Montgomery development news

[Brown Duckz]

Why can't they start this now instead of 2010?

Airport to add parking facility

By Cosby Woodruff
[email protected]



The Montgomery Regional Airport plans to open a new intermodal facility, which would provide taxis and other cars a place to park while waiting to pick up passengers, around the middle of 2010.

The facility would work best if it was built in the northwest corner of the long-term parking lot, according to the airport's parking lot committee.

Currently, taxis line up along the curb in front of the airport, and private cars often circle the airport waiting for passengers. That creates security concerns and hazards for pedestrians, according to Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon Inc., the airport's consulting firm.

Moving those cars to a waiting area away from the terminal, where they would be summoned by cell phones or some other system, would greatly reduce congestion immediately in front of the terminal, said David Riesland, a project manager for the consultants.

The committee voted to recommend the location in the long-term parking because it does not restrict future airport growth, and it offers a lower construction cost because the land is already suitable for construction.

Sites closer to the terminal would have required more ground work.

Riesland also said the site would be appropriate for a parking deck, which may be built in the future.

"There is a lot of potential for expansion in this site," he said.

Luke Childrey questioned what the loss of about 40 parking spaces would mean to airport revenue. Mark Wnuk, assistant to the executive director at the airport, said the parking lot averages about 40 percent capacity, but on heavy travel periods it overflows.

Allen Thames, vice president of the consulting firm, said giving up that revenue would be a tradeoff for relieving congestion in front of the building.

"All of the solutions present some other problem," he said.

The proposal calls for a small building surrounded by five parking spots for taxis, five for private vehicles waiting for passengers, one for a limo and one for a tour bus.

"We can put in a facility and a program that will serve everybody," Thames said.

Thames said the airport has a $4 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to create a transportation nexus, which he defined as an intersection of two transportation modes.

The airport will have to match the grant with $1 million of local money, and Thames said that money is available in reserves.

[| BRAVO |]

Montgomery peeps - Would you guys like to see this chart every month? I'll post it if you like.

Economic Indicators Chart - "Business Alabama Magazine" - March 2008

[bystander1]

^^ I don't mind. I usually see it every month in Business Alabama anyway.

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by bystander1

^^ I don't mind. I usually see it every month in Business Alabama anyway.

Me too...

[Brown Duckz]

Competition is good. I think it needs to go tall, at least 8-10 stories. That would be a pretty sweet looking block.... crossing the street there surrounded by three hotels.

3 companies contact city about downtown hotel

Mayor Bobby Bright said Friday that negotiations are ongoing with a hotel that is considering a move to the downtown area.

Bright would not elaborate on the negotiations, other than to say that it was a "good quality" hotel. The hotel is one of three hotels that have contacted the city in the last month, Bright said.

Bright stressed that the city is being selective about who is allowed to set up in the downtown area, where revitalization efforts have brought the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center.

"I’m not going to let any fly-by-night investor come in and reverse what we’ve done," Bright said.

"I want something new and refreshing but something that will have sticking power," he added.

[philopdx]

Please don't tell me that Montgomery, AL has really adopted a six story height limit for its downtown? You've got to be kidding, right? Someone, please tell me that the master plan is some sad, pathetic joke?

While I think that's a laughable mistake (one more in a long line of laughable mistakes for the gump), I have nothing but contempt for David Bronner and his open threats to anyone who stands in his way. To wit:

Dr. Bronner warned preservationists loudly at the Lions Club: "If they sue to stop this project, then I will sue them back, both in their official roles and as individuals."

http://www.al.com/opinion/independent/rmartin.ssf?/base/columnists/120164131149660.xml&coll=4

So he threatened to sue anyone "as individuals", meaning he's going to go after their personal assets, if they voice concern over the erection of another one of his phallic white elephants?

No one likes a bully, and developers don't have a right to sue NIMBY's in my city just for expressing their opinions. Wow, I had almost forgotten how repressive and morose life was in Montgomery.

If you all want to see a city properly manage it's growth and revitalization, pay a visit to Portland, OR this summer and I would be happy to introduce some revolutionary ideas that you could carry back to the heart of dixie.

Things like:
Mass transit!!
Grocery Stores!!
Bike Lanes!!
Sidewalk cafes!!
Independent Bookstores!!
Buildings over 22 floors!!
Wine bars!!
Live music more than once a year!!!
Ethiopian, Thai, Lebanese, Korean and Greek food!!
Shops that are open on Saturdays!!

all downtown....

