ALDI, the no-frills German grocer that for years has avoided Madison County while building stores in Chattanooga, Birmingham, and even Decatur, will be building its first store here early next year on US 72 West in Madison, next to Outback Steakhouse. Some of you may recall that this is very close to where ALDI had planned to open a store a few years ago, but for whatever reason never did.
For those who wish that ALDI built a store closer to their own neighborhood, don't worry. A retailer like ALDI could easily open at least three stores here in the next few years.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
A special announcement
Hello, readers!
I thought I would let you guys know what I've been up to lately.
A while back, I met with Mayor Battle. Impressed with the blog, he offered me a part-time consulting position with the city, working on projects pertaining to economic development (see FAQ's). As some observant readers have already noticed (including Reactionary over at flashpoint), the city council this month approved a contract for me to work part-time as a "retail specialist." I started this week, and will continue to work for the city for the next year.
Potential FAQ's
What is a "retail specialist"? Since different parts of the city have different needs, I'll be doing a "hodge-podge" of projects, from mapping out vacant and underused retail properties throughout the city, to locating potential grocery store sites/chains for under served urban areas (like the NW and SW sides).
What will become of the blog? Since part of my job is to come up with ideas to improve areas of the city, you may see more "Ideas" posts for general neighborhoods and corridors. My hope is that I will be able to get valuable input from you, the reader, on as many ideas as possible.
The blog's focus will remain on the region as a whole. I will continue to occasionally write about transportation issues, and now with Madison announcing a new Target soon and a "growth plan" in the works, I'll have plenty of material to write about there too.
Thanks for reading, and here's to another year!
-James
I thought I would let you guys know what I've been up to lately.
A while back, I met with Mayor Battle. Impressed with the blog, he offered me a part-time consulting position with the city, working on projects pertaining to economic development (see FAQ's). As some observant readers have already noticed (including Reactionary over at flashpoint), the city council this month approved a contract for me to work part-time as a "retail specialist." I started this week, and will continue to work for the city for the next year.
Potential FAQ's
What is a "retail specialist"? Since different parts of the city have different needs, I'll be doing a "hodge-podge" of projects, from mapping out vacant and underused retail properties throughout the city, to locating potential grocery store sites/chains for under served urban areas (like the NW and SW sides).
What will become of the blog? Since part of my job is to come up with ideas to improve areas of the city, you may see more "Ideas" posts for general neighborhoods and corridors. My hope is that I will be able to get valuable input from you, the reader, on as many ideas as possible.
The blog's focus will remain on the region as a whole. I will continue to occasionally write about transportation issues, and now with Madison announcing a new Target soon and a "growth plan" in the works, I'll have plenty of material to write about there too.
Thanks for reading, and here's to another year!
-James
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Small Stuff: October 2010
As always, get these updates quicker by following my Twitter and/or Facebook feeds.
- After nearly a decade of a joint partnership between Chattanooga-based CBL and Birmingham-based Colonial Properties Trust, Parkway Place is now fully owned by CBL.
- Huntsville recieved a $620,000 federal grant for transit improvements. The money will go towards improving bus shelters and maintenance facilities.
- 301 East Holmes finally has a tenant-- a salon-- for at least part of their ground-floor retail space, which has sat vacant since the downtown condo project's opening in 2006.
- Decatur is planning to remove a downtown surface parking lot and replace it with a "pocket park."
- Pope John Paul II Catholic High School opened its new campus on Old Madison Pike.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Ideas for University Drive/72 West
Last week, I talked about the possibility of a new "power center" on 72 West in Madison, anchored by Target and Academy Sports. Whether this happens or not, 72 is already a congested corridor, and any new development will exacerbate the problem. It seems like the simplest solution would be to spend $40 million-- a low estimate-- to six-lane 72 all the way to Athens, right? But if you've read the blog for a while, you'll know that I think the solution to traffic congestion isn't that cut-and-dry.
But if you're just joining us, here's my problem with just widening roads: when a road is built or widened, often costing tens of millions of dollars (as in 72's case), developers see the increased capacity and begin building homes. Nothing wrong with that if done intelligently, but they don't stop building, and a couple of years later, the road is congested yet again. (Don't believe me? Look at Chapman Mountain.) It's back to square one, and more taxpayer money is spent on widening the road yet again. Here are some alternate solutions that, when implemented in tandem with widening the highway, might make it worth the big bucks.
1) Better Land Use Planning
One problem with 72 West is the variation in zoning practices along the corridor, from Madison's "strict" zoning to unincorporated Madison County's complete lack of zoning.
A relatively simple but extreme solution would be to impose a building moratorium along the corridor. But from an economic development standpoint, that probably isn't such a good idea, plus it would more than likely move the sprawl elsewhere rather than stop it. A more sensible solution would be to draw up a uniform land-use plan for the corridor that crosses city/county boundaries. Restrict new "greenfield" development (e.g. new single-family homes on existing farmland) while identifying dense, mixed-use and "grayfield" redevelopment opportunities (parking lots, underutilized shopping centers) along the 72 commercial strip.
Whatever is done, every government entity with a stake in the corridor would have to support it. For example, it would still fail if Madison County approved it, but Limestone County didn't. If we had some sort of regional planning authority in place, this would be a whole lot easier to do.
2) Access Management
Why does every business need to have an entrance off this highway? And when that's not enough, there's crossovers every 1000 feet, filled with drivers trying to U-turn and turn left, creating a hazard for those just passing through.
