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Metro Huntsville Development News


jmanhsv

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Yeah, I agree with you. It would be nice to see some, dare I say, "creativity" in the buildings found throughout CRP. Is there some kind of height restriction in Cummings, or are developers not comfortable building taller and standing out? Also, yeah, the Ovation condos should be designed differently. There is going to be a big wall on one side of the park, but not only that, it will all look the same. It looks like an extension of the B.S. Summit. If they were going to do that they should have built one building and made it taller. Are they going to tear down some of the parking lot across from the VBC to build it or am I imagining things and the lot is not in the way?

It will definetly be nice to see the Westin and all of Bridge Street go up in Cummings. It will definetly add some flavor to a bland CRP.

Edited by Shawn35816
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As far as I know, there is not a height limit in CRP. Downtown is another story. There is no height limit, but the caves under Big Spring prevent us from getting taller buildings, which explains our midrise skyline. I've heard that any building over 25 floors will cause the whole area to collapse. Obviously, developers and architects are playing it safe. So, if Hsv ever gets a building that tall (it will), it will be out in CRP.

Bridge Street will be an exciting project. According to their plans, there are plans for 4 6-story office buildings along with the 12-story Westin.

Edited by jmanhsv
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As far as I know, there is not a height limit in CRP. Downtown is another story. There is no height limit, but the caves under Big Spring prevent us from getting taller buildings, which explains our midrise skyline. I've heard that any building over 25 floors will cause the whole area to collapse. Obviously, developers and architects are playing it safe. So, if Hsv ever gets a building that tall (it will), it will be out in CRP.

Bridge Street will be an exciting project. According to their plans, there are plans for 4 6-story office buildings along with the 12-story Westin.

I have to disagree, this is not true yes there are caves, the courthouse is built over one, but the entire downtown would not collapse. Downtowns boundaries are defined as Pratt to the north, California/Five

Points to the east, Memorial Parkway to the west, and Governors Drive including the entire Medical District

to the south. There would be no problem with a tall structure in 95% of downtown. The problem is no one has done it yet but they will. Many peoples downtown focus is strictly around Big Spring, which is very narrow thinking. You probably won't see any building over 15 in CRP, there is no need since there is plenty of room. The cave issue is strictly a rumor that started in the 60's and 70's and is still hanging around.

Now if a whole crew of engineers comes out and says that it IS true then I stand corrected, but all that

I've heard say is it is not.

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Well, hello to all! Let me jump right in and say that downtown doesn't have a height limit. The courthouse is built half on solid bedrock and the other half has pillars that are sunk at least 100 feet down. I did some research on the caves of downtown recently. I was told that the north side of the court house where there is bedrock could support the Empire State buulding while the south side has the pillars that sunk into the ground. I did email Triad ( the builders of the Summit and Ovation condos ) and express my thoughts on the 111 foot tall wall they are waiting to build. As for Research Park I don't see any buildings over 150' anytime soon. So, Adtran might hold the title for tallest out there for some time at 122 feet.

Edited by HSV79
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Thank you!! Glad to be here. Well I think it is only a matter of time before we see a tall skyscraper in our downtown. When I talked to the Huntsville city building inspector I asked why don't we have tall buildings in downtown? He said the caves have nothing to do with it but instead the demand is not there and he also said that we have room to build outward. Well that was a year ago and now it seems that maybe the demand is there for a 20 plus story building. Hmm, where is Mr. Shrimsher with his 21 storey condo tower?

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^Yeah, I've been wondering about Schrimsher lately. Right now he is working on the old Times building, and will probably move over to the condo project when that's done (next year?)

Speaking of downtown development, the city is tearing down a local radio company's headquarters in order to build their ummm...... riverwalk. This riverwalk will eventually go from downtown to Jones Valley. Article: More green space growing downtown

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Just found this site recently and I have to say the info posted here is the best I have come across in this area. One site with all the development news in HSV, instead of going here and there, is great. Keep up the great work!

