Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Their load factors were good so fuel costs may be the case.
Other cities affected include Lansing, Champaign, IL; Springfield, IL; Marion, IL; and Gulfport, MS.

Maybe the Las Vegas route will return

By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer [email protected]
Flights could resume if jet fuel prices drop, carrier says

Huntsville is one of six cities losing their Las Vegas flights by the low-fare carrier Allegiant Air.

An Allegiant Air spokeswoman said Monday the airline could consider bringing back the Las Vegas flight to Huntsville if fuel prices improve.

Allegiant Air, which had launched an $89 one-way flight from Huntsville International Airport to Las Vegas in September, announced last week it will suspend the service as of Dec. 10. Other cities losing the Las Vegas flights are Lansing, Mich.; Springfield, Ill.; Champagne, Ill.; Marion, Ill., and Gulfport, Miss.

"It's a difficult decision we have to make when we cancel service," said Allegiant spokeswoman Tyri Squyres. "We would not have left the Huntsville market" if not faced with escalating fuel costs.

Jet fuel costs have climbed 50 percent since January - from $1.97 a gallon in the first quarter to about $3 a gallon now, Squyres said.

If prices were to improve, "we would definitely look to" returning the Las Vegas flight to Huntsville, she said. "We will still have service to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale."

The Orlando flight started Thursday, and the Fort Lauderdale flight will be added on Dec. 13.

All six routes that were suspended are "long-haul" routes, Squyres said.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Huntsville International Improvements



there will be two sections like this on each side of the above render.

update
By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer [email protected]
$13.16 million deal considered to add 2 wings to airport

Expansion plans at Huntsville International Airport will give passengers and visitors more waiting room, with two new wings featuring 30-foot-high windows for a view of the airfield.

This morning, the Huntsville/Madison County Airport Authority will consider a $13.16 million contract with Hudak & Dawson Construction Co. Inc. in Gadsden for the project.

Work should begin in December to add the two second-floor wings near the connector walkway and security checkpoint. The wing to the west will house the security checkpoint, and the east wing will have a lobby and seating area. "There will be seating for more than 200 people," said Barbie Peek, the airport's marketing director. The renovation will also significantly widen the walkway toward the new wings.

The project will add 14,000 square feet, bringing the amount of public waiting space to 20,000 square feet.

The work is expected to be completed in the summer of 2009.

Chapman Sisson Architects

[benjo33]

Originally Posted by daveyp

who the hell thought up this BONEHEAD parade route?
i love veterans and have many of them in my family. i remember them every day, not just on veterans day, so please understand that i have respect for them. BUT, this is the stupidest thing i've ever seen. downtown huntsville became an island today and was completely cut off. i realize a lot of people have veterans day off from work, but i think the vast majority of us still have to be able to get places. (i still had class and work).

I agree. I was late getting my daughter to her doctor's appointment because I couldn't go south straight down Church Street a full 15 minutes before the parade even started.

[HSVTiger]

new pizza choice

Nov 12, 2007 -- John Kaczynski, an engineer and retired U.S. Air Force Officer, and his wife Rebecca, a registered nurse, will become entrepreneurs and open a Marco's Pizza, home of the Ah! Thentic Italian Pizza, in Madison, Alabama in early 2008.

According to Kaczynski, his wife will initially manage the new store located at Highway 72 and Nance Road in the Irwin Square Strip Mall.

Marco's Pizza, which was founded 29 years ago in Toledo, Ohio by Italian native Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco, offers a menu of Ah! Thentic Italian Pizzas, fresh baked subs, salads, chicken wings and soft drinks with carryout and delivery service.

[HSVTiger]

By next September, a new Comcast regional call center in Huntsville will house about 320 customer account executives and a support staff of 40 to 50 and handle an average of 400,000 calls a month regarding repair, billing and sales for video and Internet-based service.

Comcast regional executives today announced the new 37,000-square-foot regional call center at Technology Point on Old Madison Pike. The center, which will serve the company's five-state Delta region, will provide 200 new jobs.

In Huntsville, there are now about 200 Comcast employees, with 100 of those being customer account executives taking calls. Those agents will move from the Comcast location on Max Luther Drive to the new call center, which is expected to open in January.

