Huntsville updates

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by 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

Browns Ferry doesn't have cooling towers...

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Alabadrock

Browns Ferry doesn't have cooling towers...

they do have a tall exhaust stack, which on a very clear day can be seen from Monte Sano
http://www.tva.gov/power/nuclear/brownsferry.htm

[HSVTiger]

This will rattle some feelings I'm sure. The Governor is a big proponent of
non-exportable jobs which these are. I wouldn't say any jobs are less important, some just carry more impact overall. It also depends on the region, those auto and steel jobs are extremely important to the people that get them. So a poor choice of words by the Senator, frustration with getting anything done is probably coming out.

By BOB LOWRY
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
AMCOM chief totalk about needsin infrastructure

MONTGOMERY - The commander of the Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal will address a joint session of the Alabama Legislature today, hoping to impress on lawmakers the pressing needs that Huntsville has because of BRAC.
"He's going to be providing BRAC background and giving them background about what's going on at Redstone Arsenal as a result of BRAC," she said.

Myles' address at 2:30 p.m. to lawmakers was arranged by Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, and Huntsville attorney Joe Ritch, who has been working with local civic leaders and chambers of commerce.

"We're asking for $2 million to intensify our recruiting effort," Ritch said Monday. "He (Griffith) has been really aggressive in getting the message out about North Alabama."

With both of Alabama's budgets in distress because of a downturn in the economy, Griffith acknowledged Monday it would be a tough sell to expect funds from the Legislature this year.

But he said it was important that lawmakers understand that BRAC is not accompanied by federal funds, but must be financed by state and local dollars.

Maj. Gen. James Myles is seeking help in recruiting thousands of high-tech workers and contractors to Huntsville as part of the federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission's actions.
Griffith said Huntsville has not received the same kinds of state incentives that Mobile got for German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG, Montgomery for automaker Hyundai and the Shoals area for a boxcar manufacturer.

Huntsville officials are also unhappy about progress on several vital highway projects in Madison County.


"Many House and Senate members are vaguely familiar with the (up to 10,000) jobs that are being created (through BRAC)," Griffith said. "We've had little financial support from the state."

Griffith said the creation of the jobs in Huntsville is more important to Alabama than "ThyssenKrupp, Hyundai and Toyota all rolled into one because these are high-paying jobs that cannot be exported. They are intelligence jobs, homeland security jobs and troop support that cannot be exported.

"We've heard a lot about ThyssenKrupp and the others, but this is a stealth announcement that didn't have the impact in Montgomery," he said.

Asked last summer to compare BRAC to the millions in incentives the state gave ThyssenKrupp, Gov. Bob Riley told The Times, "I'm not sure you want to go down that road."

Griffith said the jobs created in Huntsville will impact all of Alabama.

"It will have a ripple effect," he said. "We're planting seeds that will grow into great things, not just for North Alabama but for the rest of the state.

"North Alabama is becoming the economic engine for the entire state of Alabama."

Despite growth in the auto industry and its assorted suppliers in Alabama, Griffith predicted that the state's future will not be in that industry.

"Those sort of things can disappear. Look at what happened to Detroit," he said. "That's not going to happened to BRAC. What it means is research and development and jobs - developing jobs that cannot be farmed out. This will be intellectual equity that will built into our state."

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

they do have a tall exhaust stack, which on a very clear day can be seen from Monte Sano
http://www.tva.gov/power/nuclear/brownsferry.htm

Oh, that's not a stack. That's just a tower to signal that it's a nuclear plant from the air. Since the plant doesn't have cooling towers, they needed some way to let people know from the air that it was nuclear.

My dad has worked at Browns Ferry most of his life.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Alabadrock

Oh, that's not a stack. That's just a tower to signal that it's a nuclear plant from the air. Since the plant doesn't have cooling towers, they needed some way to let people know from the air that it was nuclear.

My dad has worked at Browns Ferry most of his life.

wow that is an interesting fact.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

This will rattle some feelings I'm sure. The Governor is a big proponent of
non-exportable jobs which these are. I wouldn't say any jobs are less important, some just carry more impact overall. It also depends on the region, those auto and steel jobs are extremely important to the people that get them. So a poor choice of words by the Senator, frustration with getting anything done is probably coming out.

