Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

From the Huntsville Times

A 250-foot tall control tower at Huntsville International Airport to replace its aging 97-foot tower. Construction on the $21 million tower is expected to begin in July, said Jerimiah Easley of the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta. The larger tower will give air traffic controllers a full view of runways and taxiways, which have been improved to accommodate an increase in air traffic.

An 1,100-foot waterway linking Big Spring lagoon downtown with Pinhook Creek behind the Von Braun Center. Gerald Clark, landscape architect with Civil Solutions in Huntsville, said the canal will be 15 feet wide, lined with sidewalks and plenty of landscaping, and include a flared "turnaround" area for boats. The waterway will be plumbed and wired to accommodate a fountain, he said. The canal is part of the extensive downtown renovations associated with the Embassy Suites hotel under construction next to the VBC. The hotel is expected to open by early next year.

A 47,000-square-foot building to house the historic Saturn V display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. The building will also include exhibit space. An architect for Gresham Smith & Partners of Birmingham said work should begin in late April.

The Hilton Huntsville will become Holiday Inn Select Hotel, Huntsville-Downtown on April 1, changing its affiliation after 30 years. 3 million in renovations underway.

The 273-room hotel, located at 401 Williams St. near the Von Braun Center, has been a Hilton since opening in April 1975.

Westin Huntsville groundbreaking scheduled for next month

[HSV79]

Let's not forget about Big Spring Summit which is well underway. Part of the garage has been torn down and the base of the building is being constructed right now. And of course Embassy Suites is still under construction. Though I do believe that most of the actual ground work is complete. Oh and the 250' crane in Research Park is for the Dynetics HQ.

[HSVTiger]

The only thing holding up the Five Points improvement project now is final state approval.

City Planner Marie Bostick hopes construction on the $1.4 million makeover of Huntsville's trendy east side business district can begin by summer.


Plans call for landscaped sidewalks; a narrower, pedestrian-friendly Pratt Avenue; benches; lantern-style streetlights; new parking configurations, and other improvements.


City officials are lobbying Cramer and other members of the congressional delegation for several million dollars for as many as three more parking garages downtown. More parking, Spencer said, will help draw more condominiums, restaurants and retail development.

The garages would cost about $6 million each, said City Planning Director Dallas Fanning. Tommy Brown, director of public parking and transit for Huntsville, said the city hopes to "partner" with private developers in building the garages in conjunction with a retail or residential development.

"We don't want to go out and just build a stand-alone garage," Brown said. "

My comments below, not part of the article,

The above mentioned garages may be linked to several major
downtown projects which may include the often rumored 20+
story condo and or a retail, entertainment complex on the MarketSquare property, or another hotel office complex.
At the moment this is speculation, but like he said "we don't go out and just build a stand alone garage."In any case something is cooking..
:fc:

[HSVTiger]

to see what these buildings will look like. Hopefully something
futuristic and fitting for Northrop. The site is relatively small so it
may rival Adtrans buildings across the street in height.

Northrop Grumman Announces Intent to Build New Huntsville Campus
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., May 23, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- To accommodate its growing presence in the Huntsville area, Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) will construct a new five-building complex in Cummings Research Park.

The company has selected developer Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE:CLP) for the $80 million project to be located off Interstate 565. Colonial Properties is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Birmingham, Ala. Northrop Grumman plans to break ground on the first 110,000-square-foot building June 27.

Northrop Grumman employs about 1,200 people in the Huntsville area, in more than 20 facilities. Most current operations will be consolidated in the new headquarters facility, which will house offices, laboratories, and research and development centers.

[argussventon]

Weren't there plans in the works to put up a replica of the launch pad for the Saturn V and include that as part of the vertical display?

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by argussventon

Weren't there plans in the works to put up a replica of the launch pad for the Saturn V and include that as part of the vertical display?

But those plans were shelved after the former director of the museum mis- managed funds,and falsely reported profits.
Currently the books are being put in order, and some day
the gantry may be built. There was to be a restaurant at the top,
I believe. I actually kind of like it without the tower.
The big push now is to build a building to house the real Saturn V and refurbish it, as it is only one of three real Saturn V's in existence.

