Huntsville updates

[jmanhsv]

Originally Posted by HSV79

I'm sure this has to be for the same development.....On bidclerk they show that a development was was brought forth on April 24 and it mentions that it will include a 300 room hotel...

Looking at the Bidclerk entry, I think that's something different, probably Constellation:

"Est. Start Date: Third Quarter 2008

Site work and new construction of a mixed-use development in Alabama. Design plans call for the construction of a 415,000-square-foot commercial development to include retail space, office space, a 300-room hotel rooms condominiums."

The two proposed hotels at Constellation have a combined 300 rooms, it mentions condos, and 415,000 sq. ft sounds too small for the Madison project. It would have also said Madison, not Huntsville.

I don't think the Madison project will affect Constellation (different target demographic), and certainly not Harris Hills (thirty minutes away on the other side of town)

Something I'd like to point out- The Huntsville Times article on the Madison project quoted a Alex Hardy. There was also an Alex Hardy involved with Bridge Street. Coincidence?

[bodagetta]

I believe Alex Hardy was also involved with CRP Planning and the HSV Chamber of Commerce

[luvinhsv]

As an avid golfer, it amazes me that there aren't more golf courses in this area. I moved to HSV 3 years ago from a town of 60,000 in central Minnesota and there were about 35, mostly decent, playable golf courses within a 50 mile radius - and you can only play about 1/2 the year!!

Does anyone know of any golf course development proposals in the area? I am amazed that no developer ever put in a golf course neighborhood in Madison - something like a Canebrake in Athens. Outside the private courses and Hampton Cove - which will undergo a major reconstruction this summer, there isn't much to choose from without driving at least an hour.

[luvinhsv]

Also, I am bit concerned that Huntsville/North Alabama is getting a little too aggressive with all this development. While I am all for getting new restaurants, retailers, hotels, etc... it makes me a little nervous to see so many MAJOR developments being proposed in the area. I understand all about the projected growth in the area and that Huntsville's economy is not consistent with the rest of the nation; however, it takes customers to generate sales.

I was recently at Bridge Street -open 6 months now - on a beautiful mid-week afternoon and it was a ghost town - I saw less than 50 people. Can retailers like Juicy Couture (a t-shirt for $88???) and Kate Spade survive? Can a restaurant that charges $20+ for a sloppy-joe and fries and fancy "Ketchup" make it in Huntsville? Believe me, I hope they make it, but I have my doubts.

I will say that the Monaco theater is spectacular!!!

[-=skywalker=-]

Originally Posted by luvinhsv

As an avid golfer, it amazes me that there aren't more golf courses in this area. I moved to HSV 3 years ago from a town of 60,000 in central Minnesota and there were about 35, mostly decent, playable golf courses within a 50 mile radius - and you can only play about 1/2 the year!!

Does anyone know of any golf course development proposals in the area? I am amazed that no developer ever put in a golf course neighborhood in Madison - something like a Canebrake in Athens. Outside the private courses and Hampton Cove - which will undergo a major reconstruction this summer, there isn't much to choose from without driving at least an hour.

Hey man, you should come golfing with me...there is easily about 35 courses within a 50 mile radius of huntsville...pm or email me for more info, i can recommend a lot of nice course locally

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by luvinhsv

Also, I am bit concerned that Huntsville/North Alabama is getting a little too aggressive with all this development. While I am all for getting new restaurants, retailers, hotels, etc... it makes me a little nervous to see so many MAJOR developments being proposed in the area. I understand all about the projected growth in the area and that Huntsville's economy is not consistent with the rest of the nation; however, it takes customers to generate sales.

I was recently at Bridge Street -open 6 months now - on a beautiful mid-week afternoon and it was a ghost town - I saw less than 50 people. Can retailers like Juicy Couture (a t-shirt for $88???) and Kate Spade survive? Can a restaurant that charges $20+ for a sloppy-joe and fries and fancy "Ketchup" make it in Huntsville? Believe me, I hope they make it, but I have my doubts.