Cheers

P.S. For a city of only 568,380, just more than twice the size of Montgomery (pop. 201,998), we currently have under construction in downtown (inside the 405 loop):
-A 6-floor affordable housing building
-A 6-floor rec center
-A 9 floor office building (Machineworks)
-A 9 floor condo tower with a Safeway on the ground floor
-A 15 floor condo (the Encore)
-3 16 floor condo towers (Lovejoy, 937, Cyan)
-A 16 floor Class-A office building (1st and Main)
-A 22 floor mixed use office tower (ZGF tower)
-A 23 floor apartment building with ground floor retail (Ladd Tower)
-A 30 floor residential condo (3720)
-A 33 floor mixed use tower (Park Avenue West, 515 feet to spire)

[Brown Duckz]

Originally Posted by philopdx

Please don't tell me that Montgomery, AL has really adopted a six story height limit for its downtown? You've got to be kidding, right?

It's not all of Downtown, it's one block in question & we are not even sure it's correct. Thanks for comparing Montgomery to a city twice it's size--really.

[philopdx]

Portland is no first tier city - my point is that a city half the size of Portland should have roughly half the activity. Being born and raised in Montgomery, I remember the prevailing attitude that mediocrity is absolutely acceptable.

I would hope that my hometown would aspire to something beyond the ordinary, but that day is evidently far off.

For a good example of a city reaching beyond itself, take a look at Louisville's Museum Plaza, currently under construction. It is, clearly, taller and more avant-garde than anything Portland currently has to offer. This is a city that had a population of 250,000 before their county merger, so it's roughly the size of Montgomery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville_Museum_Plaza

It shows that dreams and vision are not limited to blue states -- really!

[thoraudio]

Actually, Portland's MSA is about 2 million IIRC, and Montgomery's is less than 400,000. and the 6 story height limit is just for the historic district.

We're very happy that Portland is experiencing a boom, and welcome your constructive criticism.

[thoraudio]

Originally Posted by hiijakd

hey thor, i'm going to huntsville today do you want me to beat up neilsen for you?

awful violent for a preacher, aren't you?

And that would just give him the attention he so desperately craves.... so, nah.

[thoraudio]

Originally Posted by philopdx

Things like:
Mass transit!!

Our bus system has seen massive growth in the last few years, and now includes a free downtown Lunch Trolley for shuffling workers between work and food.

Grocery Stores!!

We have quite a few, I only have to hunt and gather every few weeks or so.

Bike Lanes!!

That's in between the double yellow lines, right?

Sidewalk cafes!!

Hiijackd has one in his buildings...

Independent Bookstores!!

There's one next to Hiijackd's buildings

Buildings over 22 floors!!

We have one...

Wine bars!!

How about ABC stores with bars on the windows? MD20/20 is a wine.

Live music more than once a year!!!

Off the Wagon, the Ampitheater, and The Center for Performing Arts all cherish their year when they have Montgomery's sole live music perform.

Ethiopian, Thai, Lebanese, Korean and Greek food!!

We actually have several very good Thai and Korean places around.

Shops that are open on Saturdays!!

You're right, Eastdale Mall, The Shoppes at Eastchase, and everything in between look so dead while closed on the weekends... oh.. they're not, nevermind.

[Brown Duckz]

^^ I think he meant all Downtown, but either way Montgomery soon enough will have everything he mentions. I still can't get over his comparison of the two cities that are vastly apart in metro population. I guess he just doesn't see 10 towers going up and deems it zero growth. What he failed to see is ALL of the things that are undergoing revitalization, rebuilding, & remodeling. Instead of everything being new, we are renewing old things which in my opinion is better for the city in the long run.

[montman]

Hello Montgomery Thread,
I have been reading the thread since it began and finally decided to get in the discussion. As a native and older Montgomery (59) I have been gratified to follow this thread and watch the development of our city. By the way, the guy from Portland needs to check Louisville news. I was there this week. Construction of the Museum Tower has stopped. Building materials have been removed from the site according to the local news. Financial difficulties because of the down market is being blamed.
Guys, I look forward to hearing about the new hotel. Also, I still think there is another announcement in the works.

[g-man435]

G-man in the house. Now where are those update pics?

[EXbubba]

The Portland fella should also not forget that the geography is totally different there as compared to MGM, not just the political climate, where liberals rule the day and have concentrated growth within the city limits without no further expansion allowed. He'll get his one day when Mt St Helen's wipes out that hippy paradise! MGM and Portland is not even close to a proper apples-to-apples comparison! They don't even have near the baggage of any town in the southeast.

[thoraudio]

welcome to the party montman. You can paypal your dues to me at....

[g-man435]

^^Where? I want to pay.

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by philopdx

Please don't tell me that Montgomery, AL has really adopted a six story height limit for its downtown? You've got to be kidding, right? Someone, please tell me that the master plan is some sad, pathetic joke?

...who-i-u??

[bystander1]

Welcome to the board, montman!

[Brown Duckz]

G-man you can't afford our wisdom.