Montgomery development news

[thoraudio]

Bystander, could you imagine if Mayor Bright said he wanted to borrow just under a half a billion for infrastructure for retail development?

yikes.

But Byard does basically the same, and everybody thinks it's a great idea...

<- very skeptical.

[rabbi2007]

All sports report tickets sold, thats what determines how much money is made. This is not just a practice in Montgomery but in ALL Baseball, minor and majors. I knew that the nay sayers would act like rats and roaches when you turn the lights out. You guys were hoping that this team would fail, well its not failing as a matter of fact for two years in a row the team has made payments that exceeded the predictions made before the biscuits ever played a game. As for crime in Montgomery, it is a shame these rates increase anytime and anywhere in this country. And one thug to many is bad for any city. But the problem is the moral condition in our country and in cities all over. I blame the church and its failure to reach out and work with these kids and teenagers before they go out and join a gang, or steal a car or shoot another kid in the schools because they dont like the way they look. I saw something the other day that said most of the criminals this day and time are much younger than two decades ago. But to blame a Mayor for the crime rate no matter who the mayor is well. But its not to late to take our streets back. Montgomery or any city ccan succeed at this . Give the schools the O K to discipline like they did when I was in school. Then give the parents the O K to do what it takes to correct the kids, I heard I kids threaten to call D H R if the parent spanked the child and no parent wants to deal with them. My answer to all crime!

[neilson]

Originally Posted by rabbi2007

But to blame a Mayor for the crime rate no matter who the mayor is well. But its not to late to take our streets back. Montgomery or any city ccan succeed at this . Give the schools the O K to discipline like they did when I was in school. Then give the parents the O K to do what it takes to correct the kids, I heard I kids threaten to call D H R if the parent spanked the child and no parent wants to deal with them. My answer to all crime!

Rabbi, so far you've made the best points of anyone on this board, but to reiterate my key points regarding crime in Montgomery:

According to the data on the ACJIC site that I linked to earlier, crime rates from 1998-2002 rose in Montgomery by 26.3%. During the same period, the statewide crime rate dropped by 0.6%, Mobile's crime rate dropped by 2.3%, and Birmingham's crime rate dropped by 5.6%. When crime rates in Alabama as a whole and in other large Alabama cities were dropping slightly, Montgomery's crime rate was rising dramatically. Feel free to compare the numbers on the site.

During more recent years, the crime rate has dopped some, but is not yet back to 1998 levels.

But I have a different complaint. In the 2004 ACJIC data, the most recent available, the crime clearance rate is a mere 6% in Montgomery. A crime is cleared when it is solved or dismissed, whether or not an arrest is deemed necessary or made. And Montgomery only clears 6% of crimes. The Alabama average is 18%, THREE TIMES Montgomery's rate.

I've heard the Mayor and Police Chief blaming "the courts" for our crime problem. Their argument is that the criminals are arrested and then released, with most of the crimes coming from these repeat offenders. Sounds plausible on the surface, but I have to ask about that pathetic 6% clearance rate. Maybe, just maybe, a large part of the problem is that the criminals aren't being caught in the first place.

But do the Mayor and the Police Chief acknowledge that? Not that I've heard.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by bystander1

thoraudio, your research is great. But remember, you're answering a troll so don't expect him to agree/understand.

I never thought about the money Prattville is borrowing the way you broke it down. That really is a lot for the city to invest for strip malls of that size. I believe those retailers would have come anyway and invested their own money for the land and infrastructure if the market was there...

...And Montgomery's population has stabilized and showed an increase according to the census bureau's 2004 estimates.

"The one glaring word in their description of our downtown is POTENTIAL investors. This deal has been rolling along for 6 years and we still don't have ACTIVE investors - we should have been seeing some signs of life 3 years ago.

If the baseball stadium is such winner, why isn't there a corporate sponsor? Everyone of the Bright supporters said that last year would surpass the attendance of the first year, but it actually dropped a pretty significant amount.

Anyone who supports the stadium and criticizes Prattville's economic move is simply blowing smoke. Look at the figures - Prattville brings in 9 million plus a year with a 3 million dollar a year note - 6 million dollar government surplus that takes a load off of the citizens and improves their city, schools or whatever. Not only do they keep their own dollars in their communtiy, but bring in a bunch from 10% Montgomery and surrounding areas.