I will say that the Monaco theater is spectacular!!!

I worry about that too. I think most of the stuff at BridgeStreet will do fine but some of the places like Dolce, Kate Spade, and Juicy Couture are really high. I have recently been to Ketchup, and Dolce and surprisingly they both were no where near full especially Dolce because Ketchup's prices are a little bit more reasonable. And ketchup just opened, I just came back from BridgeStreet tonight and all the restaurants had really long waits except for Ketchup and Dolce. Dolce and Ketchup are nice but I'm not willing to go there on a regular basis because the food is so high and you get very little. Ketchup I'm a little more willing but Dolce I'll only be there when I'm proposing to somebody lol. Then again as much as they charge at Dolce and Ketchup (--I got crackers for 17 dollars at Dolce and mini tacos smaller than my finger no lie for $10) maybe they are still making enough to stay in business. Dolce looked so empty tonight, as I walked by, the outside hostess seemed desperate to try to get people to come in. They were advertising a chance for you to get 15% off on a weekday. However, the rest of the dining places like PF Changs, Cantina Laredo, Red Robin, Oconnors and maybe even the Scene Lounge at the Monaco,are pretty reasonable so they seem like they are doing extremely well.

As for Kate Spade, are there that any fashionable women in a place like Huntsville an engineering town that are into high end fashionable stuff like Kate Spade? And what about all jewelry stores, I have been to BridgeStreet probably at least a dozen times and I have yet to see anybody in one of them. Again I think most of the stuff in BridgeStreet is fine, but some stuff seems like it doesn't fit the market, people may make a lot of money here but I'm not sure they are the sophisticated fashion type people u see in more larger cosmopolitan cities. I hope it does well because if it doesn't Huntsville will be known for not being able to support high end retail despite its residents impressive salaries. On the weekends though lately it has been pretty busy thanks to most of the restaurants being open, I see tons of people, I'm not sure they are buying anything besides food and movies but they are out there. These concerns will be less relevant once the BRAC people start coming but remember most of the BRAC jobs don't transfer until 2009.

[luvinhsv]

I ate lunch at the Scene lounge the other day as everything else at BridgeStreet had a huge wait, and there was nobody there. Our food was fantastic. They should market to more businesses in the area because I imagine most people don't know they have a full lunch menu and going to a movie theater for lunch wouldn't exactly be top of mind. Great food though.

As for playable golf courses this city only has about 5 that I know of: Hampton Cove, Sunset Landing, HSV Municipal (Becky Pierce), Monrovia -which I think is closed - also Fox Run and Colonial. That is pretty pathetic for a city near 200,000 residents. Admittedly, I am a bit of a golf snob so I don't really enjoy playing muni tracks that don't offer much challenge or get a lot of play. I have been told that the airport course and Becky Pierce aren't bad - you get what you pay for. Therefore I haven't played anything in the area but Hampton Cove which is good not great but a nice value with the trail card. I have been able to get on the Ledges which is awesome, but it isn't like I have an open invite. Otherwise, the other courses are all private or privileged (Redstone - I'm not military). I have seen Goose Pond, Cherokee Ridge, Point Mallard, Gunter's Landing etc... and will plan to try those soon. Still they are a bit of a drive.

I have been to Limestone Springs and the Shoals - both very good, but again, you are driving at least 1 1/2 hours to get there.

I guess my point is that it just surprises me that an area of nearly 1/2 million people has so few (relatively speaking) courses to offer in a climate that supports year-round golf. I am definitely open to suggestions. Thanks!

[| BRAVO |]

Most of these national retailers perform so many studies to determine sustainability and have such stringent demographic standards - I have confidence they know if it will be a success - 78.3% percent of the time. Local merchants either follow or become the trendsetter. Have confidence. They were reporting the Madison development in Birmingham Friday.

