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  #101  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2013, 6:45 AM
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Looks like Decatur is back at the check-book. LINKhttp://decaturdaily.com/stories/Deca...tal-40M,115229

Sweetwater is back on at the SW corner of Decatur city limits at the interchange of 65/565/2o etc...

This new deal calls for $40 Million of city investment and is contingent on a number of things occurring on behalf of the developer which you can read in the article.
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  #102  
Old Posted Mar 12, 2013, 10:12 PM
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Originally Posted by quattordici View Post
Looks like Decatur is back at the check-book. LINKhttp://decaturdaily.com/stories/Deca...tal-40M,115229

Sweetwater is back on at the SW corner of Decatur city limits at the interchange of 65/565/2o etc...

This new deal calls for $40 Million of city investment and is contingent on a number of things occurring on behalf of the developer which you can read in the article.
I'm just so curious, anxious, nervous, excited, enthused about all of this. I'm just pleading with fate that if/when this development takes place, that it is a center unlike anything Alabama has ever seen. I cannot stand for another "cookie-cutter" shopping center, and particularly on that piece of land. Plus, as has been mentioned many time over, hopefully this development will get ALDOT out from their desks and finally, finally, finally extend I-565 (or at least a limited access roadway) to the Tennessee River.
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  #103  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2013, 1:12 AM
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Originally Posted by thunder89 View Post
I'm just so curious, anxious, nervous, excited, enthused about all of this. I'm just pleading with fate that if/when this development takes place, that it is a center unlike anything Alabama has ever seen. I cannot stand for another "cookie-cutter" shopping center, and particularly on that piece of land. Plus, as has been mentioned many time over, hopefully this development will get ALDOT out from their desks and finally, finally, finally extend I-565 (or at least a limited access roadway) to the Tennessee River.
yep this could be the one, imagine if light rail connected downtown Decatur, Sweetwater, Huntsville International Airport, Research Park/Redstone Arsenal and downtown Huntsville.
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  #104  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2013, 3:33 AM
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yep this could be the one, imagine if light rail connected downtown Decatur, Sweetwater, Huntsville International Airport, Research Park/Redstone Arsenal and downtown Huntsville.
I know, right? It's not as if it isn't a viable transit solution; there is plenty of vacant land in downtown Decatur to hold a parking deck. The old train station off Bank Street would be a great location for a Western terminus and there's enough land adjacent for a parking lot or deck.

While Huntsville is a sprawling city, it oddly has large concentrations of employment in Cummings and Redstone, then there's downtown. They're perfect locations for commuters from Decatur and Madison to disembark.

Honestly, even a simple commuter rail line would be great.

Also, if there was ever a project that could really bring rail transit into discussion, I think it would be this one. Just imagine the population increase this could bring. We don't need to spend money on widening 565 at the Huntsville/Decatur boundary; a rail line would eliminate countless cars from the daily mile long gridlock stretching from downtown Decatur to the 565/65/20/Alt72 interchange. Additionally, the added traffic in downtown would do wonders for the downtown revitalization going on at the moment.
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  #105  
Old Posted Mar 13, 2013, 11:56 PM
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Originally Posted by quattordici View Post
I know, right? It's not as if it isn't a viable transit solution; there is plenty of vacant land in downtown Decatur to hold a parking deck. The old train station off Bank Street would be a great location for a Western terminus and there's enough land adjacent for a parking lot or deck.

While Huntsville is a sprawling city, it oddly has large concentrations of employment in Cummings and Redstone, then there's downtown. They're perfect locations for commuters from Decatur and Madison to disembark.

Honestly, even a simple commuter rail line would be great.

