Mobile Development Thread

[nimsjus]

Two downtown deals in the real estate column...
Riley Boykin Smith and his wife, Tammy , purchased a 4,500-square-foot house on Crossway Road near the Country Club of Mobile in Spring Hill for $1.6 million, according to court records. Smith is a former commissioner of the Alabama Depart ment of Conservation and Natural Resources .
Construction is under way on the Battle House Hotel spa and fitness center to be built on top of the RSA parking deck off Water Street, which adjoins the 238-room hotel via a walkway. White- Spunner Construction is the contractor, and the project is estimated at $4.2 million, according to court records. Retirement Systems of Ala bama funded the renovations of the historic hotel and built the adjacent 35-story RSA Battle House Tower .
Also a good article on the CVS in Springhill that will destroy their progress and everything Dover Kohl setup for them...
http://www.al.com/business/press-register/index.ssf?/base/business/1200219304205490.xml&coll=3
Cant the city stop one drugstore from being built? I don't think it will hurt anything to say no to a business one time in order to protect what the Village has worked really hard for and spent alot of money on.

[pboo74]

what has happened to the proposed maritime musuem?

[CottonCity251]

Originally Posted by pboo74

what has happened to the proposed maritime musuem?

The city is still rising the money for the development. Last June they launched the campaign to begin funding, hopefully this June they will start the groundbreaking.

[pboo74]

Thanks CottonCity 251,Have you heard of any other developments coming for downtown?

[CottonCity251]

Nah, I don't have nothing concrete. I can say its more developments going on downtown than what I thought and what is mentioned in Downtown Mobile Alliance's Major Investment Report.

[nimsjus]

Originally Posted by pboo74

Thanks CottonCity 251,Have you heard of any other developments coming for downtown?

An article from todays PR about the city owing money on the Owens housing project stuff mentions that taking money from certain city accounts would prevent some downtown retail/hotels that are in the works.

"A $3 million loan from the CDBG program, which would be paid back by a cut in community services.

Councilman William Carroll suggested that the city kill a proposed $1 million resource center in the Josephine Allen Homes community, which would give the CDBG fund more money to work with.

Stokes said that if the council chooses to take out a loan from the CDBG program, it would hinder the city's ability to reach incentive deals being negotiated for hotel and retail developments in downtown Mobile."

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/index.ssf?/base/news/1200392163205050.xml&coll=3&thispage=2

[BlessedMobile]

Mike Dow promised Mobile Housing money when he should have gotten it approved by the Council. It must have been election time back then. I do know that the project does not have the type of housing that was in there before; it is more of a home and duplex deal. HUD won't let anyone do the "ghetto in the works" type developments anymore. We'll pay the money because we should not because we want too.

[MobileMoving]

Originally Posted by nimsjus

Stokes said that if the council chooses to take out a loan from the CDBG program, it would hinder the city's ability to reach incentive deals being negotiated for hotel and retail developments in downtown Mobile."

It would not only hinder retail development, but it would knock out the opportunities for other affordable housing developments to receive city funding/CDBG grants... (something in which there is still a need in Mobile). By the way, $8.7 million dollars is a LARGE gap to be seeking the at this stage in the development. Sounds like some improper planning on someone's part.

[nimsjus]

Mobile Airport Authority is going to start work on an office park at Brookley. They hope to fill it with suppliers for MAE and eventually EADS, if they land the tanker project. The offices would face Broad which can only add to the momentum these areas should receive from the Bring Back Broad and Arlington Park projects. If this got big enough it might just sway leaders into including the light rail component that was mentioned previously with bring back broad.
http://www.al.com/business/press-register/index.ssf?/base/business/120047856081490.xml&coll=3

[LHG]

Question:
If the Civic Center site were to be redeveloped, how would you envision it? What components would it include (residential/office/entertainment). Give examples. I want to see how creative ya'll are...