HSV Times

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

This sounds like it could really be nice with the heavy tie in with parks, trails etc.
"Our goal is to start phase one in '08," with site work starting possibly in the spring, Walker said. "For the first phase, in addition to a hotel and retail, we expect to have a heavy focus on restaurants because we continue to have a lot of interest from people in that area for sit-down restaurants." Mainly fast-food restaurants are in the area now. "

This project will be huge, it is probably at least a two year timeline but if
preliminary indications come true, Northeast Huntsville will become the hottest retail section in town or at least join the west and southside.
Possible (nothing official yet) tenants

Kohl's
JC Penney
Super Target
Best Buy
Toys R Us
Old Navy
Hobby Lobby
World Market
Dicks

it may include a parking deck, at least 50 other stores/hotel and approx
15 outparcels for restaurants. Also included are a large number of residential units, homes ,condos/apartments etc.

so hang on things are getting ready too change in a big way

http://www.wakefieldbeasley.com/portfolio/default.aspx?type=11&project=129#1

[neilson]

I don't want Toys R Us to leave The Fountain. Period.

[HSVTiger]

Monaco Theaters at Bridge Street open Friday



Thursday, November 15, 2007
[email protected]
From the fountains to the fireplaces, it's clear Monaco Pictures isn't the average movie theater where you simply plop down your money and see a flick.

"It's more of an experience," said Monaco Pictures' director of operations David Bier.

With 14 screens, scheduled wine-tasting events, more than 2,000 reclining seats and a restaurant that serves food more upscale than buttery popcorn and cheesy nachos, Monaco Pictures puts the "mega" in megaplex.


Monaco Pictures, in Bridge Street Town Centre, opens Friday at 4 p.m.

The theater complex, named after and inspired by the elegance of the tiny Western European country, tries to combine the class and feel of a 1940s movie house with the amenities of the 21st century. The theater, created by the people behind Bridge Street, is the first Monaco Pictures in the United States.

When dreaming up designs, Bier said, the owners had one goal: "Let's build this theater right."

Upon entering the 88,000-square-foot theater, guests are greeted by two systems for buying tickets, either at the box office or from one of six automated kiosks. (Tickets also will be sold online.)

Regardless of where tickets are purchased, guests will have the chance to reserve seats for particular shows.

"It's an added value for the guests," Bier said, adding that you won't have to show up an hour early just to get good seats.

Near the entrance of the theater is the Scene Lounge, a full-service restaurant that serves global cuisine for lunch and dinner. The restaurant and bar is being set up by a former chef from Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Los Angeles, and features a glowing bar, hardwood floors and a patio with working fireplaces. TVs around the restaurant show how long it will be before your movie begins.
Four theaters offer the VIP treatment, with one exclusively designed for VIP ticket holders. In all, there are more than 500 VIP seats. Adults will not be allowed to bring their children into the VIP section.

All 14 theaters are equipped with Dolby Digital Sound (more than 20 speakers in each theater) and stadium seating.

'Flexibility' key

In addition to showing first-run blockbusters like "Beowulf" and "American Gangster," Monaco Pictures will offer independent films, and maybe classics such as "A Clockwork Orange," manager David Bier said.

On special occasions, Bier said, he plans to use several screens to show or Auburn or Alabama football games, "American Idol" or anything else people might want on the big screen.

He said there is a possibility of having a Madden NFL video game tournament on the movie screen or using the theater for business presentations.

"We do have the flexibility," Bier said.

[marvingardns]

Bryan Cordell will have plenty to talk about on WAFF48 in the mornings when that Harris Hills project goes up. At least it looks good... unlike that eyesore University Target center... the one place where Huntsville honestly needed a roundabout.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by marvingardns

Bryan Cordell will have plenty to talk about on WAFF48 in the mornings when that Harris Hills project goes up. At least it looks good... unlike that eyesore University Target center... the one place where Huntsville honestly needed a roundabout.

you mean traffic reports?
WestSide SuperTarget.. whoever designed that parking lot was drunk at the time.

[HSVTiger]

Has anyone heard of this happenning? crazy and dangerous

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1195208225225150.xml&coll=1

By CHALLEN STEPHENSand BRIAN LAWSON
Times Staff Writers [email protected]@htimes.com
Cinram follows the law, but critics say 'decent pay' would attract locals

The arrival of 1,350 unskilled laborers from overseas has outraged some community leaders and politicians, who prefer that a local company fill packing jobs with people who live here.