Now look at the stadium. It is at best a break even propostion, without the security of a diverse retail center - when this team flops, like the rest of them have, the citizens are stuck with a deserted stadium in a deserted downtown. Development has not followed the stadium, due in large part to the business community's distrust in Bright, and this investment has no safety net - if you don't have baseball, you definately won't pay for the place with other venues.

This financial deal is symbolic of the reason that Autauga county is one of the fastest growing counties in the state, while Montgomery is shrinking. Some mayors are looking out for their people, while others are just looking out for their friends. "

As an added commentary, and this goes for all politicans; how can we expect to have confidence in the Public School System when the mayor himself, who lives out at Wynlakes in posh East Montgomery, STILL feels the need to send his kids to St. James?

What, aren't the Montgomery Public Schools out there good enough for his kids? It is, after all, the most affluent part of town.

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by neilson

^I've been on these boards for months now, and all of a sudden when I begin to express my distaste at the administration in Montgomery, you label me a troll?

How Facist in nature; really I thought we were allowed to discuss both sides of the arguement on here without resorting to such name-calling as "troll".

I don't have a problem with you expressing your opinion. Just create another thread for it. But I know why you wont create another thread; because whenever you do, it dies quickly on this board. So you go to an active MGM thread no matter what it's about in order to express your hate. So I know you're loving this. Finally, some type of feedback for your theories. I know you're passionate about your theories, great...I have no problem with that.

BUT Don't hi-jack a development thread to express your disdain for a place or your lot in life. Go back to al.com where your opinions get plenty talk time.

[neilson]

bystander; I just want your explanations to my arguements when i post it in another thread.

Do that much and I shall not speak of this again in this thread.

[thoraudio]

*yawn*

I-85 extension moving foward.... I'm split on this one. If west Alabama is to get out of its slump, it needs any sort of industry (preferably automotive), and that industry will need an interstate. But high speed access to Fla via Troy and/or Dothan would probably get a much better ROI.

I-85 extension 'on the fast track'

By Mike Linn
and Jannell McGrew
Montgomery Advertiser


For Richard and Edna Foster, an extension of Interstate 85 from Montgomery to Mississippi means their trips to west Alabama will be safer and quicker.

The son and mother, who travel to the small town of Cuba in Sumter County about three times a year, lauded the estimated $1 billion project at the first of 12 public involvement meetings Monday night at Southlawn Middle School in Montgomery, one of three meetings scheduled this week in Central Alabama.

"Anyone who has traveled Highway 80 (in west Alabama) knows it's not safe," Edna Foster said. "It used to be called 'blood alley.'"

While officials say the entire project won't be complete for at least another decade, the planning of the roadway, which includes an environmental impact statement, is moving rapidly. The project would link I-85 to Interstate 20/59 near the Mississippi line.

"In the last federal transportation bill, there was an emphasis by the government to speed up the (environmental impact statement) process," said Buddy Covington, an environmental planner at Volkert & Associates, the Mobile-based consulting firm in charge of the project. "Right now we're on the fast track."

He said the firm likely would have federal approval on the specific location of the extension in about three years.

The firm will be in Selma tonight and in Demopolis on Thursday for meetings. Public hearings also are planned for April, September and February (2007). The interstate extension is expected to be an economic boon for the Black Belt region, an area of Central Alabama that has struggled economically for decades.

"What's it's going to actually do is offer accessibility for economic development, and that's what we're looking for -- economic development," Demopolis Mayor Cecil P. Williamson said. "I'd like to see economic development in whatever form -- from a manufacturing plant to a retail establishment. We want to bring in better-paying jobs and more opportunities for the people who already live here."

Tony Harris, a spokesman for the Alabama Department of Transportation, described the extension as "a way of closing a gap in our interstate system."

He said $100 million in federal funding has been earmarked for the project. The public involvement process looks at the environmental and historical aspects of a project of this magnitude.

Officials say they want to make sure the environment isn't adversly affected, and will avoid imposing on the region's cultural resources (historical and archeological), endangered species and natural wetlands.