[HSV79]

Now I must say that I've been out to Bridge Street and during the week it's kinda dead. But last night I went out there about 11:30 p.m. and it was actually crowded. At least the Scene Lounge, Dolce and Ketchup were. The crowds out at these places were anywhere from early 20's to mid 40's maybe ... I was impressed with the Scene Lounge.

[HSVTiger]

a 70 room Sleep Inn & Suites will be constructed in front of the just finished
Comfort Inn on University Dr. next to Hooters.
The third Dolce restaurant, Rare 120 at Bridge St, will be on the second level
overlooking the east lake. It will have(has) a large outdoor patio. Should open this summer.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Construction set to begin for new health and wellness center at Alabama A&M



A Huntsville planning subcommittee Wednesday morning reviewed design plans that call for a 68,000-square-foot building that will offer students a range of recreational and health facilities, including a pool, basketball courts and a bowling alley.

The Planning Commission will consider the project at 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.

Another big step toward breaking ground for Alabama A&M University's long-awaited health and wellness center was taken at Saturday's Alabama A&M University Board of Trustees meeting.

A contract was awarded to Consolidated Construction Co. of Huntsville, the lowest of four bidders at $12,138,000.

[OMTLG]

Originally Posted by 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

This is interesting and a bit distressing. I live in the Meridianville area and my daughter is a student at Lynn Fanning Elementary, and my son is a student at Meridianville Middle. I agree that we have really good schools in the north end of the county, but am a bit concerned as to what school students from this neighborhood will "walk to." Lynn Fanning Elementary has over 700 students now and has a 600 student capacity. All of the schools in our area are this way now.

I recently attended a county school board meeting at which the board detailed the need for additional construction to keep up with the growth of the student population. The growth rate is not a constant, steady rate, but is accelerating, particularly in the north part of the county.

I'm glad to see the addition of nice, new development in the area, but as with any growth, careful planning and consideration of infrastructure must be addressed early in the process.

[-=skywalker=-]

Originally Posted by luvinhsv

I ate lunch at the Scene lounge the other day as everything else at BridgeStreet had a huge wait, and there was nobody there. Our food was fantastic. They should market to more businesses in the area because I imagine most people don't know they have a full lunch menu and going to a movie theater for lunch wouldn't exactly be top of mind. Great food though.

As for playable golf courses this city only has about 5 that I know of: Hampton Cove, Sunset Landing, HSV Municipal (Becky Pierce), Monrovia -which I think is closed - also Fox Run and Colonial. That is pretty pathetic for a city near 200,000 residents. Admittedly, I am a bit of a golf snob so I don't really enjoy playing muni tracks that don't offer much challenge or get a lot of play. I have been told that the airport course and Becky Pierce aren't bad - you get what you pay for. Therefore I haven't played anything in the area but Hampton Cove which is good not great but a nice value with the trail card. I have been able to get on the Ledges which is awesome, but it isn't like I have an open invite. Otherwise, the other courses are all private or privileged (Redstone - I'm not military). I have seen Goose Pond, Cherokee Ridge, Point Mallard, Gunter's Landing etc... and will plan to try those soon. Still they are a bit of a drive.

I have been to Limestone Springs and the Shoals - both very good, but again, you are driving at least 1 1/2 hours to get there.

I guess my point is that it just surprises me that an area of nearly 1/2 million people has so few (relatively speaking) courses to offer in a climate that supports year-round golf. I am definitely open to suggestions. Thanks!

Gunter's Landing, Guntersville State Park, and Twin Lakes in Arab are all nice courses and only 20-30 minutes from Huntsville. There's another half dozen private courses in Huntsville...Valley Hills, The Ledges, Huntsville Country Club to name a few...Cherokee Ridge is also a private course.

You can search for golf courses here: Course Directory

If you're looking for a challenging course, try Gunter's Landing. In my opinion, it's one of the most challenging in the area...it's almost always in great condition, with a lot of elevation change, and water hazzards on 12 of the 18 holes. Twilight is also fairly reasonable, $30 with cart after 2pm.

