Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

The approximate 56,000 sq ft Kroger on Moores Mill Rd is set for extensive interior renovation. It's a nice store and in an excellent location but they are no doubt feeling the effects of Publix.

[HSVTiger]

The new restaurants are now open at Huntsville International airport.

Huntsville International is the first airport to have a retail Gevalia coffee location, with gourmet coffee and specialty tea, and will be the first airport with a McAllister's Deli. The concessions area will also have pizza and Breyer's ice cream. Next to concessions will be an upscale, full-service bar with grab-and-go food and beverages.

The concessions are managed by Memphis-based Air Host Inc.

McAllisters is similar to Jason's Deli and has two other HSV locations.

[HSVTiger]

New Lee High School items

By STEVE CAMPBELL
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Deal clears way for land purchase at Meridian Street

The Huntsville school board Thursday reached an agreement with a railroad company that gives the board clearance to build a walkway over railroad tracks for the new Lee High School.

The agreement means Norfolk Southern now allows the school system access to the railroad, which bisects the proposed campus along Meridian Street and Quietdale Drive.

In August, the board set aside $1.2 million for 17 additional acres for the school. Board attorney J.R. Brooks said construction of the overpass is needed to authorize the purchase.

"This is a big milestone toward the purchase," Brooks said of the agreement.

Herbert Wheeler, finance director for the system, said in a previous interview that a pedestrian bridge would stand at least 23 feet above the tracks and cost about $1.5 million.

Board President Doug Martinson, whose district includes Lee High, said the system is working with architects to have heating and air-conditioning in the walkway.

Martinson said the system also is seeking a federal grant that would help pay for added insulation in the school to help abate noise from passing trains. A spokeswoman for Norfolk Southern told The Times last May that about 25 trains pass on the tracks at the proposed campus each day.

The combined tracts of land would expand the current Lee High campus to more than 51 acres, making it the second-largest high school campus in Huntsville after Columbia High in Cummings Research Park.

The system plans to tear down the current school when the new one is built next door. The gym and sports fields will be saved. School leaders have said the new school may be ready by fall 2010.

[HSVTiger]

SCI Quest to remain at it's present location for now

By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Cyndy Morgansays center hasstrategic plan

The new head of the Sci-Quest Hands-on Science Center says the center will remain at its current location, at least for now.

"We're about to embark on a long-term strategic plan and that will be addressed then," said Cyndy Morgan, Sci-Quest executive director.

The museum got a major boost in 2005 when retiring U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, nabbed a $2 million federal grant to relocate. The money was intended to steer Sci-Quest downtown as part of city efforts to revitalize the center city. Several sites were considered but never acted on, including the old Councill School site near Huntsville Hospital, the old Hale Brothers Furniture building and empty space in the Huntsville Utilities building in Big Spring International Park.

Mauldin said the center secured permission to use Cramer's grant to refurbish its present site and acquire new exhibits. Mauldin said Sci-Quest has an excellent relationship with its landlord, Calhoun Community College, and intends to stay at its building on Wynn Drive. The 42,000-square-foot building rents for $1 a year and has ample parking and exhibit space.

The museum has a $1.2 million annual budget and saw about 90,000 visitors last year, Mauldin said.

[HSVTiger]

By MARIAN ACCARDITimes Staff Writer
Office park expansion,

A California firm plans five, 40,000-square-foot office/flex buildings in Madison Research Park West, an expansion of its six-building office park on Madison and Research boulevards.

Scott Dew, president of Los Angeles-based RPD Catalyst, says constructing "green" building shells with no interior improvements at the site will cost about $6.5 million, 15 percent more than standard construction methods
Meeting the requirements to be certified at the Silver level of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system- a point-based standard developed by the U.S. Green Building Council - will create energy savings of 20 percent by reducing electricity and water use.

The project will incorporate efficient insulation and insulating building materials, roof materials that reflect heat from the sun, drought-tolerant landscaping and low-flow toilets.

The buildings will even be positioned so the windows are not exposed to the midday sun. Mature trees will be saved to create shade.

The structures will be the first multi-tenant office buildings in the area with the Silver-level LEED certification, Dew said.