[nimsjus]

I would like something that involved indoor and outdoor shopping(something like Green Hills Mall in Nashville (www.mallatgreenhills.com) or Brookwood Mall in Bham (http://colonialprop.com/property-info/shopping-info.php?cid=1245). Both have indoor shopping plus street scapes with trendy shops and restaraunts. Niether are gigantic malls either which would possibly leave room for a residential/hotel component. Green Hills Mall also has some residential units above some of the shops in the street scape portion of the mall. Alot of Mobiles historic southern counterparts have neighborhoods of rowhouses. I think it would be cool if part of the space could be used for some rowhouses as seen at the following links in Charleston (http://www.unc.edu/~jdailey/images/rainbow%20row.jpg) and Savannah (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/253/518500414_695e725ddb.jpg). Even though it would be new construction, it could be made to blend nicely with the historic Church St East nearby. Whatever retail/residential would be done should try to blend seamlessly with the surrounding historic neighborhoods. I wouldn't include much, if any, office space because there is not a huge demand in downtown for office space at the moment. An outdoor market like the ones in New Orleans, Charleston, etc would be neat also, but I am not sure Mobile has the tourism to pull that off. Locals don't go to those places, so it would take a substantial number of tourist to make it reasonable for anyone to setup shop down there to sell stuff.

[BlessedMobile]

Originally Posted by LHG

Question:
If the Civic Center site were to be redeveloped, how would you envision it? What components would it include (residential/office/entertainment). Give examples. I want to see how creative ya'll are...

The city would be glad to rid itself of the Civic Center so I would go after a developer who would put in a residential development of upper end apartments and do a few outparcel land deals for a drug store with some groceries...something like a Walgreen's. It should be big enough that you could have 300-400 units. Best to be behind a big wall too..the apartments that is. This would mean taking in the CC and all the parking area too. Something expensive to build like a high rise would require that the developer recoup his money by sales and not rentals. Apartments are, of course, way cheaper to build than a high rise. I really think it is one of the last large tracts of land suitable for a nice strip center with grocery, drug, personal services, restaurants but I don't think we have the people numbers to interest a tenant like that. We still need many more people to make the numbers work. I personally prefer 4 skyscrapers to the order of 20-40 stories but I am being greedy for the skyline.

[bayou15]

HEY Blessed Mobile, You sound like me now with the vision of 4-40story skyscrapers. I just cant say enough how bad the civic center area looks at nite compaired to the rest of the skyline

[bayou15]

1) Today's press is a must read

2)For years now the Radisson Admiral Sims keeps on talking about plans to build a second tower. The current structure has 117rooms and is 10stories.

I went to pay a traffic ticket(70 in a 55) Friday and walked by this area. This is a very small piece of land and the only way to put 200rooms there is to expand upward. Im thinking in the 20story range. But im sure some of the big wigs in the goverment plaza will have a say about this, blocking there view.

Im geauxing to call the hotel and maybe get a inside on this project.Wow this will be a great addition to the growing skyline.

3) Last week the housing project was brought up. This land is very vitial to Mobile's Future. To expand the growth of downtown Mobile must look in this direction. There is plenty of area in the county to build low income housing.

If im a visitor rolling down I-165 the area would look like a eyesore.

Don t laugh but if it was me..... a sports complex ,With a Football Stadium, a much needed arena, and retail. would enhance this area bigtime.

Just a thought.......later.........



Like Coach Miles would say, "Have a Great Day"

[CottonCity251]

Here is an article from Sunday's PR on the planned town of SaltAire along the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile County...

SaltAire to begin building homes

Sunday, January 20, 2008

By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor

The first 15 lots have sold, the roads are in, and new homes will start going up in the lake district at the town of SaltAire, a 500-acre planned community off Alabama 193 on the western shore of Mobile Bay.

Nine of the homes will be featured in the Parade of Homes next fall, including the showcase home to be built by David Rowe.

"This (project) opens us to a whole other group of clients who might not come to Mobile for a vacation home," Rowe said. "And we'll be a third of the price for similar homes in Destin."

Rowe is one of the nine builders selected by the developers to construct Southern, coastal-style homes in the community.

The prices of the first homes will average in the upper $300,000s to the upper $600,000s, said Jim Wilkie, general manager of the project. "We will have a good mix, including 1,900-square-foot houses to larger homes."

The developer partners include Logan Gewin, broker Rick Collins, Wilkie and former St. Joe Co. developer George Jones.

The town will have six districts, each with a water or woodland setting. The land is on the north and south sides of Salt Aire Road with 2,589 front feet on Mobile Bay. Plans call for 500 single-family homes, a town center, a marina with multi-family residences, a fitness center, jogging and walking trails on the water, two fish-stocked lakes, parks, shops, restaurants and a nature center on Fowl River with a launch for canoes, kayaks and electric pontoon boats.