Here's an idea: how about building a one-way service lane on the each side of 72, allowing access to businesses that won't interfere with through traffic, and eliminating all left turns except at traffic lights. Eliminating all crossovers as well should leave just enough space to create an undivided 6-lane highway, or keep the remaining 4 lanes of auto traffic and add either a landscaped median or a dedicated transit lane.
3) Public Transit
As with the rest of Huntsville, high-frequency transit along University is non-existent. A few Shuttle routes go as far out as the SuperTarget shopping center, but are infrequent and inconvenient for most commuters. The ideal transit option along this corridor would need to be something flexible enough to serve both commuters and shoppers. I believe in this case that would be Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). BRT allows the frequency of light rail for about a fifth of the cost along with the flexibility of a bus. Passengers board and exit at a station, much like a rail line. But there's a catch: even with a dedicated lane, BRT is still at the mercy of the traffic light, though they can be synchronized to give priority to the bus. Here's how a hypothetical BRT corridor along University would look (click to enlarge):
A transit center/park-n-ride would be built near the new Madison Hospital/Balch Road, where riders from areas farther out could either park or transfer from a local bus route. From there, they could take one of two routes: a Research Park express route that would run primarily during rush hours, or an all day route that would run to downtown, with stops at most major intersections and shopping centers. Buses would run every 10-15 minutes and would be equipped with Wi-Fi and bike racks.
With the new transit corridor, parking won't be as necessary, allowing for redevelopment of many of the large parking lots that line the highway.
There would also need to be serious pedestrian improvements along the corridor, from the addition of sidewalks along the highway (and connecting them to businesses) to crosswalks at every signalized intersection. Greenways can be built near 72 to allow for bike commuting, especially to Research Park.
But if you're just joining us, here's my problem with just widening roads: when a road is built or widened, often costing tens of millions of dollars (as in 72's case), developers see the increased capacity and begin building homes. Nothing wrong with that if done intelligently, but they don't stop building, and a couple of years later, the road is congested yet again. (Don't believe me? Look at Chapman Mountain.) It's back to square one, and more taxpayer money is spent on widening the road yet again. Here are some alternate solutions that, when implemented in tandem with widening the highway, might make it worth the big bucks.
1) Better Land Use Planning
One problem with 72 West is the variation in zoning practices along the corridor, from Madison's "strict" zoning to unincorporated Madison County's complete lack of zoning.
A relatively simple but extreme solution would be to impose a building moratorium along the corridor. But from an economic development standpoint, that probably isn't such a good idea, plus it would more than likely move the sprawl elsewhere rather than stop it. A more sensible solution would be to draw up a uniform land-use plan for the corridor that crosses city/county boundaries. Restrict new "greenfield" development (e.g. new single-family homes on existing farmland) while identifying dense, mixed-use and "grayfield" redevelopment opportunities (parking lots, underutilized shopping centers) along the 72 commercial strip.
Whatever is done, every government entity with a stake in the corridor would have to support it. For example, it would still fail if Madison County approved it, but Limestone County didn't. If we had some sort of regional planning authority in place, this would be a whole lot easier to do.
2) Access Management
Why does every business need to have an entrance off this highway? And when that's not enough, there's crossovers every 1000 feet, filled with drivers trying to U-turn and turn left, creating a hazard for those just passing through.
Here's an idea: how about building a one-way service lane on the each side of 72, allowing access to businesses that won't interfere with through traffic, and eliminating all left turns except at traffic lights. Eliminating all crossovers as well should leave just enough space to create an undivided 6-lane highway, or keep the remaining 4 lanes of auto traffic and add either a landscaped median or a dedicated transit lane.
3) Public Transit
As with the rest of Huntsville, high-frequency transit along University is non-existent. A few Shuttle routes go as far out as the SuperTarget shopping center, but are infrequent and inconvenient for most commuters. The ideal transit option along this corridor would need to be something flexible enough to serve both commuters and shoppers. I believe in this case that would be Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). BRT allows the frequency of light rail for about a fifth of the cost along with the flexibility of a bus. Passengers board and exit at a station, much like a rail line. But there's a catch: even with a dedicated lane, BRT is still at the mercy of the traffic light, though they can be synchronized to give priority to the bus. Here's how a hypothetical BRT corridor along University would look (click to enlarge):
A transit center/park-n-ride would be built near the new Madison Hospital/Balch Road, where riders from areas farther out could either park or transfer from a local bus route. From there, they could take one of two routes: a Research Park express route that would run primarily during rush hours, or an all day route that would run to downtown, with stops at most major intersections and shopping centers. Buses would run every 10-15 minutes and would be equipped with Wi-Fi and bike racks.
With the new transit corridor, parking won't be as necessary, allowing for redevelopment of many of the large parking lots that line the highway.
There would also need to be serious pedestrian improvements along the corridor, from the addition of sidewalks along the highway (and connecting them to businesses) to crosswalks at every signalized intersection. Greenways can be built near 72 to allow for bike commuting, especially to Research Park.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The Shoppes of Madison
Some of you might have noticed some signs on 72 West between Wall Triana and the new Madison Hospital advertising "The
- Target. This is almost certain, considering GBT's track record of developing Target-anchored centers. You might be thinking that this is too close to the SuperTarget further east on University-- it may be too close for another Super, but not for a regular store. Note that Walmart is also opening a store about a mile or so to the west of this development in 2012, despite having a location across from SuperTarget.
- Academy Sports. I'm going to throw this one out there. They're due for an entry into the market, with probably two stores-- one here and another somewhere on the south side. But what leads me to this specific location is that a store was originally planned for the Walmart center, but disappeared from the plans a while back. Maybe they saw some greener grass here?