But the new employment practice at Cinram, a DVD manufacturer and distributor in northeast Huntsville, is supported by federal law, provided the jobs are first advertised locally.

And a Cinram manager says his company has searched here and continues to do so. "We have been an employer in the area hiring hand over fist," said Pete Hassler, director of human relations at Cinram's Huntsville plant.

But Cinram in recent weeks also began recruiting in Third World countries, bringing to Huntsville 800 young workers from Jamaica and another 550 from Bolivia, Nepal, Ukraine and the Dominican Republic.

"If this is the way Cinram plans on operating, I'd just as soon they left our community," said Madison County Commissioner Mo Brooks, who worried about local taxpayers subsidizing health care and education for the workers. "They are not being a good neighbor or responsible citizen. If they want Jamaican workers, open a plant in Jamaica. The Jamaicans would be most appreciative."

The guest workers, who can earn $8 an hour working 12-hour shifts packing DVDs in boxes, are screened by U.S. embassies. They receive what are known as H-2B work visas.

The U.S. Department of Labor issues 66,000 such visas each year for unskilled, non-farm laborers. But the government received 247,000 requests last year from companies seeking foreign labor.

The H-2B visas cover up to one year of full-time temporary work, and must be used for one-time projects, seasonal work, new contracts or peak times. A company spokeswoman said Cinram's peak demand for DVDs falls around the holidays.
"We have enough people in our community that would do the work for decent pay," said City Councilman Glenn Watson. "Eight dollars an hour won't cover lunch."

He said instead of looking overseas for cheap labor, Cinram ought to pay $10 or $12 per hour for the same work. "I think what Cinram is doing is detrimental to the city of Huntsville and the nation." He said Cinram's practice ought to be illegal.

David Berkowitz, director of the Center for the Management of Science and Technology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, said the company is following the law, a practice that isn't necessarily common.

[marvingardns]

you mean traffic reports?
WestSide SuperTarget.. whoever designed that parking lot was drunk at the time.

Yeah... someone needs to address the traffic problem at Moore's Mill and US72 before Harris Hill makes it worse.

[neilson]

Originally Posted by marvingardns

Yeah... someone needs to address the traffic problem at Moore's Mill and US72 before Harris Hill makes it worse.

Don't mean, and the foreign workers at Cinram up there too?

Btw, when they build Harris Hill and/or the 565 extension past Shields Road, does that mean the Pervert Hotel will be torn down?

[Bama_Bull78]

Originally Posted by neilson

Don't mean, and the foreign workers at Cinram up there too?

Btw, when they build Harris Hill and/or the 565 extension past Shields Road, does that mean the Pervert Hotel will be torn down?

Those plans are conjuntcion with state plans of wiping half of the businesses out on the south side of 72 for the overpasses.

[Bama_Bull78]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

This project will be huge, it is probably at least a two year timeline but if
preliminary indications come true, Northeast Huntsville will become the hottest retail section in town or at least join the west and southside.
Possible (nothing official yet) tenants

Kohl's
JC Penney
Super Target
Best Buy
Toys R Us
Old Navy
Hobby Lobby
World Market
Dicks

it may include a parking deck, at least 50 other stores/hotel and approx
15 outparcels for restaurants. Also included are a large number of residential units, homes ,condos/apartments etc.

so hang on things are getting ready too change in a big way

http://www.wakefieldbeasley.com/portfolio/default.aspx?type=11&project=129#1

U know With all this mall talk prolly will happen is this. WHen this development and the Debartlo in madison IF it ever does happen. Most of the Big box stores will go to either development and leave the mall high and dry. Toyrus prolly would move there and build a new one at debartlo because of location. But i guess well see!

[HSVTiger]

This will be a nice addition

Huntsville Times
The bridge on Monroe Street over a canal from Big Spring International Park near the Von Braun Center has gone over so well with the public that city officials now want to do the same thing on the other side of the park.

Last week, U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, announced he had won in an appropriations bill $1 million to raise Church Street between Williams and Clinton avenues.

Steve Dinges, an assistant director in the Planning Department, said the idea is to raise Church Street similar to the way Monroe Street was raised a few years ago.