"We think (the project) will be very well-received," he said. He said he believes that companies find it easier in a competitive market to hire employees - especially young people - when they can boast a "green" office building.

"Green" construction and renovation are just beginning to take hold in the local commercial real estate market.

[HSVTiger]

By MARIAN ACCARDITimes Business Writer [email protected]
Strategy must beflexible becauseindustry changing

The pursuit of new and expanded air service is a continuous marketing effort at Huntsville International Airport.

And, even though the airport was able to lure a low-cost carrier - Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air - that didn't stop efforts to try to bring in another low-fare airline or to convince airlines here to add flights, rework schedules and improve equipment to make this airport more competitive.


"We have ongoing conversations with airlines; we make air service calls throughout the year," said Barbie Peek, the airport's marketing director. "Our ultimate goal is to get people off the road (driving to Birmingham and Nashville airports) and back into our airport. You have to continue to persevere and try to be innovative."

The airport's air service development program provides incentives not only for new or present carriers that provide low fares, but also to carriers that add new destinations and for new airlines that enter the market. Incentives include waiving certain fees and providing assistance with advertising costs.

The airport's strategy must be flexible, though, said Peek, because the industry itself is changing.

[HSVTiger]

more airport news
By MARIAN ACCARDITimes Business Writer [email protected]
Facility will be able to handle 2 million passengers

Huntsville International Airport is in the midst of an ambitious $65 million terminal improvement plan, which includes upgrading the food and beverage areas and expanding the baggage claim and public waiting areas.

Even though expansion plans were approved by the Huntsville/Madison County Airport Authority in 2004 - the year before the Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision to move several commands to Redstone Arsenal - the project should help out with the expected influx of new residents.

"We're expanding the facility to meet a normal 20-year growth pattern," yet still have the ability to expand for sudden growth if needed, said Rick Tucker, the airport's executive director.

"Once the expansion is complete, we could easily handle 2 million passengers."

The airport could actually handle more passengers, Tucker said, though they might feel a bit cramped at peak times.

The Huntsville airport in 2007 served 1.24 million passengers, according to airport figures.

Growth in passengers

Tucker said airport executives have been working with Redstone Arsenal officials to try to get a handle on what impact the BRAC moves will have on passenger travel here.

"I think everybody believes that there will be growth in the Washington market," said Tucker. "We're already seeing some of that now."
If traffic doubled at the airport, Tucker said, another major airport project would be necessary - shifting ticketing to the west of the main entrance. "Unless we get close to doubling traffic, we won't need to do that, though," said Tucker.

The expansion project includes:

Two new wings that will feature 30-foot-high windows for a view of the airfield, adding 14,000 square feet to the terminal. That project will result in 20,000 square feet of public waiting space.

An expanded concession area that will feature new retail and food and beverage operations.

A parking deck expansion, to the east of the existing deck, that will add more than 1,300 spaces, bringing the number of deck spaces to more than 2,900.

A baggage claim expansion and new flight information displays.

Huntsville International Airport had its busiest year on record in 2005 - with more than 1.26 million passengers. Traffic numbers dropped off after that year, said Tucker, and "now we're starting to grow again.

"We'll set another record in 2008 if we continue to grow."

[HSVTiger]

Some news on the downtown mixed use center Constellation,

By PAT NEWCOMBTimes Staff Writer [email protected]
Spring Hill Suites to be built first on old mall site

Positioned at Memorial Parkway and Clinton Avenue, the Constellation hotel and entertainment complex will be one of the most visible developments in Huntsville.

The demolition is complete and Spring Hill Suites, one of two hotels, will come first on the site that will house office space, restaurants and bars, retail shops and condominiums, if all goes according to developer Scott McLain's plans.


As new and old residents of Huntsville zip off Interstate-565 onto South Memorial Parkway, McLain said he hopes they'll look at Constellation and say "that looks fun, let's go over there. It will have interesting architecture and lighting and signage and then the all-important tenant mix."

Constellation will be "less a shopping venue ... than an urban entertainment mixed-use project," McLain said.

