing other Auto plants helped tremendously as well.
Huntsville had been getting ready for this for nearly 10 years.

I agree that the site is better. The Piedmont Triad is in an area of rolling hills, a lot like Birmingham's suburbs, whereas this site is as flat as a pancake. I'd say that I'd worry about an available workforce with the state's unemployment so low, but Huntsville has never shown an inability to attract residents. Plus, there are some unemployed folks in Decatur and Lawrence County that I'm sure would be more than will to commute across the river.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by tascalisa

I agree that the site is better. The Piedmont Triad is in an area of rolling hills, a lot like Birmingham's suburbs, whereas this site is as flat as a pancake. I'd say that I'd worry about an available workforce with the state's unemployment so low, but Huntsville has never shown an inability to attract residents. Plus, there are some unemployed folks in Decatur and Lawrence County that I'm sure would be more than will to commute across the river.

This plant will pull a 75-100 mile radius, no shortage of workers with nearly three years before opening. Alabama has an excellent job training resource program (AIDT another reason HSV won,
http://www.madeinalabama.com/workfor...training/aidt/)
which has been preparing workers for a long time. The 10,000 plus potential spinoff jobs will also have no problem being filled over the next 5 plus years.
People move to where the jobs are.