Constellation hotel construction delayed

Construction of the 6-story SpringHill Suites downtown has been delayed because crews have found "50-foot variations" in the bedrock where the hotel is to be built, according to developer Scott McLain. Construction will be delayed a couple of months to resolve the issue. The hotel is one of two planned for the $150M Constellation mixed-use development at the Clinton/Parkway interchange in downtown Huntsville.

Huntsville Times article

Bass Pro delayed again

Due to the economic downturn, construction on the Bass Pro Shops proposed at the intersection of I-565 and I-65 will not begin until "at least spring or summer of next year," according to the Decatur Daily. The groundbreaking was originally scheduled for June (of this year), then it was moved to next month. The opening of the store will be 10 months to a year after the groundbreaking, which means that it will open in the summer of 2010 at the earliest.

Decatur Daily article

Northrop Grumman breaks ground on second CRP building

As was promised back in March, the second of four planned Northrop Grumman buildings at their Research Park West campus broke ground today. The four-story, 110,000 sq. ft building, which will look much like the first building (opened in April 2007), is expected to open in 2010.

Madison Lakes: Another County Line Development

Bradford Health Services (yes, the addiction treatment center) will request a rezoning of about 78 acres at the SE corner of Brownsferry and County Line Roads for a mixed-use development. Plans call for about 300 apartments, 14 acres of retail along County Line, 12 acres for offices, a 180-room hotel, 16 acres of greenspace, and-- you guessed it-- Bradford's treatment center, which is currently on the site. We should learn more about this development next month when it goes before the Madison planning board.

(The picture above is from the September 5th Madison Record-- special thanks to Troy for sending it to me.)

Huntsville Times article: More Growth in Madison

VBC Concert Hall getting $5M makeover

Through a generous private donation, the Von Braun Center Concert Hall is getting a much-needed makeover. The renovation will include new seating, "luxury suites", a new sound system, a renovated lobby, and a new entrance (shown above). It is being paid for through a $3 million donation from Linda Smith (widow of Mark Smith, the founder of Adtran, which the renovated hall will be named after) and public VBC and TIF district funds. Work is expected to begin in March and end sometime in 2010. This is (hopefully) just the beginning of the VBC renovations, as much of the center is now over 30 years old.

Huntsville Hospital to build medical offices in Hampton Cove

This shouldn't be a big surprise to many people-- Huntsville Hospital (through a partnership with a private company) is planning to build at least one 30,000 sq. ft. medical office building in Hampton Cove. The building, which will be located on 5 acres at the intersection of Taylor and Sutton (near Wal-Mart), is scheduled to open in about a year. And if all goes well, another medical office building could be built, but that one is years away.

Huntsville Times article: Hospital eying Hampton Cove

Army Materiel Command groundbreaking Wednesday

The Army Materiel Command (AMC) is moving their headquarters to Redstone Arsenal from Virginia as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decisions. The $127 million, 603,000 sq. ft building will also house the Security Assistance Command. The expected opening date for the building is 2011, which is the deadline for all BRAC moves.

Huntsville Times article

What's going on at the old Tweeter store?

If you have driven down University Drive West in the past couple of weeks, you might have noticed some work going on at the old Tweeter store in front of SuperTarget. The store is being split into two retail spaces, one for a Vitamin Shoppe and the other for a LifeWay Christian Store. The Vitamin Shoppe will be the second to open in Alabama; LifeWay is probably relocating from its current store near the University/Parkway intersection to this more visible location.