- Not much else. Since the area is quite saturated in retail, and the small size of the lot (around 25 acres), I wouldn't expect a whole lot of small shop space with this development, and will probably be laid out as a power center, which puts an emphasis on the anchors; in this case those would be Target and Academy (one example of a power center is The Fountain/Costco at University and the Parkway). There will be some outparcel space along 72, with some restaurants and smaller shops.
Friday, October 1, 2010
September 2010 in Review
Get these updates quicker by following my Twitter and/or Facebook feeds.
- September 5: 1892 East, which calls itself a "New American Restaurant and Tavern," is opening in the old Sazio's spot in Five Points. This was originally rumored to be where Trappeze Pub of Athens, GA would open a Huntsville location.
- September 7: Ron Sparks unveils his road plan in Huntsville, armed with a list of projects he deems "extremely important," like the Northern Bypass, and pushing back other, "less important" projects like 53 and Winchester. To be fair, Republican gubernatorial candidate Robert Bentley's plan isn't any better, as he plans to move forward with unnecessary new interstates such as the infamous "Western Alabama Expressway" through his hometown of Tuscaloosa and a new "East Alabama Corridor." (At least he doesn't mention reviving the Southern Bypass, which Sparks does.) Neither candidate has mentioned trying to obtain federal high-speed rail funding, or amend the state constitution to allow for state funding of public transit.
- September 13: Local grocery chain Star Market will open its fourth area store in November in the former Southern Family Markets store at Weatherly and Bailey Cove.
- September 14: Best Buy Mobile, the electronics store's cell phone chain, will open a store in Parkway Place later this year between Express and Victoria's Secret. This is an actual store, not just a vending machine or kiosk.
- September 15: The construction you see at the old Bruno's on North Parkway is for a haunted attraction, which will open next week.
- September 15: Huntsville International Airport "pleads" the region to use low-fare carrier AirTran or "lose it," citing low load factors for its non-stop flights to Baltimore and Orlando. Having flown on AirTran to BWI several times since their arrival here, the flights weren't filled to the brim, but the majority (60-70%) of the seats were taken. Out of curiosity, I compared seating charts for upcoming flights to Orlando from Huntsville, Knoxville, and Lexington (the latter two also launched AirTran service within the last year), and they were similarly booked; some of the Huntsville flights were even sold out for Fall Break next week. So I didn't think we were losing AirTran service anytime soon, until...
- September 27: Southwest is buying AirTran.This could be great news or terrible news for Huntsville International, depending on how you look at it. The merger could give HSV more low-fare flights to "legacy" cities like Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston. However, Southwest, despite having a large market share here already, could take it all away with their BS "too close to Nashville and Birmingham" excuse that has kept them from here thus far (they wouldn't serve four Los Angeles airports if this were actually the case). If Southwest/AirTran does pull out of HSV when the sale is completed, the airport will go back to being the most expensive in the country, as there will be few low-fare carriers left, much less one crazy enough to land at an airport where low-fare carriers go to die. In the meantime, we should pitch HSV as an easily-accessible, stress-free, and expandable airport (something we have over BHM, BNA, and future ATL reliever Chattanooga). How about an ad campaign-- "Want low fares without the drive? Fly AirTran now, get Southwest later." We've been handed a great opportunity to take our airport to the next level. Don't screw this up, Huntsville.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Park Place, Cleveland Avenue Going 'Uptown'
In a rare instance of public participation in planning projects in our region, the people behind the Park Place redevelopment in
Some of the ideas brought forward at the meetings included small fountains, murals, and sculpture gardens. The benches that will be placed along the sidewalk will be made from stone salvaged from a pre-Civil War stone wall that was taken out during the Meridian Street widening project. A "convenience store" for bicyclists and skateboarders (who frequent the skate park nearby) is part of the plans as well. Several of the ideas introduced by the public and the developers were shot down due to city zoning regulations. Hopefully the introduction of SmartCode in the near future will relax some of these rules.
This project is rather small in scale, and the biggest problem I see with it is continuity towards surrounding neighborhoods (Downtown, Five Points, Lincoln Mill). That will involve the tedious job of getting each business owner in the area involved, but it's key to the success of this project, along with the infill development of surrounding lots for added vibrancy.
There are separate plans to make the vacant lot across from Park Place into a surface parking lot. It seems kind of ironic that a car-oriented project will be located next to one of the most interesting pedestrian improvement projects this city has seen in a long time. While parking is a necessary evil even in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, it should always be hidden, and use up as little space as possible. The part of the lot closest to the street should be developed, possibly extending the Park Place concept, and if that's not possible right now, leave it as open space, keeping the door open for future opportunities.
 |
| This vacant lot, sandwiched between three parks, could be put to much better use than just a surface parking lot. |
Developers and planners should take note at the level of public participation in this project. It's sad that these meetings/charrettes don't happen more often here. They should not be something to be afraid of-- there are plenty of great people with great ideas in this city. The problem is getting the word out-- if I can't find out about your meeting, you're not doing enough.
For more info about Park Place, and the streetscape project, visit their website: http://parkplaceplaza.com/
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
August 2010 on Facebook and Twitter
Get these updates quicker by following my Twitter and/or Facebook feeds.
August 5: Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, a nationwide chain with stores in Hoover, Nashville, and Montgomery, is opening its first Huntsville store at the old Linens-N-Things space on University. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall.
August 8: From the Decatur Daily-- a rendering of a proposed visual arts center in downtown Decatur. Athens State University and Calhoun Community College are moving their arts departments to the facility, which is scheduled to break ground in December.