Yeah, its great to see so many people from Huntsville on here posting about the progress of our wonderful city.

Welcome to the forum Keith!

With all these new Huntsville members joining, I see a Huntsville subforum coming....

I second the motion for a Huntsville/North Alabama subforum. :shades:

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Sci-Quest may be moving into the old Councill High School building downtown. A few months ago, the city announced that Sci-Quest would move downtown from its current location in CRP. Almost simultaneously, the alumni of Councill High School announced a $7M renovation of the historically black school. Now the science museum might be part of their plans. Originally the city wanted the museum in some vacant office space in the Huntsville Utilities building. This would have posed a problem for parking and future expansions. The Councill location, located next to the main branch of the library, would have ample parking and space for expansion. Article: Sci-Quest may move to Councill School site

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  • 2 weeks later...

It seems like riverfront condos are becoming popular around here. There are a lot of them being built in Guntersville and also in southern Limestone County. You've probably seen the billboards along 65 and 565 about those new riverfront communities (I think one of them is called Brigadoon). This particular development is being built in Coxey in West Limestone at the mouth of the Elk River. This $20M condo development, called Two Rivers, is five stories and will feature over 60 condos with prices ranging from $160,000-$700,000.

condos.jpg

Limestone developer to offer condos with river view

By Holly Hollman

DAILY Staff Writer

COXEY

Edited by jmanhsv
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The MarketSquare owner says he wants to raze the old mall downtown for condos, apartments, retail/entertainment space, and a new hotel. He has told the last tenants of the 45-year old mall to move out (I didn't know there were any). Though the developer does not have a specific plan yet, it should come in the next few months. Article: MarketSquare site may get condos, hotel

I hope this hotel/condo idea means there will be a few high-rises coming to the site.

Has anyone been able to drive over to the Providence Main development. It looks really nice with all the new buildings going up! It is a small town inside of Huntsville.

I went to the school a few weeks ago. The school itself was nice, but the parking was horrible.

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The MarketSquare owner says he wants to raze the old mall downtown for condos, apartments, retail/entertainment space, and a new hotel. He has told the last tenants of the 45-year old mall to move out (I didn't know there were any). Though the developer does not have a specific plan yet, it should come in the next few months. Article: MarketSquare site may get condos, hotel

I hope this hotel/condo idea means there will be a few high-rises coming to the site.

I went to the school a few weeks ago. The school itself was nice, but the parking was horrible.

This project is further along than the article hints at, there are high rise options in the plan. It will transform downtown in a dramatic way.

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Once again, another company expands in CRP, and once again, the building's not a high-rise...

SAIC is breaking ground today on a 4-story, 100,000 sq. ft building in Research Park West near Bridge Street. The company plans to bring together all 2,000 of its employees in the area into a "campus-style" development. The building will be completed in Summer of 2007. Article: SAIC set to expand in Research Park

Edited by jmanhsv
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Too bad the city has to waste money proving the obvious

ALDOT should be eliminated, they hold communities hostage.

They can't even keep ice off the bridges when the National Weather Service tells them 3 days in

advance that there will be ice.

By JOHN PECK

Times Staff Writer [email protected]

Council authorizes study to show state benefits, needs

Alabama will reap big tax revenue from the thousands of jobs transferring to Huntsville under the latest Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) plan.

City officials hope to underscore that tax windfall - and potentially pave the way for more state road money - with an independent traffic and economic impact study authorized Thursday night by the City Council.

The $59,037 study by the University of Alabama's Center for Business and Economic Research is being paid for by the city, the local industrial development board, the Committee of 100 and the local BRAC committee.

"We want to have an unbiased study done that tells us and the state what the impact of BRAC will be," said Steve Dinges, a transportation planner for the Huntsville Planning Commission. "The main thing we'd like to get from the state based on the study is more money for highway improvements."

Dinges said the state commits millions of dollars in tax incentives to land major industries. Mercedes Benz, which has a plant in Vance, secured $253 million in tax incentives equating at the time to $168,000 per job; and Honda, which built a plant in Lincoln, got $158 million in tax incentives, or $105,580 per job, records show.