[DruidCity]

The canal sounds especially nice.

Huntsville seems to be making strides toward becoming a more well-rounded city.

I read a while back that the Huntsville Botanical Garden will spend $3.6 million over the next year or so. Unless I'm mistaken, it's the largest public garden in Alabama, in terms of acreage.

The employment numbers look very good for Huntsville, especially considering the new jobs likely to arrive with BRAC :
http://www2.dir.state.al.us/LAUS/LAUS_Metrorates.asp

[Rail Claimore]

You can see the construction crane of Big Spring Summit from a number of vantage points miles away now.

[TimCity2000]

^I went home this weekend for the Cotton Row Run and was pleasantly surprised to see two or three cranes dotting the skyline. One for Big Spring Summit, one for Embassy Suites, another at the hospital. Hopefully a fourth will pop up if they ever decide to get 301 East going again.

[HSVTiger]

from the website. The Governor will be here tomorrow for the "official" groundbreaking. Heavy equipment has been
working the site for several weeks now.

The Westin Huntsville


Overall site plan

[Blazer85]

How tall will the Westin in Huntsville be?

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Blazer85

How tall will the Westin in Huntsville be?

said 12, 200 rooms , with the top 6 floors being condos, of which
many have already pre sold.

[HSVTiger]

opens the new Monroe Street bridge downtown, this will lead to the new canal being built between the Embassy Suite and VBC.
The rendering says pedestrian bridge but is also for vehicle traffic.
Not shown off the bottom of the page is a new roundabout across from the main branch downtown public library which is to the left.




Credit to Eric Papetti for this photo

[TimCity2000]

That Westin looks great... won't be long before Research Park has a better skyline than downtown, lol!

[HSVTiger]

some nice things at Bridge Street groundbreaking

For the last 30 to 40 years, Riley said, the Huntsville/Madison County community has worked together as few others in Alabama or across the Southeast have. "This is almost like an oasis in the state of Alabama," Riley said. "You have a sense of community pride in this area that allows you to work together ..."

"It's amazing how much community support there is here," said Gary Safady, managing partner with O&S Holdings. "We promise to deliver a special project."

Tenants will be announced in the coming weeks,

Thanks Guvna

[zoom31min]

Congrats Huntsville. Birmingham would do well to work together like y'all have.

[HSVTiger]

new Huntsville Campus, 1 block west of Bridge Street in
Cummings Research Park. They will all be 3 story buildings

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

new Huntsville Campus, 1 block west of Bridge Street in
Cummings Research Park. They will all be 3 story buildings

Northrop Grumman plans to begin construction on the second building in it's Research Park campus. They employ 1200 in Huntsville.

[HSVTiger]

work on the waterfront on the Tennessee River..

By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer john.peck@htimes.com
Marina plans new slips, fuel dock, restaurant

Ditto Landing Marina is on course for an extreme makeover.

The Huntsville-Madison County Marina and Port Authority is mulling a $2 million plan that would add slips for larger yachts, dock space with hookups for overnighting vessels, and a new fuel dock with a well-stocked "ship store."


Administrative offices would relocate to the fuel dock, freeing the office pavilion overlooking the river for rent-paying events like parties.

The projects would be paid for largely with recently awarded federal grants.

Ditto officials met in a work session Tuesday to discuss proposed projects and ways to come up with the required match money.

Authority Chairman Wally Kirkpatrick said marina officials will "leave no stone unturned" in their quest for the required $680,000 in match money. "We're going to turn up the burner in our search for money," he said.

The work could begin by fall and be completed by spring 2009, said authority member Christy Martin, who helped author the grant application.

[Huntsville_secede]

2nd high school set for Madison
Friday, March 07, 2008
By WENDY REEVES
Times Staff Writer wendy.reeves@htimes.com

Facility will be on Limestone side of County Line Road

MADISON - It's finally official: Madison will be getting a new high school for grades 9-12.

Planning for the new school was unanimously approved Thursday night by the Madison Board of Education.
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"Now, if we can just find the money, we'll be good to go," said Superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler, who led a round of applause after the board approved his recommendation.

The school will be built on 70-plus acres on the Limestone County side of County Line Road.

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletim...740.xml&coll=1