August 10: A Birmingham Business Journal article comparing the progress with high-speed rail plans in Alabama and Georgia. And once again, Alabama is falling behind due to an outdated "roads-only" transportation policy and perpetual stalling by state politicians. Or, as Jim put it on Facebook, "We're too busy waging the war on Bingo!"
August 15: The Mobile Press-Register prints a series of articles on Smart Growth, and how many towns and cities, including Rosemary Beach, Florida, have used it with great success. Mobile, like most cities, has a zoning code that largely prohibits pedestrian-friendly development.
August 23: Redstone Gateway, the $1 Billion office/retail development that's being considered "the next Research Park," officially broke ground. The project is expected to take a decade or more to complete.
August 24: A public meeting was held to introduce the new routing of the Northern Bypass through the Northeastern part of Madison County. The alternatives (see map below) are radically different from what has been planned in recent years-- closer to the early 1980s plan that would have had the bypass cut through the Moores Mill/Winchester intersection. The newest Long-Range Transportation Plan had it intersecting 72 East near Gurley. Wherever the bypass goes, don't expect it to be built for another 15 years, if ever.
August 26: Decatur Mall was auctioned off, going to a New York investment fund with the highest bid of $8.5 million. While I've never been inside the mall, I've heard from readers and friends that the mall isn't in the best shape, and several redevelopment efforts have failed.
August 5: Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, a nationwide chain with stores in Hoover, Nashville, and Montgomery, is opening its first Huntsville store at the old Linens-N-Things space on University. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall.
August 8: From the Decatur Daily-- a rendering of a proposed visual arts center in downtown Decatur. Athens State University and Calhoun Community College are moving their arts departments to the facility, which is scheduled to break ground in December.
August 10: A Birmingham Business Journal article comparing the progress with high-speed rail plans in Alabama and Georgia. And once again, Alabama is falling behind due to an outdated "roads-only" transportation policy and perpetual stalling by state politicians. Or, as Jim put it on Facebook, "We're too busy waging the war on Bingo!"
August 15: The Mobile Press-Register prints a series of articles on Smart Growth, and how many towns and cities, including Rosemary Beach, Florida, have used it with great success. Mobile, like most cities, has a zoning code that largely prohibits pedestrian-friendly development.
August 23: Redstone Gateway, the $1 Billion office/retail development that's being considered "the next Research Park," officially broke ground. The project is expected to take a decade or more to complete.
August 24: A public meeting was held to introduce the new routing of the Northern Bypass through the Northeastern part of Madison County. The alternatives (see map below) are radically different from what has been planned in recent years-- closer to the early 1980s plan that would have had the bypass cut through the Moores Mill/Winchester intersection. The newest Long-Range Transportation Plan had it intersecting 72 East near Gurley. Wherever the bypass goes, don't expect it to be built for another 15 years, if ever.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Mellow Mushroom coming to Jones Valley
Love Mellow Mushroom, but live on the South side and don't want to drive all the way out to Providence? Sometime next year, you won't have to.
Mellow Mushroom is opening its second Huntsville restaurant on Cecil Ashburn, at the base of Huntsville Mountain. "Longtime" readers of the blog may notice that this is on the same site as the proposed St. James Place retail/office development that died early last year. The rest of the site isn't being developed, for now.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
'Downtown Development Goals' Announced
This morning (Tuesday), the city of Huntsville along with the non-profit development corporation Big Spring Partners, the UAH Jazz Ensemble and "Tallulah Bankhead," held a media event to announce their goals for raising awareness and developing the city center. This comes a year after 200 leaders and developers made an "ideas trip" to Chattanooga.
While no specific projects were announced at this event, some rather vague goals were laid out:
Also of note-- several representatives from Sci-Quest were in attendance. While their intent on moving the science museum downtown is no secret, this could mean that the move could occur sooner than later.
While no specific projects were announced at this event, some rather vague goals were laid out:
- Create a long-term plan for downtown. I thought that was what the Downtown Master Plan, last updated in 2006, was for. However, I would like to see more public involvement the next time it's updated.
- Compile a list of restaurants, retail, companies, etc. that would work downtown, and bring them there. Not a bad idea, though I would take it a step further-- identify undeveloped and underutilized lots (surface parking, non-historic buildings) and see how each one can be redeveloped to fit with the broader scope of downtown.
- Build a consensus among the community on downtown growth. See "long-term plan."
- Create a long-term funding strategy for improvements. What has made Chattanooga's downtown so great? A community that supported it not only with their feet, but with their money. Many of the improvements to their downtown have been funded through private sources. Huntsville is beginning to see this with the work of Jim Hudson and the late Mark Smith (through his wife, Linda).
- Get people downtown! It's pretty self-explanatory, but it's rather hard to do in reality. It's the old "chicken or the egg" question-- what should come first: the residents or the businesses?
Also of note-- several representatives from Sci-Quest were in attendance. While their intent on moving the science museum downtown is no secret, this could mean that the move could occur sooner than later.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Offices at Madison Square? They're coming.
UPDATE (8/10): The development will be called "Enterprise Center at Madison Square."Also, the former Steve and Barry's will be converted into office space as well, along with some smaller first-floor space near Buffalo Wild Wings (see updated map below). In all, nearly 138,000 square feet of retail space will be converted, or about 15% of the mall.