Also, if there was ever a project that could really bring rail transit into discussion, I think it would be this one. Just imagine the population increase this could bring. We don't need to spend money on widening 565 at the Huntsville/Decatur boundary; a rail line would eliminate countless cars from the daily mile long gridlock stretching from downtown Decatur to the 565/65/20/Alt72 interchange. Additionally, the added traffic in downtown would do wonders for the downtown revitalization going on at the moment.
Fully agree. A station from Decatur to Huntsville, with stops at Sweetwater, Huntsville International, Madison (maybe Hughes Rd), CRP/Redstone, and downtown Huntsville would be phenomenal. I just don't understand it, when the funding is there, and it'd ultimately reduce costs for motorists and the participating cities anyways. I had actually made a map of a "North Alabama Line" where a speed train would connect Decatur with Huntsville, but also a continuing line from Decatur (stops in Courtland, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield) and eastward going to Scottsboro. Sigh, one day..

Anyways, to get back on topic. I highly hope this Sweetwater deal takes off
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  #106  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2013, 4:10 AM
Colin Giersberg Colin Giersberg is offline
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The only issue I see is that light rail or a commuter line would have to build their own tracks. Freight railroads are very leery about allowing passenger service over their tracks for liability reasons. Imagine a light rail system having a head on with a freight train. A few hundred tons of light rail meeting a freight train weighing 12000+ tons does not paint a happy picture. That is why the majority of services like this have their own dedicated track. It would be nice to se the light rail or commuter line come into this area, though.
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  #107  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2013, 6:57 AM
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Originally Posted by Colin Giersberg View Post
The only issue I see is that light rail or a commuter line would have to build their own tracks. Freight railroads are very leery about allowing passenger service over their tracks for liability reasons. Imagine a light rail system having a head on with a freight train. A few hundred tons of light rail meeting a freight train weighing 12000+ tons does not paint a happy picture. That is why the majority of services like this have their own dedicated track. It would be nice to se the light rail or commuter line come into this area, though.
I was on a train to New Orleans from Birmingham when a freight train in Slidell broke down; things like that are taken into consideration.
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  #108  
Old Posted Mar 18, 2013, 5:43 PM
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Decatur City Council members approved the $40-million proposal to bring shops and restaurants to the area.

It passed with a four-to-one vote Monday morning.

The city will front $12-million for land and infrastructure, and $28-million in sales tax rebates to build the Sweetwater development at the I-565 and I-65 interchange.

The project is expected to bring 4,000 new jobs to the area.
From WAFF-TV

More from Paul Gattis Huntsville Times

With much reservation expressed by two members, the Decatur City Council today approved a resolution outlining an agreement to a $1.3 billion retail development in Limestone County.

The resolution calls for a minimum of a retail anchor store that has not been publicly identified, a minimum 250-room hotel and three chain restaurants in the sprawling land at the end of I-565 on the west side of I-65.

Speculation, however, has centered on a Bass Pro Shop.


The council approved the resolution in a 4-1 vote with a dissenting vote from Billy Jackson. That resolution includes a commitment from the city of Decatur of up to $12 million in capital improvements in the Sweetwater deal.


The deal is now contingent on financial investment by Limestone County, Decatur City Council President Gary Hammon said after the meeting.

"The city of Decatur has done all it can do (to make the deal happen)," he said. Hammon added that the deal has always hinged on the role Limestone County plays and if it declines to take part, the deal would collapse.

Awaiting Limestone County's involvement is the next step, Hammon said.

Hammon also said after the meeting that this proposal is better than deals in the past that have not worked out, citing the city's financial liability is about 30 percent lower this time.

"This resolution still has too many holes in it," Jackson said after about 45 minutes of discussion among council members.

Another council member, Charles Kirby, gave a detailed report that highlighted concerns about the risk to the city of Decatur and how similar developments in Alabama and around the country have not materialized or yielded the promised profits.

But Kirby gave his support to the resolution after Mayor Don Kyle allayed some of his concerns.

Council members Chuck Ard and Roger Anders spoke in favor of the deal, saying the bottom line was receiving sufficient scrutiny and would be further reviewed as negotiations continue to move forward.


The risk Kirby spoke against included undermining city investment into revitalizing Decatur Mall and the possibility that the retail development could lure businesses away from the city center of Decatur to the development that is about five miles to the east.

Kirby also pointed out that Limestone County, where the property is located, and the city of Huntsville stand to benefit from the retail development without incurring the financial risk the city of Decatur is assuming.