"We don't want to run this interstate through downtown Selma," said Jason Goffinet, a planner at Volkert.

In the proposal, the interstate would avoid Selma by at least six miles if built to the south and about two miles if built to the north. Unlike its cut through the middle of Montgomery, the interstate would avoid going through the heart of any city in the western part of the state, according to the current proposal.

But many say it would mean prosperity for Black Belt cities nonetheless.

"I think it's going to be good for the area. It's going to be good job-wise because we need the help," Selma resident Terry Davis said. "It's got to be done."

[thoraudio]

New 'lifestyle center' changing hands.

EastChase properties sold

By David Irvin
Montgomery Advertiser


The Shoppes and The Plaza at EastChase were sold Thursday for an undisclosed sum to a joint-venture real estate company.

Jim Wilson and Associates Inc. and Alfa Insurance Companies developed the eastside Montgomery property, opening The Shoppes in November 2002 and The Plaza about a year later.

On Thursday, they closed a deal with NP/I&G Institutional Retail Company LLC, a joint venture between New York-based New Plan Excel Realty Trust Inc. and JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management.

The new owners say the transition will be imperceptible.

"Our plan for the property is to maintain the high quality of tenants, (and) to continue to service the community at the best level possible," said Stacy Slater, junior vice president of corporate communications for New Plan Excel Realty Trust.

"As far as the community goes, it will be a seamless transition," she said.

That's good news for Marsha Cook, co-manager at Priesters Pecans, a specialty store that sets up in The Shoppes at EastChase during the holiday season.

"I just hope they take care of it as well as Jim Wilson and Associates has," Cook said.

Company officials declined to discuss the details of the deal, and Slater said the cost of the acquisition wouldn't be available until New Deal publishes its fourth-quarter results in February.

However, EastChase management staff will remain the same under the new ownership, officials said.

"Jim Wilson and Associates and Alfa properties have worked very hard to develop two excellent retail projects in The Shoppes and The Plaza," Carl Bartlett, senior vice president of Jim Wilson and Associates, said in a statement. "New Plan Excel Realty Trust presented Alfa and Jim Wilson and Associates with an opportunity that made sense for all parties involved."

Additionally, Jim Wilson and Associates remains committed to developing in the Montgomery area, said Kay Yarbrough, marketing director for the company. Along with Alfa, the two companies still own about 170 acres in the EastChase development and plan to develop retail, office and multi-family-use property, officials said.

Russ Thomas, director of Gallery East, an art gallery in The Shoppes that features the work of local artists, said he received a letter advising him of the ownership change. So far, everything looks about the same as it did under Jim Wilson and Associates, he said.

"Everything seems good -- foot traffic is good, the area is growing nicely. We don't see anything that seems to be adversely (affected)," Thomas said.

New Plan has grown to become one of the largest real estate companies in the nation since it began operating in 1962. According to a news release from Jim Wilson and Associates, New Plan focuses on ownership and management of community and neighborhood shopping centers.

Slater said deals done through joint ventures "target the premier properties in the country." The company operates 466 properties across 39 states, 150 of them being joint ventures.

Jim Wilson and Associates has developed and managed more than 21 million square feet of commercial space in nine Southeastern states since its founding in 1975.

Alfa Properties owns and operates more than 24 properties and investments in Alabama, Florida, Texas and the District of Columbia, officials said.

[bystander1]

I was just about to post this. What do you think about it, thoraudio? Has EastChase been somewhat of a disappointment so far? Jim seems to do everything right except in his hometown.

[DruidCity]

Re: I-85 extension - The ONLY way I see this having any positive effect on anyone in AL is if there really is a "big fish" on the hook like KIA that demands it.

Re: EastChase - I've never been there, but from this distance, the news looks good :

Along with Alfa, the two companies still own about 170 acres in the EastChase development and plan to develop retail, office and multi-family-use property

So, your local group sold off the developed part of EastChase, and now have a big chunk of money with which they can develop the rest.

[thoraudio]

Originally Posted by bystander1

I was just about to post this. What do you think about it, thoraudio? Has EastChase been somewhat of a disappointment so far? Jim seems to do everything right except in his hometown.