Have you ever wanted to work in a shopping mall--work that wouldn't involve the cookie cart or Foot Locker? Your chance may be coming, if Madison Square's developers (Chattanooga-based CBL) have their way. They're expected to announce as early as this week that the old Pizitz/McRae's/Belk anchor-- approximately 100,000 sq. ft.-- will be (at least partially) converted into office space. The store has been vacant since Belk moved to the Parisian space in 2007. Some readers may note that the anchor space is still owned by the Pizitz family of Birmingham-- it will be interesting to see what kind of involvement they have in this redevelopment.
It's definitely not the complete overhaul I've proposed for the 25-year-old mall that's nearing the end of its useful life. But at least it's a start.
Have you ever wanted to work in a shopping mall--work that wouldn't involve the cookie cart or Foot Locker? Your chance may be coming, if Madison Square's developers (Chattanooga-based CBL) have their way. They're expected to announce as early as this week that the old Pizitz/McRae's/Belk anchor-- approximately 100,000 sq. ft.-- will be (at least partially) converted into office space. The store has been vacant since Belk moved to the Parisian space in 2007. Some readers may note that the anchor space is still owned by the Pizitz family of Birmingham-- it will be interesting to see what kind of involvement they have in this redevelopment.
 |
| Yellow-- the old McRae's/Belk space that will be completely converted. Orange-- the second level will be converted, whereas the first level will be a retail/office mix. |
It's definitely not the complete overhaul I've proposed for the 25-year-old mall that's nearing the end of its useful life. But at least it's a start.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
July 2010 on Facebook and Twitter
Get these updates quicker by following my Twitter and/or Facebook feeds.
July 5: Nashville plans to launch a bike-share program similar to what is now in place (and wildly popular) in cities like Denver, Washington, and Montreal. Paris launched the first bike-sharing system (called Velib) in 2007; it allows users to rent bikes from one station and return them to any station in the city. While it would be great to have a similar system in place here in Huntsville, it would require a significant investment in bike infrastructure (bike lanes, greenways) in order to be successful (and safe).
July 12: Downtown Madison is getting a slight expansion. A 20,000 square foot building is proposed, with retail space on the ground floor and office space on the upper floor.
July 19: Momma Goldberg's Deli, an Auburn tradition, is opening its first Huntsville restaurant in the Village on Whitesburg (Fresh Market center). An opening is expected in late August or early September, just in time for football season.
July 26: The $2.6 million Space Center-Botanical Garden tramway is now open, running three times a day, two days a week. The funding was provided by congressional earmarks from Senator Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa). I asked the Facebook followers of the blog what they would have done with the money if they were the senator. Some of the responses included a Research Park circulator bus and more greenways.
July 29: Newk's Express Cafe is opening its second Huntsville restaurant on Whitesburg in the Piedmont Point shopping center (Publix).
July 30: Jon Busdecker, entertainment writer for the Times, is leaving for Orlando, but not before giving his ideas for improving downtown to cater to the younger crowd. Before anything happens, we need masses of people downtown, patronizing the existing businesses and activities and demanding that more should be done, like the "Bus." As soon as Pane e Vino has the same wait time as, say, PF Chang's at Bridge Street, the pieces will fall into place quickly.
Some of my ideas for improving downtown, along with some from others, can be found here.
July 5: Nashville plans to launch a bike-share program similar to what is now in place (and wildly popular) in cities like Denver, Washington, and Montreal. Paris launched the first bike-sharing system (called Velib) in 2007; it allows users to rent bikes from one station and return them to any station in the city. While it would be great to have a similar system in place here in Huntsville, it would require a significant investment in bike infrastructure (bike lanes, greenways) in order to be successful (and safe).
July 12: Downtown Madison is getting a slight expansion. A 20,000 square foot building is proposed, with retail space on the ground floor and office space on the upper floor.
July 19: Momma Goldberg's Deli, an Auburn tradition, is opening its first Huntsville restaurant in the Village on Whitesburg (Fresh Market center). An opening is expected in late August or early September, just in time for football season.
July 26: The $2.6 million Space Center-Botanical Garden tramway is now open, running three times a day, two days a week. The funding was provided by congressional earmarks from Senator Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa). I asked the Facebook followers of the blog what they would have done with the money if they were the senator. Some of the responses included a Research Park circulator bus and more greenways.
July 29: Newk's Express Cafe is opening its second Huntsville restaurant on Whitesburg in the Piedmont Point shopping center (Publix).
July 30: Jon Busdecker, entertainment writer for the Times, is leaving for Orlando, but not before giving his ideas for improving downtown to cater to the younger crowd. Before anything happens, we need masses of people downtown, patronizing the existing businesses and activities and demanding that more should be done, like the "Bus." As soon as Pane e Vino has the same wait time as, say, PF Chang's at Bridge Street, the pieces will fall into place quickly.
Some of my ideas for improving downtown, along with some from others, can be found here.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Another Hotel for Madison Boulevard
Tonight's Madison Planning Commission meeting discussed plans for a 4-story, 93-room Holiday Inn Express to be built on Madison Boulevard just west of the Wall-Triana/Sullivan intersection. The lot is located next to the Regions Bank branch and is currently occupied by a vacant building. The building will remain (and, I assume, be renovated) and the hotel will be built behind it. Construction should begin sometime this fall.
A hotel has been planned for this lot for a while now; originally, it was going to be a Best Western Inn and Suites. This will be the third hotel built along Madison Boulevard in the past two years-- a LaQuinta Inn and Suites and a Country Inn and Suites were built next to each other further west. A fourth-- a Comfort Inn and Suites-- is planned further east along the corridor, across from Walmart.
