Alleyway could be the place to be
By Jill Nolin
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There is nothing about this block in downtown Montgomery that makes you want to wear Mardi Gras beads and drop big bucks on entertainment.
The buildings along Tallapoosa and Commerce streets look more like a place for businessmen and women than for frolickers -- and there is nothing exciting about the dismal-looking alleyway that runs between the buildings on Tallapoosa Street.
But a group of investors and the city of Montgomery think things will change in about a year and the alleyway will become the hopping place to be.
Construction soon will start on what is becoming known as the Alleyway Project in downtown Montgomery, where the Riverwalk Stadium, and more recently the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center, have recently started other revitalization efforts.
One of the private developers with an eye on the alley, Jerry Kyser, estimated that he and other investors will put as much as $20 million into the project -- and that's a conservative estimate.
The city will invest about $1 million. Its portion will be funded through Tax Incremental Funds, according to Montgomery mayoral aide Jeff Downes. The same kind of program has successfully redeveloped areas in New York, California and Florida.
TIF is an incentive for private development that combines public and private funds. The alleyway itself -- the street the people walk on -- will be deeded to the city, which will be responsible for its upkeep. The buildings will belong to private investors.
The city also plans to take the water tower that straddles two buildings, fix it up and use it as an entrance to the 300-foot-long alleyway. People will walk under the water tower to get to the revitalized area that will include everything from an art gallery to a pizza parlor to piano bars.
The developers, on the other hand, will continue to improve their properties so new attractions, from quaint shops to jazz bars to New Orleans-style restaurants, will open in the hope of luring the hundreds of people staying in hotels downtown. The city hopes to see an increase in tax revenue.
Coming attractions
At this point in the project, little is set in stone.
Small-business owners with something unique to offer are essential, but those kinds of shop owners are hesitant to sign on when they see the current conditions of the buildings, said Jerome T. Moore, president of Coldwell Banker Commercial, who is working with investors on the Alleyway Project.
"Right now, it's all concept. People are looking at it and saying, 'It looks like a bomb shelter,'" Moore said
But that by no mean leaves the developers desperate. They're looking for the right kind of small shop owners -- with a sense of adventure and a taste for the out of the ordinary.
"They have to bring something unique. Don't come down here and do the same old, same old that you find at any shopping center," Moore said. "We're looking for people with a lot of flair."
Moore's office is located in the renovated Schloss and Kahn building on Coosa Street.
There already is talk of the several businesses that are coming to this block in downtown: A jewelry store, a pizza shop, a jazz bar, an oyster bar and an art gallery.
Those involved are trying to attract a gourmet coffee shop, a high-end clothing store and gift shops that would offer one-of-a-kind souvenirs to visitors. There also is interest in turning upper level spaces into loft apartments.
Kyser is in the process of turning his property at 129 Coosa St. into the kind of restaurant where patrons could start the day with brunch and end the evening with a cocktail. There also will be a downstairs wine cellar and private dining area.
He also said that he has plans to renovate his property at 118 Commerce St., which is next to the Hank Williams Museum, with a western-themed bar that will feature live music -- a perfect complement to its museum neighbor.
Kyser is ahead of other developers, and if you peer into the alleyway on Tallapoosa Street, you will see a green balcony that is similar to what you'll find in the French Quarters. Kyser envisions a retail and entertainment center that will rival what's available in Destin, Fla.
But the others are about to catch up with him.
The city of Montgomery currently is advertising for a project that would turn the dirt alleyway into festive grounds for tourists. This work could start as soon as March, according to Downes.
The Children's Museum of Alabama, which will be on the Commerce Street side, is projected to open within the next two years. The museum would focus on science and technology and would target children ages 1- to-10-years old, said Martha Demere, president of the museum board.
Demere said the museum will have exhibits related to land and water, with an emphasis on Alabama's land features, the human body and how things work.
The museum received a $216,500 boost from the Junior League of Montgomery last week, but needs as much as $2 million more to build the museum. Anyone interested can send monetary donations to The Children's Museum of Alabama at 3066 Zelda Road, Box 302, Montgomery, AL 36106.
A longtime coming
Ask Moore why businesses should be interested in coming to downtown Montgomery, and he will pull out his calculator and do some fast math.
There are 250 hotel rooms at Embassy Suites and about 350 rooms at Renaissance. Add in about 85 at the yet-to-be-opened Hampton Inn and 170 at Madison Hotel and you've got 855 rooms within a few blocks of each other in downtown in Montgomery. Even at half occupancy, that leaves hundreds of visitors looking for ways to spend money. Not to mention, Moore adds, there are 30,000 people working in the Central Business District of town.
The Alleyway Project, the newest riverfront development, would fit well in a block that sits across the street from the Renaissance and the Montgomery Biscuits' Riverwalk Stadium, which has drawn about 300,000 people downtown each year of its exisence.
The new project is a few blocks away from the Rosa Parks Museum and Troy University's Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts.
Those involved said you would not see something like the alleyway development without the other projects in the downtown area -- and the others on the agenda.
"It's been a 20-year process," Kyser said. "I think right now we're about to reap the benefits of the investment (in downtown)."
They also will tell you flatly that it would have been an unlikely endeavor without the new convention center, which opened earlier this month.
"I'm as excited about what's being done here than anything I've ever been excited about in the real estate business," said Moore, a fourth-generation real estate businessman.
Jere Beasley and Greg Allen, attorneys whose office is on Commerce Street, have two properties involved in the project. Allen said he has a "build it and they will come" mentality.
"I don't think people really realize what's going to happen down there," said Allen, who said he was approached by the city four years ago about the project. "I think it will happen, but I think it will take some investment and a little luck."
"We're going to do whatever it takes to make it work," he added.
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