A section of Monroe Street was elevated to allow a canal to be built between the Big Spring Park lagoon and the Embassy Suites Hotel and VBC. The canal has sidewalks on both sides.

Mike Bush, a planner in the Planning Department, said the concept for the Church Street bridge is similar to the Monroe Street bridge with a stone facade and an archway over the canal.

The Church Street bridge would involve raising the street between the Huntsville Museum of Art and the Big Spring Summit office building.

The canal next to the Huntsville Utilities headquarters on the east side of Big Spring Park would not be altered, Bush said.

A small lagoon would be created where the canal goes under Church Street, he said. The bridge and walkway would be built over the new lagoon.

City Planning Director Dallas Fanning said the proposed Church Street bridge would connect the east and west sides of Big Spring Park and would offer other benefits.

"That way, a person could walk from Westside Square (on the Madison County Courthouse square) to Pinhook Creek (on the west side of the Von Braun Center) and not ever have to cross a street," Fanning said.

Construction for the bridge has not been scheduled. Bush said that "very rough" cost estimates range from $3 million to $3.5 million.

"We'll find a way to get it done" if the city gets the $1 million Cramer announced, Fanning said.

The money for the Church Street bridge and other projects is included in a 2008 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill adopted by conference committee members from the U.S. House and Senate, Cramer said.


The bill now must be approved by both houses and signed by the president.

Cramer said the bill also includes:

$1.25 million for the parking garage the city plans to build at Lincoln and Green streets and Holmes Avenue.

$750,000 for widening of Winchester Road from Old Dominion Circle to Naugher Road.

$500,000 for improvements to Wall-Triana Highway

[HSVTiger]

Dog Park opens

By JOHN PECKTimes Staff Writer [email protected]
City's downtown Dog Spot has plenty of room to frolic

Houston has a Boneyard. Chicago has a Bark Park and a Wiggley Field. Tuesday, Huntsville will join cities with dog parks with the opening of its Dog Spot.

The two-acre fenced site is next to the city's skateboard park under Interstate 565 near Meridian Street and Cleveland Avenue.


Animal Services Director Karen Hill-Sheppard said Friday she is elated the park is finally ready to open.

"We are absolutely pleased to offer this to our dog-loving community and know it will be an asset," she said Friday.

The dog park joins a growing list of pooch parks nationwide where dogs can romp unleashed in a protected area equipped with dog-friendly amenities.

Huntsville's Dog Spot features a sprawling play area for large dogs (25 pounds and more) and one for smaller dogs separated by fencing. Poop bag dispensers are there to help encourage a cleaner park.

Benches will soon be installed to give canine owners a place to swap dog stories and watch their four-legged friends frolic. Officials also hope to add restrooms along with watering stations with spigots designed for dog snouts.

Jeff Martin with the city's facilities project management office said some of the ideas were gleaned from Hill-Sheppard's visits to other dog parks. Tuesday's park opening culminates several years of planning aided by a push to make Huntsville more attractive to younger professionals. Sites for the park considered included Creekwood Park in west Huntsville, Ditto Landing marina on the Tennessee River and John Hunt Park in southwest Huntsville.

Martin said the downtown site seemed ideal because it's next to the skateboard park, which already has a public parking lot and offers shade and some fencing.

The city spent about $7,000 on more fencing, signs, a staging area, the "poop bag" disposal station and parking lot improvements. The park encompasses an area roughly the size of several football fields.

"As we get some money budgeted for it, there will be some more improvements," Martin said Friday.

Users will have to adhere to rules and clean up after their pet. Among them: Dogs must be vaccinated for rabies; no more than two dogs per individual; dogs in "heat" not allowed; digging prohibited; and no dogs under 4-months old. Owners will also have to work through tensions that could result from dog fights.

Hill-Sheppard said dog owners are already planning events at the Dog Spot. Some owners have contacted her about dog play dates and birthday parties, she said, and the Greater Huntsville Humane Society wants to hold a canine event there leading up to its annual Dog Ball.

Park hours will follow those of other city parks, from dawn to one hour after dark seven days a week.

[HSVTiger]

a rendering hopefully today

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/119546744589020.xml&coll=1

Huntsville's downtown fire station is relocating in a move that will - symbolically at least - stretch downtown across Memorial Parkway.

