Huntsville updates

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Big downtown proposal..let's go
Sealy sees the big picture, other developers need to get busy

Barely six months after opening the Belk Hudson Lofts apartment building on Washington Street, Charlie Sealy III is working on something even bigger downtown.

Sealy confirmed Thursday that he is in active negotiations with Huntsville officials to build a more than $30 million mixed-use development on the site of a city parking lot at Jefferson Street and Holmes Avenue, across from the federal courthouse.

The preliminary design shows 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space at street level with as many as 120 apartments above, a four- or five-story office building, wide sidewalks, heavy landscaping, public art and garage parking for 400 vehicles.

"I'm really excited about this and looking forward to moving it ahead," said Sealy, who is teaming up with his wife, Sasha, and several unnamed business partners on the project.

"Jefferson Street is one of the main gateways into downtown," he said. "With its proximity to the entertainment district and the Courthouse Square and Big Spring Park, it's an ideal location for a mixed-use development that I think would really be well-received by the market."
Sealy said he hopes to have the negotiations wrapped up in the next three to four months. If the Huntsville City Council OKs the deal, blueprints and other plans would take up to nine months. Construction would start next summer, said Sealy.


"We're really a firm believer that the progress of a downtown is largely dependent on getting people living there," he said. "Getting more of a critical mass down there will really help everything. I think this will be a great development for downtown."
From Huntsville Times

Wow... someone actually understands!?