Who can blame him? Why should North Alabama care about what the rest of the state thinks, especially south of Birmingham? It's not like they've ever had nice feelings for us.

"North Alabama is becoming the economic engine for the entire state of Alabama."

Despite growth in the auto industry and its assorted suppliers in Alabama, Griffith predicted that the state's future will not be in that industry.

"Those sort of things can disappear. Look at what happened to Detroit," he said. "That's not going to happened to BRAC. What it means is research and development and jobs - developing jobs that cannot be farmed out. This will be intellectual equity that will built into our state."

Truer words on the subject have never been spoken.

[HSVTiger]

Huntsville losing landmark sign, it had been hit by a car and had some damage.
I would hope the city would try and keep it, maybe it will be restored and sent back to be on display downtown.


Workers today are dismantling the single-arch McDonald's sign at the South Memorial Parkway McDonald's - one of only two single-arch signs still in use - and preparing to send it to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnatti, Ohio.

The ceremic sign, erected in 1963, can't be restored on site because of new building codes, and must be removed as part of the restaurant's renovation, said Steve Johnson, owner/operator of Johnson Partners, the McDonald's franchisee.

The restaurant is closed while undergoing renovations.

[OldCloverdale]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Huntsville losing landmark sign, it had been hit by a car and had some damage.
I would hope the city would try and keep it, maybe it will be restored and sent back to be on display downtown.


Workers today are dismantling the single-arch McDonald's sign at the South Memorial Parkway McDonald's - one of only two single-arch signs still in use - and preparing to send it to the American Sign Museum in Cincinnatti, Ohio.

The ceremic sign, erected in 1963, can't be restored on site because of new building codes, and must be removed as part of the restaurant's renovation, said Steve Johnson, owner/operator of Johnson Partners, the McDonald's franchisee.

The restaurant is closed while undergoing renovations.

that's pitiful -- keep the old sign!!!

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by OldCloverdale

that's pitiful -- keep the old sign!!!

I agree, but several things working against it, one corporate McDonalds are requiring the renovation, the building code, the damage to the sign and
the location next to exit ramps on the Parkway. At least it will be saved, just hope it will be returned when it is restored, but it will be on dispaly in Ohio if it isn't.

[| BRAVO |]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

"Those sort of things can disappear. Look at what happened to Detroit," he said. "That's not going to happened to BRAC. What it means is research and development and jobs - developing jobs that cannot be farmed out. This will be intellectual equity that will built into our state."

I'm confused. Are the BRAC jobs in Huntsville being created as a realignment of existing jobs from other parts of the country or new jobs?

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by hallman02

I'm confused. Are the BRAC jobs in Huntsville being created as a realignment of existing jobs from other parts of the country or new jobs?

both, around 4500 realignment jobs with questimates of up to 6000 spin off or support jobs. If the transferred jobs aren't filled by those moving with them then they are recruited as new jobs which is where they are asking for help.

[tdawg]

Look out Huntsville, here comes BRAK.



couldn't help myself.

[HSVTiger]

yikes

By ERIN MUSLAND
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
More than 180 spots for children will be added

Two additional child-care facilities that will provide more than 180 spaces for incoming children are being built on Redstone Arsenal and will be open by the end of this year to meet the needs of BRAC transfer families, said Andre Terry, Redstone's chief of child and youth services.

With more than 4,700 military jobs coming to Redstone by 2011, arsenal officials expect an influx of young families with children in need of child care, Terry said.


"We're anticipating large numbers," he said.

The two new facilities will sit adjacent on Mills Road. The largest will have availability for 126 children under age 5; the smaller facility will have 60 openings and will most likely be used for part-day preschool, Terry said.

Center nears completion

In addition, construction is near completion on Redstone's new center for school-age children going up on Goss Road near Redstone's current Child Development Center. The center will provide a new and larger facility for Redstone's before- and after-school programs that are designed for children ages 6 through 12.