The City Council will consider a construction contract Tuesday for a combined fire hall/police precinct office on Clinton Avenue west of Memorial Parkway.



The council will meet Tuesday instead of Thursday because of Thanksgiving.

The building will house downtown Fire Station No. 1, now on Church Street across from the Big Spring lagoon. It also will house the city's west police precinct office now on Triana Boulevard.

The site is next to the city's traffic engineering department, which moved there from downtown about a year ago.

City Planning Director Dallas Fanning said the west Clinton location fits the operational needs of the police and fire departments and is part of plans to expand the perimeter of downtown.

"We're trying to assist that," he said, referring to the fire/police building and other city investments on the west, north and southern edges of downtown. "We need more room (downtown) for one thing, but this also makes for great redevelopment opportunities."

Pearce Construction of Huntsville was the lowest of five bidders on the complex with an offer of $5.25 million and 450 days to complete the project, said Pat Hair, manager of the city's Facilities Project Management department.

The 33,094-square-foot brick building will sport a historic look to blend with the neighborhood and retain the aura of a downtown fire hall.

Downtown push

The emerging cluster of city operations at the Clinton Avenue site follow a $10 million-plus makeover of the former SCI office building, planned improvements to Seminole Drive and a pending bridge replacement along Clinton. Fanning said the new bridge will improve flood control and encourage more redevelopment nearby.

Planners expect downtown Huntsville to creep south with the relocation of the Councill Court public housing complex and sale of the property. The property is next to a large city-owned tract off Williams Avenue that is targeted for a new federal courthouse.

Fanning cited several investments that could encourage downtown development to the north. They include a planned parking garage at Holmes Avenue and Green Street and major improvements to Church and Meridian streets.

"We're making fairly substantial investment to push downtown north, west and south," Fanning said.

The relocation of the Church Street fire hall will have a secondary benefit. The move would allow the city to expand major downtown events such as the Panoply Arts festival and Big Spring Jam onto Church Street. A law now requires the street to remain open for the fire station.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

New hotel finally in Hampton Cove

Integral Hospitality Solutions recently signed an agreement to develop and manage a new Hampton Inn & Suites that will be located in the Hampton Cove area of the Huntsville, AL market. The hotel will have approximatley 94 rooms and suites and will feature a solarium and expanded meeting space. The site is part of a planned retail and office park that features a beautiful creek running through the center of the complex. The hotel should open in the first quarter of 2008.

more on this
Hampton in Hampton Cove

By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer [email protected]
Four-story facility is expected to open by fall of next year

A Hampton Inn & Suites slated for U.S. 431 and Caldwell Lane will be the first hotel in the Big Cove area.

Developers and city officials are expected to gather today to launch construction of the four-story, 52,000-square-foot building. The $8.5 million project is a development of Hospitality Group LLC of Huntsville. Integral Hospitality Solutions of Birmingham will manage the 95-room hotel.

Developers were attracted by the site's proximity to the golf courses at the Hampton Cove subdivision, part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, said Debbie Morris, general manager of Hospitality Group.

The area's growth also came into play, said Bill Harris, director of development for Integral Hospitality.

"It's a fast-growing area with a large population base. Restaurants are popping up, and stores are starting to come in," Harris said. "The hotel is the missing component."

Harris said the Hampton Inn will have an outdoor swimming pool, a solarium, trellised patios and a party deck with views of Big Cove Creek.

"With the mountain and all, it's a beautiful area," he said.

About 30 percent of the rooms will be suites. Services will include a complimentary breakfast, fitness center, free local phone calls and high-speed Internet access. The hotel is expected to open next fall.

Morris said the Hampton Inn will be built on 2.4 acres of a 31-acre site the group plans to develop into offices, stores and restaurants. She declined to give details on any future tenants.

City Planning Director Dallas Fanning said the Hampton Inn represents the first hotel to be built in the city limits on the east side of Huntsville Mountain. He said the hotel should spur more growth in the area.

"I think it will lead to more restaurants, which is a need there," Fanning said. "When we talked to (the developers) early on, the location of the golf course was important to the location of the hotel.

"I think it's a good location and a growing neighborhood."

[HSVTiger]

some Monaco Theater and tree lighting pics from WAAY TV



The Mayor and Santa


carosel


sit by the fireplace