Mall since 1961

Huntsville has changed a lot since the Heart of Huntsville Mall opened on the Constellation site in 1961. The mall was renamed Market Square Mall, but by the time the bulldozers arrived to shove it down, the buildings had become dilapidated.

The site has been the subject of several proposals, including as a possible place to expand the Von Braun Center in the 1990s. Two members of the singing group, the Backstreet Boys, were interested in building a hotel complex there as well.

McLain is leading the development and expects to close on a second hotel deal soon with Courtyard by Marriott. Both Constellation hotels will have 130 rooms each and be six stories tall.

"The way I figure it will be 915 rooms within walking distance of VBC when those two hotels are done," McLain said.
More hotel rooms downtown will help the VBC host larger conventions, and the development is part of a downtown push to the west of the courthouse square. Huntsville has focused on attracting young professionals, and McLain hopes those workers will consider one of the 80 to 100 condominiums at Constellation.

The condominiums are still in the design phase, but McLain said they'll cost less than $300,000 each.

"You need to be between $200,000 to $300,000 to approach affordability for young professionals," he said.

Before McLain can market the development to restaurants, the local, state and federal governments need to make decisions about how to access the development.

"We need a curb cut from Memorial Parkway into the property," McLain said.

He's hoping to get some high-end restaurants "that are at least new to Huntsville and hopefully new to Alabama," he said, though he declined to name specific restaurants.

"I will hope in the entire project we will have as many as a dozen restaurants and bars and entertainment venues," McLain said. "Our city is screaming for such activity, and Constellation is an excellent central location" for it to happen.

[HSVTiger]

Restaurants booming, need workers

By GINA HANNAHTimes Business Writer [email protected]
But experts say market is not yet saturated

Anytime a community grows, service businesses grow with it, and that includes restaurants.

Last year saw what may be an unprecedented number of restaurants, and the list reads like the menu in many big cities: PF Chang's, Ruth's Chris, Red Robin, Dolce, Jason's Deli, Panera and more opening their doors in the Rocket City.


According to local restaurant industry experts, the market is not yet saturated.

"You have a hard time in Huntsville, when you go to one of the bigger chains, getting into the restaurant and getting a table," said Bill Scott, president of the Huntsville/Madison County Hospitality Association and general manager of the Four Points by Sheraton at the Port of Huntsville. Scott said he tried to get a table for dinner on Valentine's Day at Connors Steak & Seafood, and the first available spot was at around 10 p.m.

"You go to Rosie's (Cantina) on University Drive on a Friday or Saturday night and there's a long line," he said. "I'm sure that a lot of what's coming into town has to do with BRAC, and normal growth in Huntsville, too."

BRAC a selling point

Expected growth from the Pentagon job transfers "was certainly a selling point when we were talking to certain restaurateurs," said Rachel Forman, spokeswoman for O&S Holdings, the developer of Bridge Street Towne Center, a $220 million, 2 million square-foot mixed-use development in Cummings Research Park, at the corner of Research Park Boulevard and Old Madison Pike. More restaurants, as well as food court tenants, are expected to open this summer, Forman said. Ketchup, an American-style eatery owned by Las Angeles-based Dolce, was expected to open in mid-April.

The $1.3 billion Sweetwater mixed-use development at Interstate 65 and Alabama 20, which will be anchored by Bass Pro Shops, is expected to feature several restaurants. In addition, local officials expect Sweetwater to stimulate retail and restaurant growth along Interstate 565 in west Huntsville.

Jobs going unfilled

There's been one perhaps unintended consequence of all this restaurant growth, Scott said: A lot of industry jobs are going unfilled. Scott said he's lost several employees to hotels that have recently opened around town.

"It's very hard to get good people and keep people," he said. "Particularly with the high end restaurants, Huntsville's just having a hard time keeping up with that growth."

Scott said the hospitality association is working with J.F. Drake State Technical College to provide job training in the culinary arts. In addition, Scott said he's working with Bob Jones High School in Madison to get prospective restaurant employees in the pipeline.

"I just think the growth is going to stay there and the need for good quality people to staff them is going to continue."

[HSVTiger]

Doesn't hurt to be on these lists..

