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