Eastchase is great.... for the locals

But with it being so far on the outskirts, it gets limited usage from a large portion of the city. Again, I think we're killing ourselves by being too big (area wise).

Jim's always run close to the edge on capital (how many times through bankruptcy now? ) so fresh cash probably sounded good, I don't think it bodes bad for the development.

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by DruidCity

So, your local group sold off the developed part of EastChase, and now have a big chunk of money with which they can develop the rest.

I thought about that when I first read the story, but then I thought, "this is Jim Wilson..."

I guess I'm just hoping that the rest of his developments in EastChase will be a little better organized and have a little more "pep". That's a lot of prime land out there to screw up...

[thoraudio]

Several restoration articles in Sunday's Advertiser.

another article on the big chunk of property downtown that the city just bought.

WESTERN RAILWAYS OF ALABAMA: Today - Future of site in city's hands

By Allison Griffin
Montgomery Advertiser



Mark Waldo looks at the condition of the train shed at the old Western Railways of Alabama site near downtown Montgomery in November 2004. The site itself has changed little in the past year, but Montgomery has purchased the property and is considering plans for a new municipal complex.

In the past year, little has changed at the old Western Railways of Alabama site, an overgrown plot of about 40 acres in the industrial part of Montgomery's north downtown area.

The remaining structures -- the last, fading glimpse of a once prosperous railyard -- still stand, though the growth of vines and trash trees remains unabated. There seems to be more trash strewn here and there -- used tires, broken furniture, parts of long-retired appliances -- and the few remaining pieces of lumber that once formed the second floor of the planing mill seem to have disintegrated a little more.

The one thing that has changed -- for better or worse, depending on whom you ask -- is the ownership.

The city of Montgomery closed on the property Nov. 1, purchasing it for $420,000 from the CSX Corp. Jeff Downes, executive assistant to Mayor Bobby Bright, said the city may use the site for a municipal complex, with space enough for a jail, municipal court and police headquarters -- which would ease some of the city's administrative overcrowding.

That plan is not set in stone, however.

"We're not tied to that," Downes said. "We're still discussing internally what our options are."

But some fear the history of the area may be forever lost.

"It's important to remind everyone that the railroad built Montgomery," said the Rev. Andrew Waldo, a Montgomery native who is rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Excelsior, Minn. Waldo long has been interested in train and railroad history and has spent considerable time and effort trying to document that part of Montgomery's past.

Waldo founded Old Alabama Rails, a nonprofit group that developed a plan to turn the site into a tourist attraction and incorporate the railroad's long history. The projected cost was $30 million, which Waldo concedes would have been difficult to raise.

Old Alabama Rails had discussions over the years with the city, knowing that city officials had long coveted the site. OAR board members had hoped to get the city's support for their project, but talks never progressed that far.

"I was encouraged by what I read in the Advertiser on the mayor's willingness to talk with us about the use of that space and working with OAR," Waldo said.

While Waldo fears that the few remaining structures on the property may be lost to the city's expansion, he hasn't lost hope for eventual cooperation.

"I'm discouraged that we couldn't work with the city to make that project happen in its entirety," Waldo said. "I'm encouraged that they're open to something happening."

Downes reiterated those comments: "The mayor is very open to any proposals. (But) any proposal must have a funding component, and that's going to be a hurdle for most groups."

[thoraudio]

A decaying church you can see from the 85/65 interchange being restored.... possibly.

History, once nearly lost, slowly is making its way back to the corner of Holt and Stone streets.

For years, some drivers at the junction of Interstates 65 and 85 in Montgomery have looked in the other direction while passing Mount Zion AME Zion Church, the first meeting place of the Montgomery Improvement Association, the force behind the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

For the past decade and a half, this landmark of the modern civil rights movement has been in steady, public decay, vanishing in plain sight.

But these days, those motorists so accustomed to looking away are more likely to do double-takes.

Careful progress

The old roof, marked by multiple, violent gashes, is gone; in its place is the crude framework of a strong new roof that will remain faithful to the original design.

The sanctuary, once rotting, filled with debris and falling in on itself, has begun a rebirth of its own, its floor now cleaned and covered with plywood.

