Metro Huntsville Development News

[jmanhsv]

The man who opened the Montgomery Brewing Company a decade ago is now getting ready to open a brewpub in "downtown" Madison. Madison Station Brewing Company will be inside of an old cotton gin. It will feature a brewery, a 300-seat banquet room, an upscale restaurant called the Bier Garden, and a pub. The $1.4 million brewpub is expected to open sometime next year.

Huntsville Times article: Hoist a glass for Madison

Edited October 28, 2005 by jmanhsv

[jmanhsv]

The Southern Bypass has become the city's "major focus". With 5,000 jobs coming to Redstone Arsenal in the next 5 years, commuting will become a hassle. The Southern Bypass will run across the Arsenal, from 565/Research Park Blvd. to Memorial Parkway/Green Cove Road. This was part of the mayor's State of the City adress yesterday. The article: City's focus now shifts to bypass

[jmanhsv]

Embassy Suites Huntsville- 10-story hotel next to Von Braun Center, one restaurant (once again, rumored to be a Ruth's Chris), under construction, completion date mid 2006

The owners of the Embassy Suites have said that they are negotiating with Ruth's Chris for a restaurant inside the hotel. If the negotiation is successful, then Ruth's Chris will be the first chain restaurant downtown in many years. The article: Hotel, Ruth's Chris Talking

Edited November 3, 2005 by jmanhsv

[jmanhsv]

The Comprehensive Cancer Institute is building a new headquarters on the west side. The $29 million, 3-story building will open next October. The institute is currently located in the Medical District. I should have a rendering for the building on Monday, but in the meantime, here's a map of the location. The red dot is where the institute will be located.

[slowmotionsoundz]

Jman. are there any pics of what the Huntsville skyline should look like after the Summit and the Embassy Suites are complete?

[jmanhsv]

^I haven't found one yet. But as soon as I do, I'll post it on here.

[slowmotionsoundz]

^I haven't found one yet. But as soon as I do, I'll post it on here.

I'm still in Korea as of now, what does the progress look like so far. I keep hearing about some park they built for the city's birthday. How does that add to downtown's feel?

[jmanhsv]

^That is Bicentennial Park, which is right behind the EarlyWorks museum. I haven't gotten down there yet, but I hear it's very nice. A time capsule, which will be opened in 2055, is the centerpiece of the park. The renderings can be found here. NOTE: This is a pdf file.

[slowmotionsoundz]

^That is Bicentennial Park, which is right behind the EarlyWorks museum. I haven't gotten down there yet, but I hear it's very nice. A time capsule, which will be opened in 2055, is the centerpiece of the park. The renderings can be found here. NOTE: This is a pdf file.

How does the construction look downtown as of now, and how about the jail is it coming up too.

[jmanhsv]

Here's how the major projects are shaping up:

Big Spring Summit- They have "topped off", and right now they are working on the windows. The project should be complete by February at the latest.

Embassy Suites- They are at the 9th floor, and the ground floor is shaping up. Work on the skywalk linking it to the VBC South Hall should begin any day now. It is scheduled to be completed in mid 2006, but I think it will be finished sooner.

301 East- It is at the 3rd floor, making it visible from 565. Construction is moving on smoothly, and it should be done in Fall 2006.

Metro Jail- They are on the 6th or 7th floor. The 8 story building should be ready be next year. Not much information has been made public about this project, mainly b/c it is a jail and will not be used for residential or commercial.

However, the city wants to revitalize the area around the Metro Jail, or North Downtown. This area is the main focus of a revised Downtown Master Plan, introduced last night. The city wants more residential/commercial development here, similar to what is happening downtown. Someone suggested that the area under the 565 overpass should be parking, though I think it should be made into parkspace or a greenway. Huntsville Times article: Downtown Update Looks North

Edited November 16, 2005 by jmanhsv

[jmanhsv]

Here's my virtual map.....

The blue dot at the bottom is where the Metro Jail complex is being built.

North Downtown

BTW, if anyone has any pics of downtown Huntsville development, please post them.

[jmanhsv]

Normally, I would not post anything here about a 200-lot subdivision in Huntsville. But this one is unique because of its location. Hunter Homes, a local subdivision developer, is building a 178-lot subdivision along Meridian Street in North Huntsville, just north of Alabama A&M University. It is the biggest residential development in years for this part of town. Most of the development north of Huntsville has been concentrated in Meridianville, Hazel Green, and in recent years, along the AL/TN border. Hunter Homes says they are "ahead of the curve" with this development. I hope they are right. Huntsville Times article: Growth will go in new direction

[slowmotionsoundz]

Normally, I would not post anything here about a 200-lot subdivision in Huntsville. But this one is unique because of its location. Hunter Homes, a local subdivision developer, is building a 178-lot subdivision along Meridian Street in North Huntsville, just north of Alabama A&M University. It is the biggest residential development in years for this part of town. Most of the development north of Huntsville has been concentrated in Meridianville, Hazel Green, and in recent years, along the AL/TN border. Hunter Homes says they are "ahead of the curve" with this development. I hope they are right. Huntsville Times article: Growth will go in new direction

This goes back to my earlier post about North Huntsviile. You can bring all the subdivision you want, but there has to be an identity for my section of town. Until that happens North Huntsville will continue to hurt economically. To be honest what I think they are doing is making way for Hospital expansion, and rumored tear down for Council Court Housing projects. North Huntsville needs something not as big but an attraction like a bridge street. Huntsville is a diverse city and North Side has a lot of flavor to it. People just have to see the economic value of that. I do. But what's going to hurt North Huntsville is not the crime, ect but the the Idustrial property. Once those stipulation are placed on a section of a city, history shows the development is tampered bu rules and codes placed on Idustrial property.