[luvinhsv]

Originally Posted by HSV79

Now I must say that I've been out to Bridge Street and during the week it's kinda dead. But last night I went out there about 11:30 p.m. and it was actually crowded. At least the Scene Lounge, Dolce and Ketchup were. The crowds out at these places were anywhere from early 20's to mid 40's maybe ... I was impressed with the Scene Lounge.

That is great to hear!! I am looking forward to checking out Dolce and Ketchup, and as I said earlier, I think the Scene Lounge and Monaco Pictures is fantastic. It wouldn't be a stretch to consider it one of the nicest movie theaters in the nation!

[luvinhsv]

Originally Posted by -=skywalker=-

Gunter's Landing, Guntersville State Park, and Twin Lakes in Arab are all nice courses and only 20-30 minutes from Huntsville. There's another half dozen private courses in Huntsville...Valley Hills, The Ledges, Huntsville Country Club to name a few...Cherokee Ridge is also a private course.

You can search for golf courses here: Course Directory

If you're looking for a challenging course, try Gunter's Landing. In my opinion, it's one of the most challenging in the area...it's almost always in great condition, with a lot of elevation change, and water hazzards on 12 of the 18 holes. Twilight is also fairly reasonable, $30 with cart after 2pm.

Thanks for the info! Is Cherokee Ridge completely private? I thought it was semi-private, offering daily-fee rates to the public?

Now if I could just find the time to tee it up...

[Jacknah]

Bridge Street is doomed. It's a terrible location. One might think that it's a good location due to the intersection of highways there and near Research Park, and that's probably what the planners were thinking, but nearly everyone driving by is a male engineer on his way back and forth to work. A high end retail mall like this would work much better in the inner city, perhaps where Constellation is going to be. The population is too sparse out there and few people want to drive out there from, say, Southeast huntsville (which is where most of the people with money are).

I predict that high end retails stores will close down, the high end restaurants will close shop, then rents will be lowered. Then lower end stores will move in, and it will gradually become a type of factory outlet mall. Business will still be bad for retail, then it will close down, be renovated, then reopen as an office park. The Westin will be sold to a lower end company, who will then turn that building into a tawdry combination hotel and office building.

[Port_of_Bama]

lol, are you serious you gotta be kidding right. Well I know that BridgeStreet is hardly ever packed . I pass through 5 days a week going to work and the parking lot is hardly ever full, but to say it will close shop, naw that`s to far fetched my friend. I am excited about the various places to eat at Bridge street, and the retail could have been better and I know they have stores that no other city in the state has. In my Opinion they could have kept some of them and atleast had a big box store in there such as a Macy`s ,or Dillards. Bridgstreet is still a nice development just not a place for a 23 year old guy(me) to shop, but to take a nice youg lady out on date oh yeah !!

[Rail Claimore]

He does have a point, SE Huntsville is already served by Parkway Place. But Bridge Street is designed to serve primarily the western expanse of the area, from west Huntsville to Limestone County. It also provides convenient access from the northern expanses of the urban area.

[crr0004]

There are plenty of people in the Madison/Monrovia area that are able to afford what Bridge Street has to offer. And Research Park Blvd. is one of the most highly traveled roads in the city, so to say that noone sees it is absurd. And anyone in Southeast Huntsville that really wants an upper class shopping experience will be willing to drive the extra ten minutes to go to Bridge Street as opposed to Parkway Place.

[-=skywalker=-]

Originally Posted by luvinhsv

Thanks for the info! Is Cherokee Ridge completely private? I thought it was semi-private, offering daily-fee rates to the public?

Now if I could just find the time to tee it up...

Last time I was out there, it was completely private...of course that was several years ago and things could have changed...if you use that course directory i posted, you can get the phone number. I'm sure a quick call to the pro show will answer any questions you may have.