Scaffolding now stretches across the sides of the church. From the top, there's a bird's eye view of the work -- both the clean-up of the sanctuary beneath and the truss work up top.

Since so much of the structure dates to the 19th century, the process is slow and meticulous, based both on careful research and innovation.

"I call it a 'forensic approach,'" said Chip Langlois, operations manager of Thomas Construction & Masonry, the firm that began work on the initial renovation phase in mid-September. "You look, you react, you adapt and you improvise. You can't tame the animal until you know its name. That's what we're going through right now."

Workers are now removing old trusses from the top of the church and placing them onto a "truss table," a grid on the ground beside the church's north side. The trusses are placed on the table, establishing a pattern for the new ones, which will be reinforced with steel plates but will replicate the angle, pitch and detail of the originals, Langlois said.

The goal of Thomas Construction, working along with Brown Chambless Architects and Grant Engineering, is to re-create the church as it stood in 1955, when the last major structural changes took place.

The phase now under way will stabilize the structure to prepare it for a complete renovation. It's called "mothballing," the National Park Service's official term for securing historic buildings in peril from sustaining future damage. Since the church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, abiding by that organization's code is a must.

It's just happy coincidence that if all goes as scheduled, this initial phase of Mount Zion's very public resurrection will be finished in December, the month that marks the 50th anniversary of the bus boycott.

A gradual shift

The folks behind the renovation effort see the current process as nothing less than a miracle.

For more than two years, the Mount Zion Center Foundation, the group of church members behind the renovation effort, has worked to raise money for the project in the community in hope of bringing the church back.

When members first visited to assess the mounting damage, the structure seemed so far gone that the best-case scenario involved demolishing most of the building and leaving only the façade, which would be the entry to a memorial garden.

"But all that was scrubbed," said Charles P. Everett IV, the foundation's vice president. "The miracle happened when we found out there was a possibility that the building was structurally sound enough to save."

Behind the project since its inception has been Thomas Construction, which has made a reputation of taking on challenging renovation projects such as St. John's AME Church and First Baptist Church on Ripley. The company's sign prominently displayed on the church was one of the first signals that something, finally, was happening to the old church.

Months before the work began, Perry Thomas, the company's CEO, got a call from a curious resident who'd seen the sign.

"They said, 'What's going on with that church?'" Thomas said. "I said, 'We're working on it!'"

The real turnaround began when the city of Montgomery awarded the Mount Zion Center Foundation a $150,000 Community Block Grant, a special grant targeted to improve "blighted areas," Everett said.

"I don't think you'll find an area more blighted than this one," Everett said of the church's location, just west of Rosa L. Parks Avenue.

One of the first visible signs of hope came in June, when the once-hollowed-out windows on the church's south elevation -- the side that jumps into interstate drivers' fields of vision -- were embellished with bright murals celebrating the civil rights movement that were designed and painted by Montgomery students.

It's still unknown just how much complete renovation will cost. After the initial phase, structure repairs will continue as funding becomes available, Langlois said. One of the first of those future repairs will include replacing the rotting sanctuary floor, now just stabilized by boards for safety. After that would come exterior work.

Already, the pulpit railing and a couple of pews have been salvaged from the old building, securing their place in the completed structure. Some of the old salvaged ceiling plates will be used in the new roof as well, Langlois said.

Like a lot of people with strong personal ties to the church, Will Jones, president of the Mount Zion Center Foundation, is excited about plans for the completed structure.

"We're going to try to make this a multi-purpose-use facility," said Jones, who hopes to see offices on the lower floor and a space for educational programs and shows on the sanctuary level. Throughout the building will be displays commemorating its place in history, he said.

Everett looks forward to the day when the newly gleaming twin battlements and roof of the resurrected church serve as grand "portals of entry" into the city -- no longer a source of sorrow, but one of pride.

Just when will that happen?

"Time is relative," Everett said. "We would like everything to be through tomorrow, but we know this period of decay didn't happen overnight, and it's not going to happen as quickly as we'd like it to. It's teaching us patience."

[thoraudio]

WINTER PLACE: Today - Plans in works to save estate

By Rick Harmon
Montgomery Advertiser



Winter Thorington is shown in front of Montgomery's historic Winter Place in November 2004. In the year since then, plans are continuing to take shape to save the estate.