[jmanhsv]

^I live in North Huntsville, and I agree that there needs to be some type of Bridge Street development here. But Bridge Street is in West Huntsville because there are 8,000 homes being planned or built there right now, and the average income is in the $60,000s. Developers are attracted to these locations. But very soon, North Huntsville's day will come.

Hampton Cove- an area that grew by almost 900% in the 90s, this area already sports thousands of homes and a Robert Trent Jones golf course. Wal-Mart and Publix are major retailers there. A new Lowe's and at least 1500 homes are proposed in the area.

You heard it here first! A Huntsville Times article in today's paper made the announcement that I mentioned here about a month and a half ago. Since the article is short, I'll post it here (this is not the whole article)

Lowe's plans new store in southeast

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

From staff reports

Huntsville Times

There's an improvement on the horizon in southeast Huntsville - home improvement, that is.

Lowe's announced plans Monday to build a store at Sutton Road and U.S. 431, where site work is already under way.

The 117,000-square-foot home improvement warehouse store is expected to open next fall, according to the company. It will include a garden center with more than 31,000 square feet of space.

According to the company, a store of this size can create up to 175 jobs and represents an average investment of $18.5 million.

Edited November 22, 2005 by jmanhsv

[HSVTiger]

This shows a little bit, and the location of the planned condo complex

[HSVTiger]

Downtown Summit tenant

Bruegger's Bagel Bakeries plans to open its first Alabama store in the Big Spring Summit, which is now under construction downtown. An official agreement signing is scheduled today at 9 a.m. on the first floor of the Summit. Vermont-based Bruegger's operates 250 bakeries in 17 states. Local franchise group Bama Bagels plans to develop four bakeries in the Huntsville area by 2008.

seems like a good fit

[jmanhsv]

Starbucks is probably not far behind....

[slowmotionsoundz]

Starbucks is probably not far behind....

What they need is like a nice after hours spot. Live Jazz, dim lights, something for people when they get off work, the working professional. If it's called the summit treat it as such.

Edited December 1, 2005 by slowmotionsoundz

[jmanhsv]

This week has been big in downtown development. Now Sci-Quest wants to get in on the fun. For those who don't know, Sci-Quest is the local hands-on science museum, like Creative Discovery in Chattanooga and Adventure in Nashville. It is currently located in Research Park, but the city wants it to move downtown soon.

Huntsville Times article: City eyes Sci-Quest for downtown

[HSVTiger]

This week has been big in downtown development. Now Sci-Quest wants to get in on the fun. For those who don't know, Sci-Quest is the local hands-on science museum, like Creative Discovery in Chattanooga and Adventure in Nashville. It is currently located in Research Park, but the city wants it to move downtown soon.

Huntsville Times article: City eyes Sci-Quest for downtown

good move here, but the question is where (new or old building) and what about parking. Don't know if market square is part of this but big things are coming to that property.

[jmanhsv]

Yeah, parking is going to be a major concern, especially if they put it around Big Spring Park. Marketsquare would be the best place to put it. It has lots of parking and is in a visible location. And it would be a great addition to the "river" walk they are building there.

[slowmotionsoundz]

Yeah, parking is going to be a major concern, especially if they put it around Big Spring Park. Marketsquare would be the best place to put it. It has lots of parking and is in a visible location. And it would be a great addition to the "river" walk they are building there.

HSV Tiger and Jman I think yall need to hookup and takeover the development of downtown, I'll take the North side.

[jmanhsv]

I checked out the Decatur Daily today and found three articles on the city's own downtown revitalization. The first article is about an architect's "vision" for the area. The next article talks about ideas to bring more residents and retailers downtown. The last article is about Calhoun Community College's proposal to move its fine arts center to downtown Decatur.

Visions for a vibrant downtown

Healing an ailing area: Restoring downtown

Fine arts classes in heart of city?

[jmanhsv]

Groundbreaking was held today for Main Street Lofts, a 5-story development in the Providence community. This will be the latest addition to the Town Center currently under development there. The bottom floor will be restaurants and retail, the other floors residential.

[jmanhsv]

World Famous Bridge Street is no longer "world famous". The developers have changed the name to Bridge Street Town Centre. Also, they said that they will make the "big announcement" about tenants soon. However, they said the same thing back in June, so it might be a while folks.