My, Hasn't It Grown! RSA Battlehouse Tower Update

[BamaGrad04]

I heard about the Admiral Semmes expansion a couple of years ago when staying there over Mardi Gras. Supposedly a second tower is going to be built where a parking lot is now. I've never seen any renderings and don't know if any were ever released. I'd like to know if anyone has heard anything else on this.

[HSVTiger]

this is from a year ago, so it may or may not be accurate.

The Mobile County Commission agreed Monday (Nov. 2004) to sell a piece of land near Mobile Government Plaza to the Radisson Admiral Semmes Hotel so the hotel can add another 100 to 200 rooms to its current 170.

The $225,600 sale is contingent on the expansion, according to County Attorney Larry Wettermark. If construction doesn't start within 10 years, the county can buy the land back for the same price.

The final sale price is the same as the county's appraisal for the land. The hotel had an appraisal of $173,000, which the county rejected, Wettermark said.

The purchase comes as more hotel rooms are being planned downtown. The Retirement Systems of Alabama is renovating the former Battle House Hotel next to its skyscraper, which is under construction. The state retirement fund also bought the Riverview Plaza hotel, the former Adam's Mark, and plans extensive renovations there.

Local leaders hope the renovations and expansions will help book events at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.

The county and the hotel entered negotiations for the land at the corner of Church and Joachim streets about three years ago. They put the purchase option into a 2002 lease renewal for the county's parking garage, which is located next to and managed by the hotel.

The hotel plans to build a second tower on the county's land, which is just a gravel parking lot now. When the two parties started negotiating, the hotel planned to add another 150 to 200 rooms. The hotel swimming pool, which is now outside, would be located on the ground floor of the new tower.

Kashi Misra, general manager of the Admiral Semmes, could not be reached on Monday to discuss the hotel's current plans, including whether construction is imminent.

The hotel also expressed interest in buying the county parking deck, too, to ensure that it could accommodate more guests. At one time, the county considered buying land across Government Street for another parking garage, perhaps combined with office space.

But the hotel wasn't interested in paying the county's price for the parking deck and the county didn't get far in trying to procure land across the street. "It didn't work on either side of the street," Wettermark said.

[Joey Hester]

Thanks HSV Tiger and BamaGrad04 for answering the question!! I am curious, as well, whether anyone has heard or seen anything on this proposed project. It has been awhile...

I hope that they are not waiting for the Battle House to open first before making an annoucement because that would put construction another off for another couple of years.

[elb401]

thats neat. I thought I read something about it a long time ago.

[MardiGrasMobile]

I'm not so sure that we should be messing with a landmark like the Admiral Semmes.

The RSA is one thing, cause they are apparently remodeling the Battle House to be reminiscent, they're not building an extra building to call it Battle House as well.

I'd much rather see a renovation of the existing Admiral Semmes (it wouldn't hurt to paint it a color less bricky, for example, some sort of off-white or beige), maybe redo it better inside.

If RSA needs more hotels, there is an entire northside of downtown that pretty much lacks historic homes, important historic storefronts, the industrial feeling area that is loaded abandoned warehouses, a few car repair shops, etc (think Congress Street area), basically, an area where the after-effects of urban blight are still present.

In other words, an area that lacks aesthetic value and in general, an area that no one goes to. In other words, an area which can be re-designed and rebuilt from the ground up, a mini-district within downtown which we could create in this generation. It also wouldn't hurt if we could acquire the property Orange Grove sits on from the feds and do remodeling there. Orange Grove long ago lost it's historical character, and when you mention it's name to the average Mobilian, it never conjures up a good image.

It also is centrally located where if you say, razed it to the ground, (make sure the tenants are given alternate places to live, of course), you would then have an area of land in downtown, with a grid pattern, with much of the infrastructure laid out, with central access to the interstate. It could be redeveloped along the new urbanism plan to complement what could be done alongside the territory in between Congress and Beauregard. The reason I say this is, if you drive downtown, look at where the skyscrapers are, they are all in the classic business district (or in the vicinity of the intersection of Dauphin and Royal to put it in another way). Many older buildings in that are were lost in the thrust of modernization, just like many of the old homes along Government Street

We should no longer allow any buildings older than 80 years old to be torn down in downtown at all, and in the rest of the city, they should either have to be in the flood plain, or in general, blighted (under this definition, you would be able to demolish property in the Mobile-Bay Shore corridor within Crichton)

Our problem in Mobile is that often times, we have either went for preservation or progress, never stopped to consider you could do both. It makes no sense to demolish say, anything in Fort Conde Square or say, Dauphin Street. However, if you demolish the abandoned garage on Congress Street that has broken windows and is surrounded by an overgrown lot, then maybe, have you not done something better for the community, and if you replace it with a building of decent height, be it condo, hotel, office, maybe even apartment, then haven't you done more for downtown?

Also, we should understand that as it is now, no one will be moving to downtown for it's great schools, that's just a given. Not all people in downtown do this, but most people who live downtown who have kids do send them to private school, and if not private school, then magnet at the very least

In other words, in downtown, you basically have people who are well off, and then those who are not (example, the shotguns along St. Anthony, which do deserve to be preserved, but which should be renovated, possibly through coercion via the city)

These are things that the Jones administration should look into.