Construction will begin soon on a welcome center off U.S. 193 and Salt Aire Road. The developers plan to release more lots for sale in March, according to Jones. "It's market driven," he said.

The sales concept is different from the typical preselling of lots, according to the developers.

Builders buy the lots and Roberts Brothers sells the houses that will be built on them. A home buyer can pick a specific lot and a house plan and one of the nine builders will build it, according to Johnny Roberts, president of Roberts Brothers.

"We've had more than 900 inquiries," Roberts said. "We think the timing is right."

The lots in SaltAire are larger than those found in a traditional neighborhood, according to Darrell Russell, a principal at Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, who is based in Rosemary Beach, Fla.

"The property is gorgeous," he said. "It's not typical to have property next to the water with such high elevations and hardwoods."

LRK has put together a catalog of home plans by Southern architectural firms such as Allison Ramsey Architects and Historical Concepts. The SaltAire builders can use these designs or adjust them, as long as they meet the development's architectural guidelines.

The builder group also includes Hamilton Homes & Construction, Kenney-Moise, Lewis Homes, M.D. Price Builder, Martina Construction, Mark Swanson Builders, Rick Twilley Homes and Jim Williams Construction.

Rowe's showcase house will be built on a corner lot with an upclose view of the bass-stocked Bear Lake and an adjacent park. The showcase house lot is 85 feet wide by 130 feet deep.

"Each lot has a different house plan for it," Rowe said. "We took several plans and combined them into one -- ours has a wrap-around porch, and to take advantage of the lake view we have a second-story porch."

While homes on the lakes will have water views, they will not sit directly on the water, according to Jones. There will be a walking trail or common area between the lots and the water to allow all owners access to the water and boat docks.

"We also plan to encourage residents to park their cars and use NEV's, neighborhood electric vehicles, to get around the town," Jones said. "You can hop in an NEV and within 3 seconds you see water."

SaltAire is expected to take seven to 10 years to build out, Wilkie said. Waterfront sales in Mobile and Baldwin counties have slowed down, and for that reason, "we've kept our goals modest," he said. "If we take our time and get this done right, the market will come back."

[nimsjus]

If the city council does not back the Village of Spring Hill on this tonight, the Village just wasted 300k and 3 months of Dover Kohls time, among other things. Do we really need another CVS so badly that they can't pass a 6 month moratorium on development at 3 intersections so that Village can get their codes and regulations setup to make this project work? Why can't everyone see the long term positives of not letting CVS build at this intersection for 6 months?

Realtors oppose Spring Hill halt
Board of directors is against moratorium, but dissenting agents expected at Mobile City Council meeting tonight Tuesday, January 22, 2008By KATHY JUMPERReal Estate Editor
The board of directors for the Mobile Area Association of Realtors has sent a letter to the Mobile City Council opposing a moratorium on new construction in three areas of Spring Hill -- a move expected to draw a crowd of dissenting agents to today's council meeting.
Agents from several real estate companies, including LLB&B Real Estate and Roberts Brothers, plan to present the council with petitions favoring the moratorium.
The Village of Spring Hill seeks the six-month halt on projects to allow time for city agencies to consider its revitalization plan. The nonprofit group hopes to turn the Spring Hill business district into a walkable area with shops close to the sidewalk and with parking on the street or at the rear.
The areas in question are: Old Shell Road at McGregor Avenue; Old Shell at Bit n' Spur Road; and McGregor between Museum Drive and Spring Hill Avenue.
The council two weeks ago postponed consideration of a moratorium, and Councilwoman Gina Gregory said Monday she was not sure if it would be taken up today.
"We're still polling council members," she said.
The moratorium would halt efforts to build a 13,000-square-foot CVS Pharmacy at the southwest corner of Old Shell and McGregor. The Village group and CVS developers are trying to resolve a major issue: the proximity of the store to the street, according to Village President Linda St. John.
"We're being advised by our urban planners that it is very crucial to the whole integrity of our plan," she said, adding that her group wants to work with developers.
Gregory said that she has talked with CVS developers -- The Mitchell Company -- and learned CVS won't budge from its plans to build away from the street and place parking in front of the store.
St. John said members of the Village group planned to attend today's meeting to support the moratorium and respond to the Realtors association letter, which was sent to the council Friday.
The association's 12-member board is not opposed to the Village group or its plans, according to Sandy Purvis of Roberts Brothers in Saraland, president of the Realtor group.
"The board is in support of private property rights," she said. "We voted on information presented to us by several of the board members."
Johnny Roberts, president of Roberts Brothers, who favors the moratorium, said he felt that the board should have invited a Village group representative to answer questions.
Some of his agents have asked him to sign their petition, he said, but he declined. "I feel like I can be a significant help between the two groups," he said. "We need to bring people together, not pick sides."
Board treasurer Melissa Morrissette of LLB&B Real Estate said that she was ill and missed the meeting during which the letter was approved. "If it had been known there was to be a vote, I'm sure other people would have wanted to be present," she said. "I think it's very controversial."
Morrissette noted that "a lot of work and money" have gone into the master plan.
The plan will be presented to the City Council and city staff members on Jan. 29 by town planners Dover, Kohl & Partners of Coral Gables, Fla., according to St. John. The plan will also be submitted to the zoning agencies for approval, which could take as long as four months, she said.
Lee Metzger, a Realtor board member, said, "We don't think moratoriums are a good way to accomplish" the Village group's goals. "We look forward to seeing what they propose.... But there have not been any specifics provided."
The board voted unanimously to oppose the moratorium, Metzger said.
A moratorium would delay the start of a residential project that Roberts has planned at Old Shell and Bit n' Spur. "It's costing me some money," he said. "But I feel like it's important enough to put my development on the back burner until we make sure this plan is addressed."