A hotel has been planned for this lot for a while now; originally, it was going to be a Best Western Inn and Suites. This will be the third hotel built along Madison Boulevard in the past two years-- a LaQuinta Inn and Suites and a Country Inn and Suites were built next to each other further west. A fourth-- a Comfort Inn and Suites-- is planned further east along the corridor, across from Walmart.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Another hotel for Research Park?
A local developer is planning to build a hotel off of Governors West in Research Park, according to the city's Zoning Board agenda for this month. Expect this hotel to be more business-oriented than your average highway-exit Comfort Inn (aloft maybe?). No word on when construction will begin.
This would only be the second hotel within the boundaries of Research Park-- the other, of course, is the Westin Huntsville at Bridge Street. Speaking of Bridge Street, one of their expansion plans is to build a five-star hotel, sometime in the future.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
'Madison Growth Plan' coming
The Madison City Council on Monday night (July 12th) will discuss hiring Atlanta-based design firm Urban Collage to create a "Madison Growth Plan." This growth plan will use public meetings and workshops (charrettes) to identify "key development areas" within the city, and create a master plan for each of them. Urban Collage has created master plans for Garner, NC (outside of Raleigh) and Prattville, along with several other towns; it lists Chattanooga and Atlanta among their client cities.
What's so significant about this? Madison has realized that it's running out of land. Surrounded on three sides by Huntsville, with the exception of East Limestone, there's nowhere else to go. In order to remain vibrant, Madison's going to have to densify and look into "infill" development-- a concept that a suburb of 40,000 normally doesn't have to worry about.
But don't worry, Madison! Becoming more urban is the next logical step for a city that has only become significant within the past thirty years. It's also an exciting opportunity; for example, maybe now the city will develop an actual downtown. If done right, this will mean more retail and entertainment opportunities for Madison, which will bring more tax revenue, which (theoretically) will go back into improving the city's outdated infrastructure (e.g. the roads that have remained mostly unchanged since the boom began in the '80s).
The growth plan should come up with some cool concepts and ideas on how to wisely develop the last large parcels of land in the city, along with some underused areas (like along Hughes Road near Madison Boulevard). Expect these plans to be walkable and mixed-use. In other words, very un-Madison.
What's so significant about this? Madison has realized that it's running out of land. Surrounded on three sides by Huntsville, with the exception of East Limestone, there's nowhere else to go. In order to remain vibrant, Madison's going to have to densify and look into "infill" development-- a concept that a suburb of 40,000 normally doesn't have to worry about.
But don't worry, Madison! Becoming more urban is the next logical step for a city that has only become significant within the past thirty years. It's also an exciting opportunity; for example, maybe now the city will develop an actual downtown. If done right, this will mean more retail and entertainment opportunities for Madison, which will bring more tax revenue, which (theoretically) will go back into improving the city's outdated infrastructure (e.g. the roads that have remained mostly unchanged since the boom began in the '80s).
The growth plan should come up with some cool concepts and ideas on how to wisely develop the last large parcels of land in the city, along with some underused areas (like along Hughes Road near Madison Boulevard). Expect these plans to be walkable and mixed-use. In other words, very un-Madison.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
June 2010 on Twitter and Facebook
Get these updates quicker by following my Twitter and/or Facebook feeds.
June 3: Charming Charlie, a women's store (similar to Claire's, I think) is opening its first Huntsville store in Parkway Place, next to Williams-Sonoma on the lower level.
June 10: Save-a-Lot, which has building grocery stores like crazy this year in central Alabama, will open a store in Athens in the Peebles shopping center. Save-a-Lot has one Huntsville store at Pulaski and Mastin Lake. But with an expansion plan to have over 100 stores in Alabama (up from about 20) over the next few years, expect one in your area soon.
June 15: The City of Huntsville is conducting visual, written, and online surveys to determine who uses the greenway system. If you use a city greenway* and haven't filled one out yet, you have until July 5th to do so. Check out the city's homepage or click here to see the survey.
*Doesn't include Bradford Creek in Madison.
June 22: The bike parking requirement I talked about last month passed the Planning Commission and is headed for an August vote in the City Council. Also, there was an article in the Times about the push to implement Complete Streets in Huntsville. The problem is, there's no money to retrofit existing roads with bike lanes. Also, there are groups of people who don't want bike lanes on their streets (e.g. Holmes Avenue) because they don't want to "attract" bicyclists to their neighborhood. Oh, those sketchy bicyclists...
Also on June 22: 2009 Population Estimate for Huntsville: 179,653-- an increase of 21,437 from 2000. Will the 2010 Census reflect this growth, or will it be a repeat of the 2000 Census, where the estimates for Huntsville were off by over 20,000? We'll have to wait and see...
June 25: The first of several Birmingham-Atlanta High-Speed Rail studies is set to begin, with funding in place. Of course, with the odd way our state government operates, it was Birmingham's Regional Planning Authority, not ALDOT, that provided funding for the study (along with GDOT and the Atlanta Regional Council). Note that even the state's own passenger rail study is being conducted by the Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). Time to enter the 21st Century, ALDOT; it's not just roads and bridges anymore.
June 29: The Huntsville Shuttle system will be added to Google Transit in the near future, allowing you to route your trips in the area using transit. For 99.9% of us, this won't matter, but it's a good step forward for the system.
June 3: Charming Charlie, a women's store (similar to Claire's, I think) is opening its first Huntsville store in Parkway Place, next to Williams-Sonoma on the lower level.
June 10: Save-a-Lot, which has building grocery stores like crazy this year in central Alabama, will open a store in Athens in the Peebles shopping center. Save-a-Lot has one Huntsville store at Pulaski and Mastin Lake. But with an expansion plan to have over 100 stores in Alabama (up from about 20) over the next few years, expect one in your area soon.