I'll be honest, I did doubt him at first, but it appears more and more daily as if he's not going to change the way we do business here, which means we retain stability, and I think that's good for the city. I also like the fact that he has played down the historical significance of his election, even sharing the spotlight with Copeland on the city's website, in fact, it seems to me he retain most all of Dow's people, and while I think the whole campaign of love thing is a bit over the top, it does show he's more interested in being an executive than in being a politician. He's also impressed me by the fact that he has not said a thing about Juan Chastang, when he of all people has a right to. (It's this little incident that has likely cost Riley my vote, for those not from Mobile, Governor Riley fought for his right to appoint Jones' replacement, which the law entitles him to do, the problem is, he appointed a man who doesn't even reside in the district permanently, a man who only owned his alternate resident so he could get on the Mobile County GOP Executive Committee from that precinct, and so Riley, based on the fact that he's one of few black party men in Mobile County, and he holds the seat, decides to go ahead and appoint his ass, without even going through a fucking vetting process)

At any rate I digress but to sum it up, Juan Chastang= bad move

Admiral Semmes new tower= undecided

Making the northside of downtown a target for a major urban renewal product, focus on high density= good idea

Jones= so good so far, his desire to avoid conflict, hell even publicity really, it impresses me

Thomas Sullivan= still a crook, and his not being able to possibly win was the one good thing about the Commission election being nixed

One final thing, seeing as I already typed all the above, namely, as I brought up, there are added expenses to living downtown for a family that they wouldn't reasonably have in a different part of town, so maybe we could provide financial incentives to move into downtown (as well as near downtown areas like Oakleigh and the area of Old Shell Road between Broad and Lafayette)

For example, offering a break on property taxes, giving them a lower property tax rate than the rest of the city. That could entice some people. Also, providing grants to renovate rundown homes, maybe even setting something up with the schoolboard that children in these homes, if they opt for MCPSS, can choose the schools they want to go to, and accompany it with bus service. In other words, enticements to encourage people to move there.

One final thing, if any of you Mobile types haven't read the pieces Quin Hillyer has been writing about Prichard, you should, and I actually agree with most of them. Basically, he lays out his vision of what he believes is beginning, namely, a Prichard Renaissance.

[elb401]

Yes, I agree with you about a lot of it. The Admiral Semmes has planned a major renovation project over the past few years (mostly because the new competition from the RSA tower). They might have started it. I'm not sure. BUt I think you are right about the north of Downtown area. Orange Grove is a problem for downtown development. I have lived in the Downtown mid-town area all my life. I am currently hoping to move into another historc house that hasn't been renovated yet. I was fortunate enough to attend Council (magnet), but the MCPSS is VERY open about giving transfers. I went to Davidson for high school after phillips. Yesterday, I took a walk from Michigan AVe to Broad Street in Oakleigh, and found that the revitalzation is only half a block away from Broad now!! The city does give incentives to renovate but I'm not sure how great they are. Council man Carroll is a great guy. With his help, I think that the city will help more of the revolving funds in the historic districts. But I think the western areas would probably object to lowering our property taxes. Some say that they dont want distict 6 and 7 to pay for 1 and 2. We are one city and that argument seems stupid, what helps district 1 & 2 will help 6 & 7.

About Sam Jones....I really don't know yet. He has not done a very good job reaching out to the people....especially in the western districts (which is probably why most people are starting to pin the whole delayed trash pickup thing on him). I hope he will do a good job. He had no plan when he ran for mayor. But the good thing would be that the majority of the people on his "committees" supported Peavy and helped make up his plan for the city. So we will probably see something very similiar to peavy's plan in January. But I think he will do a good job.....if he does what he has done for the county then I think Mobile is in good shape and hands.

Sullivan.....needs to go to jail

I think the Railey had the right to appoint....so did the courts....but I think he made a bad choice. Chastang was caught trying to bribe his fellow police officers! I dont trust him. But I'm still going to vote for Railey (especially in the primary, AL needs NO moore) he didn't know. He has done so much for this state.

I have been reading the articles about prichard. I hope it works...a stable prichard means a more stable Mobile.

oh and MardiGrasMobile, do you read Mobile Bay Monthly? It is great it, always has a section devoted to mobile history and revitalization.

[elb401]

I was wondering how many of you live in the historic districts?

[eastbayblu]

I live in the Dauphin Way Historic District

[elb401]

Really....my parents live there too....its where I grew up. Its over by Catherine Street near Dauphin.

[Alxx611]

nothing too historic about hillcrest and cottage hill, where I live. oh well. I reallly really wish I lived in Midtown, not west mobile.

[DruidCity]

hillcrest and cottage hill

FWIW, when my brother lived in Mobile, he was on Woodland Rd, which is not too far.

[pkp]

DW Historic for me as well - looking at getting a place all the way dowtown as well - De Tonti square, lower Church St., a condo, or a loft.

[elb401]

Really I was hoping to get something down there too. Are you already looking? I just hope they don't become to expensive. I don't think I'm gonna move all the way downtown for about another 5-7 years. I got plans to renovate a house.