On Mills Road, the 126-capacity building will be completed first and should be finished no later than June, Terry said. It will be the first child-care facility to be built "on the NASA side" of Redstone Arsenal, he said.

"This will be the first time the Army's ever put a (child-care) facility on that side," he said, adding that Redstone's child-care facilities are available to arsenal and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center employees. "We're able to serve not only soldiers, but anyone who has a gate pass."

Terry also said the child-care programs on Mills Road will open up 50 to 60 jobs, "everything from management to direct child care to cooks - the whole gamut."
Redstone's new child-care centers may become vital in the next several years, as available child-care openings are filling quickly at facilities both on and off the arsenal; some are operating at full capacity.

[HSVTiger]

By GINA HANNAH
Times Business Writer [email protected]
4,200 units are under construction or planned

It's difficult to say just how many people moving to the Huntsville area for base realignment jobs will rent first before buying a house. But, according to local real-estate experts, there will be plenty of apartments waiting for them.

Apartment communities are being constructed and old properties are being refurbished.


"There's a significant amount of new construction under way and a lot of it is in anticipation of BRAC," said David Wilson, president of The David Wilson Co. LLC, a commercial real-estate appraisal firm that tracks the apartment market in the Huntsville area. The firm conducts the bi-annual Apartment Market Survey.

Wilson said about 4,200 apartments are either under construction or planned. "We are at the point now where there is some concern whether or not we'll be overbuilt," he said.

[HSVTiger]

BioTech in Huntsville's future, some are saying the impact will be as big as the space program has been.

Huntsville Times
"While Huntsville is best known for enabling mankind's giant leap to the moon, the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology will facilitate its next leap into improving the human condition on Earth, said Ethan Hadley.

"One would be hard pressed to overstate the significance of HudsonAlpha to the economic diversification of Huntsville and the State of Alabama," said Hadley, vice president of economic development with the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County. "The institute further illuminates the existing high-tech industry concentration that we have here and underscores the fact that Huntsville, Ala., is capable of anything."

Gov. Bob Riley's vision for "non-exportable jobs" is certainly being fulfilled with HudsonAlpha. Hadley said the institute's scientists, research, companies and discoveries will serve as a magnet attracting more talent.

Calling it a collaborative venture, institute Vice President H. O'Neal Smitherman said the HudsonAlpha Institute is poised to play an important role as Huntsville and the institute step forward into new territory together.

"Huntsville is perfectly suited for spring boarding into the biotechnology juggernaut," Smitherman said. Its unique character, he noted - providing a high density of scientists and engineers, a collaborative supportive technology infrastructure, and a rich, welcoming business and political climate - makes it perfectly suited for expansion of its economy into biotechnology."

[HSVTiger]

By STEVE DOYLE
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Meridianville, Hazel Green areas see building boom

MERIDIANVILLE - Bright and sunny. That's Joe Murphy's long-range forecast for new home construction in Meridianville and neighboring Hazel Green. Murphy, whose MarketGraphics Inc. tracks the local housing market for banks and builders, said developers are flocking to the unincorporated suburbs north of Huntsville because of the good schools and affordable land.

"There's lots of available land at reasonable prices there," Murphy said in mid-March. "The terrain is also relatively flat, so it's easy to build upon. All the elements are there."
Developer Wayne Bonner and his business partner, Bland Warren, are also bullish on the area. They are teaming up with Enfinger Steele Development and a local family to build a huge neighborhood on Moores Mill Road in Meridianville. Enfinger Steele is the company behind subdivisions such as Heritage Plantation and Clift's Cove in Madison, and Mount Carmel by the River off Winchester Road.

With more than 1,000 high-end homes spread across 480 acres, Moores Mill Communities could become the biggest unincorporated subdivision in North Alabama. It will be directly across the street from Lynn Fanning Elementary School.

Easy access to school

"The kids can walk to Lynn Fanning," Bonner said in mid-March. "That's the single biggest reason we considered the property."