Winter Place, shown in the winter of 1914.


"It was an elegant, high-style house. It was among the city's best," said the Alabama Historical Commission's Robert Gamble about Winter Place.

Some might find that difficult to believe. The peeled paint, broken glass, collapsed brick, fallen trees and overgrown grounds blind many to the beauty of the Italianate house that many believe was designed by one of the country's most famous architects, Samuel Sloan of Philadelphia.

Visitors see a derelict house at the corner of Goldthwaite Avenue and Mildred Street, not an elegant residence dating to 1851 that Zelda Fitzgerald used to visit and where elaborate ragtime dance parties were held on the lawn.

But perhaps they will see it again soon.

Robert Thorington, an attorney with Bradley, Arant, Rose & White, said while nothing is firm, plans are being worked out to save the estate, which has been ravaged by time and neglect. Under the plans, Winter Place would be restored over a period of time with the Historical Commission's guidance.

"There has been nothing signed yet, but documents have been written and they are being reviewed," said Thorington, who is related to the Winter family and is first cousin to Winter Thorington, who currently lives in the house.

And while Robert Thorington did not want to discuss the agreement until it was finalized, he said that this could happen soon.

"There is a chance, I believe a good chance, that there could be an agreement by the end of the month," he said.

[thoraudio]

BEN MOORE HOTEL: Today - Anonymous gifts helping restore city's first hotel for blacks

By Robyn Bradley Litchfield
Montgomery Advertiser


The Ben Moore Hotel at South Jackson and High streets was the first licensed hotel in Montgomery that catered to blacks.

Slowly but surely, the eyesore at the corner of South Jackson and High streets is beginning to heal, and its prognosis is promising.

With financial backing from a number of anonymous sources, building owner Edward L. Davis plans to restore the Ben Moore Hotel, the city's first licensed hotel for black people, to its former glory in the coming months.

"We've been very fortunate. Somebody anonymously donated $100,000 for a tin roof, and we're redoing the first floor completely with help from other donors," Davis said.

Back in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, the Ben Moore Hotel was the premier meeting and entertainment complex for the area's black community, neighborhood natives Richard Bailey and Donald Jenkins said in a November 2004 story in the Montgomery Advertiser.

During its heyday, Ike and Tina Turner, B.B. King and other musical entertainers performed in the hotel's Afro Club. And the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent civil rights leaders frequently used the hotel for meetings.

Davis said the Ben Moore Hotel was and still is the centerpiece of Centennial Hill, a historic black neighborhood a few blocks from Alabama's state Capitol.

But after years and years of neglect, the centerpiece has suffered, with most of the upper-floor window panes either broken or missing. The only activity is at Malden Brothers Barber Shop, which is in the hotel's basement area and faces South Jackson.

"I have high hopes," said Davis, who hopes to get some help from the city this next year.

Eventually, with help from families or groups, Davis plans to create a "hall of fame" for civil rights pioneers on the second floor and office rentals on the third.

Davis said he knows there's a lot of work to be done.

"But we'll do whatever it takes. It's all about making Montgomery better," he said.

[thoraudio]

NAT 'KING' COLE BIRTHPLACE: Today - Home wrapped and waiting

The little house on South Hall Street, across from the Alabama State University campus, is nondescript, save the white plastic sheeting that covers it. A temporary fence surrounds it and weeds have started to grow around its cinder block foundation.

You wouldn't know it, but it's the birth home of one of the 20th century's most legendary musicians.

The birthplace of Nat "King" Cole, which originally sat on St. John Street, was moved to this location by the university, which purchased the home in 2000. The school has plans to turn it into a museum to memorialize Cole and preserve his legacy, while also making the campus more of a travel destination.

The home has been stabilized since the Montgomery Advertiser wrote about it in 2004, but much work remains.

ASU spokeswoman Janel Bell said that the university is seeking funding to complete the renovation. She couldn't comment on a timeline for the project, but the firm of Brown Chambless Architects is handling the renovation.

John Chambless, a partner in the firm, said they have completed the renovation plan, but they have paused to allow the university to analyze the project and be sure that it fits into a broader context of all the historic homes, papers and collections the school has.