[MobileMoving]

Council approves limited Spring Hill moratorium
Posted by Dan Murtaugh, Staff Reporter January 22, 2008 1:46 PM

The Mobile City Council today approved a shorter-than-requested commercial building moratorium in certain areas of the Spring Hill community.

Several Spring Hill residents lobbied the council for a six-month halt on commercial buildings at the intersections of Old Shell Road and McGregor Avenue, Old Shell and Bit and Spur Road, and McGregor and Museum Drive.

Residents said they needed the time to present a new zoning plan they had developed for those intersections to the Planning Commission and City Council.

The moratorium garnered opposition from developers, especially The Mitchell Company Inc., which was planning to build a CVS pharmacy on the corner of Old Shell and McGregor.

The council delayed action on the moratorium earlier this month to let the Mitchell Company and Spring Hill residents try to reach an agreement on the pharmacy, which would have violated the new proposed zoning.

The sides could not come to an accord, though, so council members voted unanimously this morning to implement a five-month commercial building moratorium at the intersections.

"We claim to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people," Councilman Clinton Johnson said. "It's time to prove that by letting the people be heard."

[nimsjus]

Originally Posted by MobileMoving

Council approves limited Spring Hill moratorium
Posted by Dan Murtaugh, Staff Reporter January 22, 2008 1:46 PM

The Mobile City Council today approved a shorter-than-requested commercial building moratorium in certain areas of the Spring Hill community.

Several Spring Hill residents lobbied the council for a six-month halt on commercial buildings at the intersections of Old Shell Road and McGregor Avenue, Old Shell and Bit and Spur Road, and McGregor and Museum Drive.

Residents said they needed the time to present a new zoning plan they had developed for those intersections to the Planning Commission and City Council.

The moratorium garnered opposition from developers, especially The Mitchell Company Inc., which was planning to build a CVS pharmacy on the corner of Old Shell and McGregor.

The council delayed action on the moratorium earlier this month to let the Mitchell Company and Spring Hill residents try to reach an agreement on the pharmacy, which would have violated the new proposed zoning.

The sides could not come to an accord, though, so council members voted unanimously this morning to implement a five-month commercial building moratorium at the intersections.

"We claim to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people," Councilman Clinton Johnson said. "It's time to prove that by letting the people be heard."

Good news... and better than nothing. I am glad that the coucil saw the importance of this. I hope the council, planning commission, and the Village folks can get together and get all of this setup to move forward in the next five months.

[CottonCity251]

So glad that happened!

[Bama_75]

I went downtown walking Monday. I couldn't believe how much renovation is going on. Nearly every building I walked by was being worked on or has already been redone.