By BRIAN LAWSONTimes Business Writer [email protected]
Huntsville takesfull advantage ofnational rankings

If there is a list out there ranking cities for quality of life, income and education levels, or the best fit for engineers and tech workers, it is safe to assume Huntsville is on it.

The Rocket City could also be fairly described as "The List City" appearing regularly in publications from Forbes to Fortune to ComputerWorld.

It is not an accident.

The community has much to promote - high income and education levels, low unemployment, a very busy technology sector - so the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce hired a New York-based public relations firm in the late 1990s. Development Counselors International is getting good news about its clients in key publications, said Ethan Hadley, vice president of economic development.

"When you have that concentration of recognition we've had, particularly in the last several years, it really causes people to see Huntsville in its proper light," Hadley said.

Hadley said they have also developed relationships with people at a lot of those key publications, especially those focused on economic development, to help them get what they need for their surveys and reports.

The current rankings

Among the current rankings, Huntsville was ranked first in the City of the Future contest, by Foreign Direct Investment magazine:

No. 1 in the number of architectural and other engineers per 1,000 people for any U.S. city, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
No. 18 in Popular Science's March 2008 list of America's Greenest Cities;

No. 2 metro area for scientists and engineers by Expansion Management magazine;

No. 4 in Forbes' fastest growing small and large metro areas, and regularly in the top 15 in Forbes' best places for businesses and careers;


No. 5 in ComputerWorld magazine's ranking of techiest metro areas, with 9,390 total information technology workers, or more than 5 percent of the work force.

The list goes on and on. For a further breakdown, visit the chamber's Web site at www.huntsvillealabamausa.com/news/nat_recog.html.

Huntsville is expected to add 4,700 military jobs to the local roster by 2011 and with those additional military commands moving here, contractor and related support jobs will follow.

Figures will increase

Madison County is 53rd in the U.S. in percentage of the population with at least a bachelor's degree, 61st in the U.S. in percentage of the population who have completed an advanced degree and 112th in median household income at $48,438, according to 2004 U.S. Census Bureau figures. Those figures are expected to increase on all counts with the employees who relocate here for BRAC-related jobs, whether from Virginia or recruited from other parts of the country.

That recruitment process is bolstered tremendously by Huntsville's parlaying its top rankings, said Steve Sewell, director of marketing for the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.

"I don't think those rankings alone have a lot of impact if the local community doesn't package that information," Sewell said. "Huntsville does that as well as anybody in the country, very aggressively promoting its business climate and capturing that information and using it very effectively.

"If you use that, in a deliberate campaign, with a strategic plan as Huntsville does, it can have great impact."

Hadley said the chamber's Web site, in particular the pages describing the community's rankings in various publications are getting hits from 30,000 unique computers a month.

"We send out electronic marketing newsletters, with updates like a new corporate campus being built in Cummings Research Park," Hadley said. "And with all these things - the rankings - when they happen we seize them immediately and get them out as far as we can.

"We can't overstate those messages or get them out there often enough."

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Some news on the downtown mixed use center Constellation,

By PAT NEWCOMBTimes Staff Writer [email protected]
Spring Hill Suites to be built first on old mall site

Positioned at Memorial Parkway and Clinton Avenue, the Constellation hotel and entertainment complex will be one of the most visible developments in Huntsville.

The demolition is complete and Spring Hill Suites, one of two hotels, will come first on the site that will house office space, restaurants and bars, retail shops and condominiums, if all goes according to developer Scott McLain's plans.


As new and old residents of Huntsville zip off Interstate-565 onto South Memorial Parkway, McLain said he hopes they'll look at Constellation and say "that looks fun, let's go over there. It will have interesting architecture and lighting and signage and then the all-important tenant mix."

Constellation will be "less a shopping venue ... than an urban entertainment mixed-use project," McLain said.


"We need a curb cut from Memorial Parkway into the property," McLain said.

He's hoping to get some high-end restaurants "that are at least new to Huntsville and hopefully new to Alabama," he said, though he declined to name specific restaurants.

