Idea: North Parkway Wellness Hub

North Parkway suffers from an over-saturation of aging retail space. Many of the retail buildings on the corridor were built in the 1960s; while most of them are occupied, few have been renovated since, creating a run-down look that in turn drives away many prospective tenants and creates an eyesore for residents and commuters. Today we're going to take a look at one of the worst cases, and explore options for its redevelopment, hoping that its rejuvenation will inspire other landlords and owners along the Parkway to clean up their properties.

Academy Sports Building First Huntsville Store

Academy Sports and Outdoors, a Houston-based sporting goods chain, will open its first Huntsville store at the NE corner of Nance Rd. and 72 West no later than next summer, according to an agreement between the City of Huntsville and the developer that will be discussed at tomorrow's (8/9/12) City Council meeting. At 71,000 square feet, the store will use one of the chain's larger designs. Academy has had a store in Decatur for several years now, and it was all but assured that they would move into the Huntsville market at some point.

Interesting note-- the developer is GBT Realty out of Nashville. You may recall that GBT is the owner/developer of The Shoppes of Madison, and in earlier plans of that center, Academy was to build a 55,000 sq. ft. store where Ross is now.