The resolution called for Decatur to purchase the 125-acre tract for $2.5 million and then turn it over the developer. The city is also on the hook for $12 million in capital improvements that includes the $2.5 million land purchase.

Ard said scrutiny of the deal so far indicates that the city would profit from the deal even if the development does not expand beyond the five anchor stores. The expectation, however, is that the retail development will grow beyond the five anchors.

Hammon said he was confident the risk to the city was minimal.

"If this had the general fund (budget) at risk, I would walk away," Hammon said. "I'm comfortable with it."

Wallace Terry, director of economic and community development for the city of Decatur, said any big project would also put the general fund at risk.

"I'm totally comfortable with where the plum line is," Terry said. "We're trying our best to protect all involved. The risk to the city, I think, is much less than what it has been in the past."

Last edited by HSVTiger; Mar 18, 2013 at 6:02 PM.
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  #109  
Old Posted Mar 18, 2013, 7:57 PM
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I'm not sure if anyone has posted this yet, but here is the link to the development's website. It looks very nice! Also, Bass Pro Shops is all over it so I guess that means that they plan on making it the main anchor.

http://www.sweetwateralabama.com/
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  #110  
Old Posted Mar 18, 2013, 9:25 PM
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Big surprise; Billy Jackson is always the dissenting vote.
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  #111  
Old Posted Mar 18, 2013, 11:13 PM
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Originally Posted by bamastu13 View Post
I'm not sure if anyone has posted this yet, but here is the link to the development's website. It looks very nice! Also, Bass Pro Shops is all over it so I guess that means that they plan on making it the main anchor.

http://www.sweetwateralabama.com/
not sure how accurate this is now, I believe this was the original site from years ago but it's probably close. Remember the main anchor has not been revealed and the mention of 5 anchors is new.
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  #112  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2013, 2:44 AM
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not sure how accurate this is now, I believe this was the original site from years ago but it's probably close. Remember the main anchor has not been revealed and the mention of 5 anchors is new.
Yeah, it's not accurate. I didn't realize those press releases were from '08. Last one posted went along with the city council approval so I went with it. Oh well
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  #113  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2013, 2:59 AM
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Yeah, it's not accurate. I didn't realize those press releases were from '08. Last one posted went along with the city council approval so I went with it. Oh well
It's the same site. The sign for the the 08 Sweetwater plan is still up if I'm not mistaken.
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  #114  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2013, 3:01 PM
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Are they still even going to incorporate the residential units as part of the property anymore?
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  #115  
Old Posted Mar 19, 2013, 3:48 PM
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It's the same site. The sign for the the 08 Sweetwater plan is still up if I'm not mistaken.
I meant web site, sorry, yes the property in question is the same
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  #116  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2013, 7:50 PM
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Apparently, the city is now going to provide $55 Million in incentives for Sweetwater... LINK
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  #117  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2013, 5:39 AM
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Decatur's entertainment district (which allows open containers on streets, sidewalks, and parks within its boundaries) opens today at 4pm. It is situated along 2nd Ave and Bank St in downtown and contains around 20 permitted establishments.
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  #118  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2013, 3:16 AM
SineQuaNon SineQuaNon is offline
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New Zaxby's and Buffalo Wild Wings

Decatur Daily reports that there will probably be a Buffalo Wild Wings in front of Academy on Wimberly, and a new Zaxby's downtown on 6th Avenue and Grant. Nice to see some new interest on that end of 6th
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  #119  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2013, 3:57 AM
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Decatur Daily reports that there will probably be a Buffalo Wild Wings in front of Academy on Wimberly, and a new Zaxby's downtown on 6th Avenue and Grant. Nice to see some new interest on that end of 6th
Thanks for posting and welcome to SSP! You're right, that portion of 6th Ave hasn't seen much activity in recent years except for the Jack's reconstruct.

Are you from Decatur?
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  #120  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2013, 1:07 AM
SineQuaNon SineQuaNon is offline
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Thanks for posting and welcome to SSP! You're right, that portion of 6th Ave hasn't seen much activity in recent years except for the Jack's reconstruct.

Are you from Decatur?

Yes, I am.
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