June 15: The City of Huntsville is conducting visual, written, and online surveys to determine who uses the greenway system. If you use a city greenway* and haven't filled one out yet, you have until July 5th to do so. Check out the city's homepage or click here to see the survey.
*Doesn't include Bradford Creek in Madison.
June 22: The bike parking requirement I talked about last month passed the Planning Commission and is headed for an August vote in the City Council. Also, there was an article in the Times about the push to implement Complete Streets in Huntsville. The problem is, there's no money to retrofit existing roads with bike lanes. Also, there are groups of people who don't want bike lanes on their streets (e.g. Holmes Avenue) because they don't want to "attract" bicyclists to their neighborhood. Oh, those sketchy bicyclists...
Also on June 22: 2009 Population Estimate for Huntsville: 179,653-- an increase of 21,437 from 2000. Will the 2010 Census reflect this growth, or will it be a repeat of the 2000 Census, where the estimates for Huntsville were off by over 20,000? We'll have to wait and see...
June 25: The first of several Birmingham-Atlanta High-Speed Rail studies is set to begin, with funding in place. Of course, with the odd way our state government operates, it was Birmingham's Regional Planning Authority, not ALDOT, that provided funding for the study (along with GDOT and the Atlanta Regional Council). Note that even the state's own passenger rail study is being conducted by the Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). Time to enter the 21st Century, ALDOT; it's not just roads and bridges anymore.
June 29: The Huntsville Shuttle system will be added to Google Transit in the near future, allowing you to route your trips in the area using transit. For 99.9% of us, this won't matter, but it's a good step forward for the system.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Harris Hill Update: Phase One Moving Forward
On the planning agendas this month: plans for a portion of the long-awaited Harris Hill development in Northeast Huntsville. According to the plans, the first phase will include space for a hotel and outparcels for restaurants, "highway retail" (banks, pharmacies, etc.), and office space. It will be located at the foot of Chapman Mountain, in the cleared area bounded by 72 East, Moores Mill, and Harris Hill Blvd. Don't get too excited; this is not the massive shopping center/residential development planned further east, which probably won't be built for some time.
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Huntsville Brew Boom
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| Could this building in Five Points be the site of Huntsville's first modern brewpub? (Probably not; see update below.) |
Microbreweries
Straight to Ale
Straight to Ale opened in April at Lincoln Mill. It has since been appearing at local bars and restaurants, including The Nook and The Stem and Stein.
Brews: Monkeynaut IPA, Wernher von Braun Ale
Website: http://www.straighttoale.com/
Blue Pants Brewery
Blue Pants will be a small brewery located off of Slaughter Road. Its owners expect to be selling brews by October, according to their website.
Brews: Knickerbocker Red
Website: http://www.bluepantsbrew.com/
Yellowhammer Brewery
Not much is known about Yellowhammer, except that they hope to start brewing in the Fall. Their brewery will be located on Clinton, in West Downtown.
Brews: ???
Website: None.
Facebook: None Found.
Brewpubs
I have heard about three different brewpub rumors/proposals. The first, and probably the most well known, is the rumor that Athens, Georgia-based Trappeze Pub would open a brewpub at the old Sazio location in Five Points (picture above). However, I have yet to see anything substantial or credible that would support this, and, as you can see in the picture, there is still a "For Sale" sign outside (as of June 11th). Two other brewpubs have been proposed recently-- one at Lincoln Mill, the other in West Huntsville or Madison.
Brewpubs are very hard to open in Alabama; the current laws restrict them to historic buildings in counties that had a brewpub before Prohibition. Grassroots "pro-beer" organization Free the Hops is hoping to change that in a future legislative session. If and when they are successful, expect a glut of new brewpubs throughout the area.
If you have any info you would like to share on new breweries/brewpubs in the area, please let me know and I'll add it on here. Special thanks to David and Todd for their valuable info.
UPDATE (9/5/10): The building in Five Points pictured above will be home to 1892 East, which on its website calls itself a "New American Restaurant and Tavern" that will use locally-grown food. It will open this Fall.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
May 2010 on Twitter and Facebook
Sorry for the tardiness (this should have been posted last week). Get these updates quicker by following my Twitter and/or Facebook feeds.
May 6: Parking Garage D mixed-use project (http://bit.ly/d2jU4Q) supposed to begin work this summer, on hold AGAIN.
May 10: Remember the Earth Fare that I told you about back in November? Its grand opening is Wednesday. http://bit.ly/aepk1v
May 12: Want to bring Dunkin' Donuts back to Huntsville? Franchise seminar at Embassy Suites on 26 May http://bit.ly/cC1NR9
May 13: Huntsville wants to hire a downtown "czar" http://bit.ly/amjacK
May 17: Virginia College moving to old Kroger on Drake: http://bit.ly/bVfnZu
May 21: Powerhouse Gym opening in old Old Navy, next to new Earth Fare: http://bit.ly/2L1Aq6
May 24: HSV proposing required bicycle parking for new lots w/ 20+ auto spaces http://bit.ly/brAQUv
May 26: Bridge Street wants city money to help pay for $50m expansion, including a department store http://bit.ly/ahVt1h
May 6: Parking Garage D mixed-use project (http://bit.ly/d2jU4Q) supposed to begin work this summer, on hold AGAIN.