"I will hope in the entire project we will have as many as a dozen restaurants and bars and entertainment venues," McLain said. "Our city is screaming for such activity, and Constellation is an excellent central location" for it to happen.

not sure what this means

The development is based on similar projects in Florida, McLain said. The blighted Boca Raton Mall was replaced in the early 1990s with Mizner Park, a 28.7 acre mixed-use project that includes homes, a park, shops, restaurants, office space, a movie theater and a museum.

That project has been touted by the Environmental Protection Agency as an "outstanding success" and was highlighted as an example of smart growth.

It took years for the project to launch, though, and McLain said he expects a delay in Huntsville, too.

"It's a slow process because people have to get comfortable with the project," he said. "Lots of stars are going to have to align for Constellation to happen."

[HSVTiger]

Some interesting and curious statements in regard to the proposed height limit,
(which I think will not be accepted, expect some changes)
Sad that it was the 1920's the last time any building taller than a tree was built, or so it seems.

By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Ten floors, 16 floors or unlimited?

Those are the heights the Huntsville City Council will consider next month as it debates whether to impose ceilings on buildings downtown.

Developers of two of the tallest downtown buildings, the 12-story Times Building and 12-story Russel Erskine - both built in the late 1920s - competed to see which would be the tallest back when downtown was booming.

Now, Huntsville leaders are proposing height limits to protect those first skyscrapers and other historic buildings.

A divided City Planning Commission approved a controversial zoning amendment last month with a 10-story, 150-foot cap on downtown buildings. The measure set staggered height maximums (two floors and 35 feet, three floors and 45 feet, and six floors and 90 feet, depending on proximity and zoning) where the buildings abut or are across the street from downtown neighborhoods and historic districts.

The City Council, which has the final say on zoning changes, introduced two more options last week for consideration: a 16-floor maximum and no height limits. (The city council knows something, otherwise they wouldn't have brought this up don't ya think?)

A public hearing has been set for the May 22 City Council meeting in the municipal building.

Councilman Mark Russell wants no restrictions so long as buffers are established to protect neighborhoods and historic buildings.
(I think he has the right idea)

"I see no reason to limit downtown business districts to 10 stories," he said. "We already have some buildings higher than that. In some ways, it's taking away peoples' property rights."

Height limits might discourage downtown development because of the high cost of land and the need for parking garages within the development.
"We want to encourage more activity downtown, so we have to have more people working downtown," he said.

Councilwoman Sandra Moon believes a 16-story limit would be a compromise. A building cap, she said, could cause investors such as state retirement system chief David Bronner to bypass Huntsville and build elsewhere. (sounds like something is in the planning stage)

City planners stirred controversy two years ago when setting the 10-story cap for downtown buildings with lower allowances for property adjoining neighborhoods.



The 10-story, 150-foot limit was recommended in a 1989 downtown master plan but never adopted until 2006. Planners said the downtown master plan initially recommended a six-story limit in the downtown core and a 10-story cap in the perimeter.(Idiots)

Donna Castellano, chairman of the Historic Huntsville Foundation, believes a 10-story limit isn't too much to ask in the historic downtown area.
(No one disagrees really with that)

"If there was a graduation where you could have 10 stories within the 19th-century urban core and more as you go out, there could be more flexibility," she said. Castellano wants even tighter height limits to protect buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.

Downtown developer Randy Schrimsher said Friday he's encouraged by the council's apparent willingness to reconsider the 10-story limit.

Schrimsher, echoing developer Scott McLain's gripe when city planners voted to recommend the 10-story, 150-foot limit, said, " 'The Sky's The Limit' " slogan of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce must not apply to city leaders. Schrimsher believes buffers for residential areas and unrestricted areas can co-exist.

"It needs to be unlimited," he said. "Let the market decide. Let the people that can dream try to make it happen."
agreed
No such limits apply to areas outside Huntsville's traditional downtown, including industrially zoned areas, the Medical District and areas along most stretches of Memorial Parkway.