City officials say Huntsville's estimated 10,000 new BRAC jobs will be high-paying positions that will bolster state and local economies like a major industry would.

"A critical thing they (the state) need to be aware of is that with a lot of projects like Mercedes and other auto plants, they provided a lot of incentives," Dinges said.

He said the traffic impact study should highlight the need for more state dollars for Huntsville-area infrastructure improvements. One priority, he said, should be the Southern Bypass which will provide better access to Redstone Arsenal. Some $200 million is needed for the first phase alone from Interstate 565 to Martin Road, he said.

"The economic side of the study will show the state that when BRAC comes here, a major winner is the State of Alabama which will receive all the increased income tax revenue and increased sales tax revenue," Dinges said.

City Planning Director Dallas Fanning told the council Thursday night the study should take several months.

The formal agreement with the university says the study will examine the impact of the BRAC moves on "state and federal highways through the area" and "the overall economic impact of BRAC transfers" on the state, Huntsville and surrounding counties. The study will look at earnings, employment, support businesses and tax collections covering sales, income and property revenue.

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They can't even keep ice off the bridges when the National Weather Service tells them 3 days in

advance that there will be ice.

That's not really their fault. The NWS and the TV forecasters have "cried wolf" numerous times in the past few years about winter weather. I doubt many people actually believe their snow/ice predictions anymore. But you have to commend them... they finally got it right....

4526349_BG1.jpg

Whee!

Anyways, I do agree that ALDOT needs to get off its fat bottom and get something done. It's sad that the Huntsville "beltway" will take 70 years to be completed (it started in 1965). Also, while I'm complaining about ALDOT... Did anyone else see that article where the DOT is paying $1M for a road to be narrowed through Providence? I'm all for pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, but there are more pressing transportation issues, like 53, Winchester Road, and the Southern Bypass. That $1M could have gone a long way in any of these projects.

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That's not really their fault. The NWS and the TV forecasters have "cried wolf" numerous times in the past few years about winter weather. I doubt many people actually believe their snow/ice predictions anymore. But you have to commend them... they finally got it right....

4526349_BG1.jpg

Whee!

Anyways, I do agree that ALDOT needs to get off its fat bottom and get something done. It's sad that the Huntsville "beltway" will take 70 years to be completed (it started in 1965). Also, while I'm complaining about ALDOT... Did anyone else see that article where the DOT is paying $1M for a road to be narrowed through Providence? I'm all for pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, but there are more pressing transportation issues, like 53, Winchester Road, and the Southern Bypass. That $1M could have gone a long way in any of these projects.

True, to some extent, Senator Shelby has said the money is there and available. I believe ALDOT is in way over it's head and the politics make it an impossible beast to operate on any level.

If the money is allocated then it shouldn't matter.

Providence project doesn't really upset me, I just wonder why it wasn't done that way in the beginning, which I believe it was designed that way. Maybe for construction traffic it wasn't.

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I'm all for pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, but there are more pressing transportation issues, like 53, Winchester Road, and the Southern Bypass. That $1M could have gone a long way in any of these projects.

Much of that is due to the city of Huntsville paying for a large portion of the project. Hwy 53 and the Southern Bypass are state routes and thus won't get as much help from the city of Huntsville, or Madison County.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Huntsville is the last major city in the region to not have a Fresh Market, or any organic chain grocery store for that matter. Don't believe me? Check out their website. But that seems to be coming to an end. Fresh Market is negotiating to open a store at the corner of Airport and Whitesburg. The store will open at the site of a former Winn-Dixie store that closed last year. It is all part of a renovation of the Village on Whitesburg, a 120,000 sq ft shopping center that has restaurants like Qdoba Mexican Grill, McAlisters, Bonefish Grill, Nothing But Noodles (coming soon), and last but not least, Subway.

CB6D51A6-835D-4753-91C9-9F17DBA02B59.jpg

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