"It's a wonderful project and it's definitely moving forward," Chambless said.

He said that an outdoor amphitheater will be a part of the plan and there are considerations for how interpretive work could be done there.

Chambless believes the home will one day be an important part of the many historical buildings and homes the school owns.

"Architecturally, it's part of the gateway to the campus," he said.

[pkp]

I didn't know Nat King Cole was born in MGM.

[thoraudio]

Prattville development news. Prattville is it's own city (about 25,000), across the river from Montgomery, but it's become more of a suburb in the last 10-15 years, with strip mall development between the interstate and downtown.

Mixed feelings on this one, I'm glad the city is investing, but think this is way too much money ($2000 per resident or the equivalent of Montgomery borrowing $400,000,000), and I'm not a big fan of the city buying the land for big box retailers....

still mulling...

City gets say in $48M plan to lure retail

By Marty Roney
Montgomery Advertiser

Prattville residents will have a chance to have their say next week on a proposed $48 million bond package that will finance incentives to lure retail interests and a conference center to the east side of the city.

The City Council will have a special meeting Nov. 24 to discuss the funding package. Prattville is planning to borrow the money to help pay for the construction of two large shopping centers and a new conference center.

Once construction is complete, the retail centers are expected to generate about $9.4 million a year in new sales and property taxes and business license fee collections, according to city officials.

The $3.8 million annual payment for the bond issue paying for the package will come from that new revenue, leaving about $5.6 million a year that will go to the city's general fund budget. The bond payments will be made for 20 years.

Reception from the public ranges from complete support of the move to utter amazement that the city is going into debt by that amount.

"I don't like it. Why should the city fund private enterprise?" said John T. Harrison, of Prattville. "The city is discriminating against the little man. Sure they want to help all these big, national companies. But if somebody wants to set up a small business, will the city kick in $200,000 or $300,000 in start-up money? I'm willing to bet they won't be doing that any time soon."

The retail growth that will come with the shopping centers will be good for the entire city, as well as Autauga and Elmore counties, Mayor Jim Byard said.

"There's a perception out there among some that this is a giveaway program, and it's nothing of the kind," Byard said. "We are growing our revenue stream without increasing taxes. The payments for the bond package will come from these new revenues. We will see a 26 percent increase in our operating budget and a 68 percent return on our investment. If anyone comes to me with a portfolio promising that kind of return, I'll be happy to meet with them."

Bringing in more stores sounds like a good idea to Emily Dawson, also of Prattville.

"There's talk all over town that Dillard's, Parisians, Target and Kohls are coming to Prattville," she said. "If that's true, borrowing that money is a good investment. I'll support anything to get more stores in town so I don't have to cross that river into Montgomery to go shopping anymore."

Bass Pro Shops is the only company that has been announced officially as coming to Prattville. The sporting goods giant wants to build a 100,000-square-feet-plus store as one of the anchors of the High Point Shopping Center. The mayor wouldn't comment on any other companies that have expressed an interest in Prattville.

Terri Kendall is a Prattville resident caught in the middle. She wants more shopping options but she's nervous about using tax dollars to pay for incentives.

"I don't see why these stores just don't come here, if we have such a good market," she said. "I understand about investments but I don't know if this is the best way to use our money."

Byard said he understands people being concerned about the move.

"I don't like incentives. I wish we didn't have to pay them at all," he said. "But in the real world incentives are required. In most economic development projects a city abates sales tax, property tax, with the exception of education taxes, and waves fees to land a client. In this package, we haven't abated a single tax and we get all related fees and business license costs. I firmly believe we have to take this step for the future of Prattville."

The council meeting will be held one week before city officials have to appear in a court hearing. Circuit Judge Ben Fuller will preside over the Nov. 30 proceeding to determine if Prattville will be financially able to meet the yearly bond payments.

More info:
FOLLOW THE MONEY
The city of Prattville is borrowing $48 million to pay for an incentives package to land retail interests in east Prattville. The city council will hold a meeting to discuss the issue

When Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m.

Where City council chambers in city hall, 101 W. Main St., downtown.

Information Call the mayor's office at 361-3609.