[elb401]

Thats pretty funny that 3 of us live in the same neighborhood. I bet we've walked passed eachothers houses and not even known.

[MardiGrasMobile]

Originally Posted by Alxx611

nothing too historic about hillcrest and cottage hill, where I live. oh well. I reallly really wish I lived in Midtown, not west mobile.

I wouldn't really call it West Mobile, for one thing, that particular area has become somewhat diverse racially speaking, I think Carriage Hills is approaching 40% black

Another thing the city could do is start coming up with names to call these various areas that are west of I=10 but east of Cody

The reason being that, well, it's not as if we have the most sophisticated populace in the world when it comes to such issues, for example, that lady in the story about the election who was shocked that she couldn't vote in the election cause she lives outside the city limits, then the whole question of in sound off a few months back, where one person wonders why "West Mobile" complains so much, they're just another part of the city, and then someone (who obviously lived West of Cody) who adamantly denies that they are, and then the whole annexation question, we are trying to annex West Mobile, right?

Well, if Hillcrest is part of the city, yet is in "West Mobile" then exactly how in the hell are we annexing it, we already have it.


Too much goddamned ambiguity

One way to potentially solve this would be to do what Peavy suggested in the campaign, something Jones has now latched onto, and that is, pull back police and fire protection, the police one especially.

Retract the police back to the Cody Road line, this would accomplish a few things. First, it would remove Mobile Police patrols from Mobile Terrace, one of our county's premiere slums, and an area our police have been responsible for since 1956

The sheriffs departtment has zero field knowledge about Mobile Terrace, in other words, within a few months of our pulling police protection, you would see a spike in the the sale of guns to 36618, 36608 and 36695 to non-city residences, you'd see a bunch of houses suddenly put up ADT signs, and you would suddenly see people putting things such as burglar doors up in their neighborhoods. Because the ONLY thing that keeps the Mobile Terrace/Hillsdale phonomenon from overtaking the area is the M.P.D and I think everyone knows it, especially if you look at some of the older subdivisions with smaller homes (which actually, I think contain most of your opposition)

Frighten the Redneck Vote, basically. We havent even got to fire protection yet, imagine trying to run a volunteer FD in what is essentially, part of Mobile, if not in name yet. It would be an absolute nightmare.

And their options would be limited, now, I'm not up entirely on annexation law, but I'm pretty sure the legislation has to clear an incorporation, and the county delegation itself has to clear it.

Now, let's review who sits in our legislature from Mobile County, almost all of them have either ties to the city, or rely on it as a political base (Gary Tanner, who owed his election to Dauphin Island Parkway every time)

In other words, we have a legislative delegation very sympathetic to the wishes of the city of Mobile, as it stands now, the western sector is in Senate District 34, and that district is made up primarily of city territory. Add this to the fact that, most of Deans primary opposition came from this area, and well, he has no reason to help people who voted against him, he has a strong base in South Mobile County and the Parkway

Basically, we pull back our services and we could have them over a barrel, in fact, all we may need to do is threaten them with this and they become more receptive to annexation

And annexation is necessary, our tax base is leaving us, and that is something we have to start, if Midtown suddenly became the hottest market (which it may with the new reality of gas), it still would stop the attrition we see in District 4/5 along Azalea Road, continued attrition in the lower Dog River (accentuated by Katrina), the general attrition setting in in District 7, combined to the fact that other districts have been losing population for a while, we do have to do something.

I think an idea with merit is annexing the western sector, as well the Prichard Police Jurisdiction and convincing Prichard to come in. This would protect the current 50/50 balance we have, and it would clearly give us the largest municipality, with enough room to probably keep Huntsville from taking it

[Alxx611]

holy crap, I live in carriage hills! yea this area that I live in has became less and less considered "west mobile" considering now days west mobile is cody rd. and schillenger rd. and so on way out there.

[DruidCity]

Re: Carriage Hills - Do you know a family there named "Crowell," by chance ?

[elb401]

I'm not sure if I totally agree. B-ham did that to Mt brook....and look what happened. But we should poll to find out. I think they will come in on the next vote. Don't make too many people bitter when you lost by only 40 something votes. About Prichard. I say no to annexing them unless it is along with a consolitdation with the county. Think about it. Mobile's crime rate would increase and think about all the things Mobile would have to spend its money on to catch Prichard up on its inferstructure. It would also lower the average home value and income value in the city.The city would appear to be a lot poorer. I don't see a need to keep the city near a 50/50 marker for any reason. Even if say the Hollingers Island, west Mobile, and prichard were annexed the city demographics would look more like 60% white 40% Black. Peavy once spoke in favor of this but has since said he doesn't like this. I'm not sure peavy said anything about withdrawing the police jurisdiction he said that he wouldn't extend it if it was annexed, which is good because it would help control the speed of urban sprawl.

[elb401]

But every idea should be looked into to see if it is possible.....and weigh the pros and cons....Prichard...maybe in the next 15 20 years would be a great edition to our city.

[MobileAl1]

Wonderful pictures Musicisright!