May 10: Remember the Earth Fare that I told you about back in November? Its grand opening is Wednesday. http://bit.ly/aepk1v
May 12: Want to bring Dunkin' Donuts back to Huntsville? Franchise seminar at Embassy Suites on 26 May http://bit.ly/cC1NR9
May 13: Huntsville wants to hire a downtown "czar" http://bit.ly/amjacK
May 17: Virginia College moving to old Kroger on Drake: http://bit.ly/bVfnZu
May 21: Powerhouse Gym opening in old Old Navy, next to new Earth Fare: http://bit.ly/2L1Aq6
May 24: HSV proposing required bicycle parking for new lots w/ 20+ auto spaces http://bit.ly/brAQUv
May 26: Bridge Street wants city money to help pay for $50m expansion, including a department store http://bit.ly/ahVt1h
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Bridge Street's Newest Expansion Plan: Does It Hold Water?
O&S Holdings has come out with yet another expansion plan for Bridge Street. This one involves possibly filling in the 10-acre "Lake Leaky" to add 75,000 square feet of retail space along with a "high-end" department store. Not to mention an expensive underground parking garage. What is their plan to fund this $50 million expansion during the recession? By using part of the current city sales tax generated from the new department store.
Let's say that the developers decide to fill in the lake for the expansion. How Huntsville of us to think that the solution to a problem is to pave over it. From the words of President Obama, "plug the damn hole!" You'd think with the workforce here, they could find legitimate, competent engineers to build/fix a proper lake.
After fixing the lake, a new expansion location would have to be found. There are plenty of surface lots that could be used, and instead of building an underground garage, why not construct an above-ground deck to compensate for the lost/needed parking. And to pay for it, have people pay a fee for the convenience of parking in the garage. If the department store is as good as the developers say it will be, people will be willing to pay to park.
Last, but not least, is the retail portion of the expansion. A 75,000 sq. ft. addition to the center, along with a 100-150,000 sq. ft. department store, will make Bridge Street the second-largest retail development in the city, surpassing Parkway Place but below Madison Square's 1 million sq. ft. But how will the developers attract new stores to the expansion when there are empty storefronts in the existing center?
Enough ranting. Let's speculate on the the three most probable department store chains, which I've nicknamed The Obvious, The Long Shot, and The Wild Card:
The Obvious: Macy's. This may seem like the most logical choice because of their widespread presence in other cities, but not in Huntsville. However, with their nationwide expansion, their "high-end"-ness has been questioned recently, with many of their non-flagship stores carrying brands seen in more mid-range stores like Kohl's and JCPenney. But they have made the move to lifestyle centers, creating a new concept store for developments such as Bridge Street.
The Long Shot: Nordstrom. The Seattle-based high-end chain almost exclusively locates in metro areas with more than 1.5 million people. Also, a Nashville store will open in September 2011. That said, I don't think we'll see a full-scale Nordstrom in Huntsville for a couple of decades... at least. But there are two possible exceptions: a Nordstrom Rack (outlet store) or a smaller-scale store concept geared towards smaller cities.
The Wild Card: Von Maur. Many of you have probably never heard of this small Midwestern chain; I hadn't until about a year ago, when someone suggested it as a possible Bridge Street anchor (it was the planned anchor for another Bridge Street development in Chicago). I was skeptical at first, but the chain has slowly moved south, opening stores in Kentucky and Missouri. It's high-end, not currently in "the region," and it has stores in Huntsville-sized cities. I say Von Maur's got a good chance.
Let's say that the developers decide to fill in the lake for the expansion. How Huntsville of us to think that the solution to a problem is to pave over it. From the words of President Obama, "plug the damn hole!" You'd think with the workforce here, they could find legitimate, competent engineers to build/fix a proper lake.
After fixing the lake, a new expansion location would have to be found. There are plenty of surface lots that could be used, and instead of building an underground garage, why not construct an above-ground deck to compensate for the lost/needed parking. And to pay for it, have people pay a fee for the convenience of parking in the garage. If the department store is as good as the developers say it will be, people will be willing to pay to park.
Last, but not least, is the retail portion of the expansion. A 75,000 sq. ft. addition to the center, along with a 100-150,000 sq. ft. department store, will make Bridge Street the second-largest retail development in the city, surpassing Parkway Place but below Madison Square's 1 million sq. ft. But how will the developers attract new stores to the expansion when there are empty storefronts in the existing center?
Enough ranting. Let's speculate on the the three most probable department store chains, which I've nicknamed The Obvious, The Long Shot, and The Wild Card:
The Obvious: Macy's. This may seem like the most logical choice because of their widespread presence in other cities, but not in Huntsville. However, with their nationwide expansion, their "high-end"-ness has been questioned recently, with many of their non-flagship stores carrying brands seen in more mid-range stores like Kohl's and JCPenney. But they have made the move to lifestyle centers, creating a new concept store for developments such as Bridge Street.
The Long Shot: Nordstrom. The Seattle-based high-end chain almost exclusively locates in metro areas with more than 1.5 million people. Also, a Nashville store will open in September 2011. That said, I don't think we'll see a full-scale Nordstrom in Huntsville for a couple of decades... at least. But there are two possible exceptions: a Nordstrom Rack (outlet store) or a smaller-scale store concept geared towards smaller cities.
The Wild Card: Von Maur. Many of you have probably never heard of this small Midwestern chain; I hadn't until about a year ago, when someone suggested it as a possible Bridge Street anchor (it was the planned anchor for another Bridge Street development in Chicago). I was skeptical at first, but the chain has slowly moved south, opening stores in Kentucky and Missouri. It's high-end, not currently in "the region," and it has stores in Huntsville-sized cities. I say Von Maur's got a good chance.
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