The package includes

Roadwork $5.5 million to improve and redesign the intersection of Cobbs Ford and Redfield roads
Buy land $8 million to help pay for land where the Bass Pro Shops will go. The sporting goods company will build a 100,000 square feet plus store.
New conference center $4.8 million to help pay for the construction of at least an 8,000 square feet conference center next to the Legends Hotel near the Capitol Hill Golf Course. The conference center will be operated by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, which also own the golf course and hotel. The conference center will have a room that will be able to host a seated dinner for 300.

Shopping centers $7.5 million to help pay for land where a 400,000 square feet center will go in the southwest corner of the Cobbs Ford/Redfield Road intersection. The center likely have Target as an anchor. $15 million to help pay for land where a 450,000 plus shopping center will go across the road with Bass Pro Shops as one of its anchors. The package also includes infrastructure improvements at the sites of the centers.

Source: Documents filed at Prattville City Hall.

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The Zelda Road area is our 'midtown'.

Shoppers welcome Zelda Road growth

By Deborah Willoughby
Montgomery Advertiser



More info:
NEW STORES AT ZELDA PLACE
--Publix supermarket opened Wednesday.
--Other new stores include Starbucks and a Curves fitness center.
--The old CVS pharmacy has moved into a new building.
--Signs at Zelda Place advertise the coming of a Quiznos Sub, Hair Master, Nextel and China King.

As the signs say, Zelda is getting a facelift.

Zelda Road, the four-lane artery through Montgomery's midtown area, is being revitalized with an influx of retailers and soon will be expanded with a center turn lane.

The developments are good news to people who live in the area, such as Marlene Bruner, who was shopping at the Publix supermarket during its Wednesday opening.

"I think it is very nice, a real convenience," she said. "I live about two miles from here in Forest Hills."

Much of Montgomery's recent growth has been on the east side of town. To Bruner, the new Publix and other businesses on Zelda show that "they're not leaving us behind."

Montgomery Academy students John Trevor and Clayton Dodd were taking a break Wednesday at Starbucks.

"It is nice to have development here instead of out east," Trevor said.

Rendi Tallmage and two colleagues from Alabama Business Furnishings had a quick meeting at Starbucks.

"We do a lot of work downtown. It's nice to have this stop between east Montgomery and downtown. It's a convenient place to stop," Tallmage said.

Clare Weil, owner of the UPS Store on Zelda Road, likes the new retailers, both as a business owner and as a resident.

"It just revitalizes this whole area," she said. "There are a lot of people right in this area, and this gives them the opportunity to shop right by their houses."

Weil likes the appearance of the building she is in, which was updated so the CVS pharmacy, Starbucks, Publix and the strip of smaller businesses all complement the existing buildings at Zelda Place.

Aronov Realty Management renovated the old Hillwood Center and put in other buildings to expand Zelda Place into a half-mile of shopping choices.

Zelda runs from Carter Hill Road, where the Westminster Shopping Center is being renovated, to Ann Street, which is undergoing its own transformation as a Wal-Mart and Ross Dress for Less are being built and a Popeye's restaurant is about to open.

In between are professional offices, fast-food restaurants, banks, apartment complexes and turnoffs into neighborhoods full of houses. There are newcomers such as La Zona Rosa, a Mexican restaurant that has Salvadoran cuisine on its menu, and more established businesses such as Nancy Paterson's Bistro and Wolf Camera.

Charles Barnette, executive director for the Zelda Business District Association, said Montgomery's major developers, including Alfa, Aronov and McClinton, are involved in revitalizing the midtown area.

"In the next few years, we're going to see a whole lot more development and redevelopment of residential and commercial property inside the bypass," Barnette said.

Traffic problems along the road will be eased when a center turn lane is added to the four-lane road.

Jeff Downes, an executive assistant to Mayor Bobby Bright, said the city engineering department has just completed plans for widening Zelda Road from Carter Hill Road to just before the intersection with Interstate 85.

Until the work is done, Weil offered a hint for people who want to shop at Zelda Place. Drivers can turn into the parking lot from an entrance next to CVS Pharmacy on Carter Hill Road and stay in the parking lot to Moe's restaurant.