Bonner said Moores Mill Communities will be "somewhat based" on Edgewater, the swanky Zierdt Road subdivision that he developed in the mid-1980s. Planned amenities include a large clubhouse with junior Olympic-sized pool, lakes, playgrounds and soccer fields.

Homes there will sell for about $200,000 to $600,000, Bonner said, with groundbreaking scheduled for about a year from now.

Farther along is Bermuda Lakes, another Bonner-Warren neighborhood on Moores Mill Road. Bonner said he sold all 72 lots in the first phase to Slidell, La.-based Southern Homes. Houses there will start at around $175,000, he said.
HSV Times

[HSVTiger]

If ALDOT would stick to a schedule that would make a huge difference
Other projects that I guess are not in the 4 year window, interchange at I-565 and County Line, work is scheduled to begin on the Southern Bypass but this has been scheduled for some time, possible interchange at I-565/Zierdt Rd, Governors Dr expansion which the city is helping tp pay for, widening of Winchester Rd.
Desperately needed.. widening of University Dr to Athens, widening of North Memorial Parkway to the Tennessee state line, well we can wish for it anyway.

By KEITH CLINES
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Projects in thenext four yearsat $279 million

Local officials understand the importance of getting more and wider roads built in the next few years to handle the growing volume of traffic and think they are making progress toward a more efficient road system.

At the request of the city, the Alabama Department of Transportation in the past six months has added several projects in Madison County to its transportation improvement plan, said Steve Dinges, an assistant director in the Huntsville Planning Department.

Those additional projects are estimated to cost $111 million and bring the total of all projects that the state plans to spend federal highway money on in the county in the next four years to $279 million, Dinges said.

"The state is making an effort to address our concerns," Dinges said. "That's progress."

Some of the major projects that the state plans for construction in the next four years include the Memorial Parkway overpasses at Whitesburg Drive and Weatherly Road and at Sparkman and Max Luther drives; further widening of Alabama 53 toward Ardmore; and overpasses on U.S. 72 at Moores Mill and Shields roads.

$2B is needed

"We're trying to get the major arterials improved," Dinges said.

A study released last year about the local economic and transportation effects of the military job transfers here found that road improvements costing up to $2 billion will be needed to meet increasing traffic demands.

[HSVTiger]

City of Madison hopes to build second high school, extremely expensive to build a school. This would ease crowding at Bob Jones High School which has around 2000 students.
By WENDY REEVES
Times Staff Writer [email protected]
Fowler says 'new source of revenue' needed to build it

MADISON - Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dee Fowler says it's going to take $65 million to build the city's second high school and the system doesn't have it to spend.

Fowler said he and school board President Sue Helms have been meeting with construction experts to get a realistic estimate of what it will take to build a high school for 2,000 students.

"Obviously, we do not have that amount of money nor the amount needed to amortize that amount over 20 or 30 years," Fowler said. "To make the new high school a reality, we must identify a new source of revenue" that could be dedicated to the construction of a new high school.

Residents will have an opportunity to vote for a half-cent countywide sales tax June 3 that would give the Madison system about $3.5 million each year.

If it's approved, Fowler said it would be enough to borrow the money for the new high school

[HSVTiger]

More annexations coming in Limestone County by Huntsville(Madison County).

Most of this is vacant farmland but strategically important for future development along I-65, planned Memphis,Huntsville, Atlanta expressway, the under construction I-65/Tanner interchange and the TVA megasite which is ideal for an automotive plant. This land is adjacent to land previously annexed by the city.

More possible annexation of Limestone County land will be a topic of discussion at Tuesday night's city council meeting in Huntsville.

The City Council agenda shows annexation of the area south of Huntsville-Browns Ferry Road, east of I-65, and west of Dogwood Flats.

That would bring the total of Limestone County land annexed by Huntsville to 36 square miles.
WAFF television

[mlog]

Originally Posted by OldCloverdale

that's pitiful -- keep the old sign!!!

We seem to have our priorities out of whack. Preservationists and the Council don't want us to construct buildings higher than 10 stories, but they don't want to keep a historic McDonald's sign. What's more historic than McDonald's?