[HSVTiger]

Cranes at Huntsville International Airport, parking deck construction



Parker photos

[HSVTiger]

Huntsville pilgrimage coming up, tour six homes in three historic districts,
always a very popular event.

http://www.huntsvillepilgrimage.org/hometour.html

[HSVTiger]

Huntsville's downtown arts festival is this weekend..Panoply

Consistently voted one of the Top Twenty Regional Events by the Southeastern Tourism Society, 2007 saw another feather added to its cap when Gov. Bob Riley announced the outdoor phenomenon as one of the state’s Top Ten Tourism Events for the year!

http://www.panoply.org/

[HSV79]

Very interesting that the article on downtown building heights goes on to mention exactly how tall some buildings are. The former Amsouth tower now Regions tower is actually 188 ft 6 inches, the 12 story Erskine building is 141ft 3 inches from Spragins st. but 131ft 9 inches from Clinton st. There are others mentioned but the downtown skyline also includes the bell tower for that church off Governors drive which stands 229ft tall. I agree with you Tiger something is in the works and I can't wait to see what it is.

[HSVTiger]

Westin Huntsville at Bridge Street now open
photos by Jean Brandau

[| BRAVO |]

Good looking pics. Next time I'm in Huntsville I'm checking out Bridge Street.

[HSVTiger]

over 80,000 residents,

part of the Pilgrimage tour, it's a fascinating place and beautiful in spring
when the hundreds of dogwoods are in bloom.

http://www.huntsvillepilgrimage.org/

Maple Hill Cemetary seeks historic designation

By STEVE DOYLE
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Pilgrimage Associationto seek landmark cemetery's addition to national register

Maple Hill Cemetery, the eternal home of governors, artists, war heroes and 80,000 others who shaped Huntsville, has a date with history.

Later this year, the Huntsville Pilgrimage Association plans to ask the U.S. Department of the Interior to add Maple Hill to the National Register of Historic Places, where it would join Arlington National Cemetery and other hallowed American burial grounds.

"This is our history," association member Perky Taylor said Thursday while strolling through the city-owned cemetery. "It's a record of who we were, who we have become."

Founded in 1818, Maple Hill is among the oldest continually operating cemeteries in the United States, said the Rev. Dr. Charles Gattis, another association member. The civic group organizes the popular Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll and a related historic homes tour each May, and has raised $164,000 since 1985 to clean and repair aging tombstones.

Gattis said a friend who works for the Alabama Historical Commission told him Maple Hill should be a "shoo-in" for the historic register. A number of local landmarks are already listed, including much of the Courthouse Square, Alabama A&M University and the "Big Spring" where the city was founded by John Hunt in 1805.

If Maple Hill makes the register, Taylor's group could apply for federal grants to preserve the graves rather than relying entirely on private donations, she said.

Gattis said it's not just the cemetery's age (186 years and counting) that's so impressive. It also marks the spot where Thomas Freeman established the "Huntsville Meridian" survey line used to determine the boundaries for Alabama and the rest of the Southeast. Freeman died here in 1821 and is buried in Maple Hill.
Maple Hill is also one of the few cemeteries where both Confederate and Yankee dead are laid to rest, Taylor said. The reason: Some Union soldiers who occupied Huntsville from 1862-65 fell in love with local girls and settled here after the Civil War, she said

[HSVTiger]

A list of some of the tallest structures in the area, pretty sad since most residents weren't around when these were built

The Regions Bank building (formerly AmSouth) is Huntsville's tallest downtown building at 188 feet, 6 inches from the ground level to the tip. It has 10 floors plus the penthouse with its triangular shape.

Here are the heights of other downtown buildings and Huntsville landmarks:

The 12-story Russel Erskine, 141 feet, 3 inches from the Spragins Street level or 131 feet from the main entrance off Clinton Avenue.

The eight-floor City Hall, 136 feet, 9 inches measured from its base in Big Spring International Park or 121 feet, 9 inches above the main entrance.

The 10-floor Madison County Courthouse, 130 feet.

The tallest structure in the area is the dynamic test stand at Marshall Space Flight Center, which rises 430 feet, counting the crane, or 360 feet for the structure alone; The Saturn V replica at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center is next at 363 feet. The new flight-control tower at Huntsville International Airport is 219 feet.
The new Westin is around 160'

Monte Sano peaks at 1,630 feet above sea level, which is nearly 1,000 feet above Huntsville's mean sea level of 641 feet.
On a very clear day on Monte Sano you can see the exhaust stack at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant probably 25 miles away