Mobile Development Thread

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by mobile

Yeah I agree the college needs to have a small enrollment, maybe 4 or 6 thousand at most. It would be fine with me if a different University like Mobile moved to that spot, but I still think that Mobile needs an HBC with sports “football”. We are the only major city in Alabama that doesn’t have one. It would create more excitement for the city of Mobile or even if it went to Prichard.

***Maybe the University of Mobile and Bishop could swap*** LOL

What is an HBC?

[mobile]

Historically Black College…. Like Alabama State, A&M, Miles, Tuskegee, Hampton, Jackson St, Florida A&M, ect….

[bayou15]

Can someone post da pic of the new condo/hotel for downtown Baton Rouge

Just came back from ol red stick today. Buying a new truck at Gerry Lane.

Anyway BR is really booming and is leaving Mobile in the dust. At one time the two sister cities imaged each other. The new Bass Pro Shop is 3x larger than the one in Daphne. And the Mall of LA is expanding. It is already bigger then BelAir,springdale, and the eastern shore center combine. Then they have the big waterpark that was full of people while i was passing by on I-10.

The reason i think this is happening is Revenue from the lottery and Riverboat Casinos. (also Lsu has 40k students compared to USA at 13K).

And it just seems to me the people over there get things done, Unlike old Mobile which most of the time just talks about it.(AKA ..A 2nd Boat , The DALE JR. Speedway with all the proposed development, etc....)

Not having casino here in Mobile County has came back to haunt us. The school system wouldn t be bitching about money, we would have already have better roads. And we wouldnt be loosing 30million to Miss. Gulf coast everyyear.


ALL of y' alls ideas sound great keep it up. I just wish Mobile will just DO IT ! Instead of just talking about it.


Time 4 a Cigarette! Geaux tigahs!

[mobile]

Originally Posted by bayou15

Can someone post da pic of the new condo/hotel for downtown Baton Rouge

Just came back from ol red stick today. Buying a new truck at Gerry Lane.

Anyway BR is really booming and is leaving Mobile in the dust. At one time the two sister cities imaged each other. The new Bass Pro Shop is 3x larger than the one in Daphne. And the Mall of LA is expanding. It is already bigger then BelAir,springdale, and the eastern shore center combine. Then they have the big waterpark that was full of people while i was passing by on I-10.

The reason i think this is happening is Revenue from the lottery and Riverboat Casinos. (also Lsu has 40k students compared to USA at 13K).

And it just seems to me the people over there get things done, Unlike old Mobile which most of the time just talks about it.(AKA ..A 2nd Boat , The DALE JR. Speedway with all the proposed development, etc....)

Not having casino here in Mobile County has came back to haunt us. The school system wouldn t be bitching about money, we would have already have better roads. And we wouldnt be loosing 30million to Miss. Gulf coast everyyear.


ALL of y' alls ideas sound great keep it up. I just wish Mobile will just DO IT ! Instead of just talking about it.


Time 4 a Cigarette! Geaux tigahs!

Can u imagine if someone in Mobile looked at the list I made plus other Ideas we all have made on just this site alone and built all or most of it?????????????

[SpawnOfVulcan]

The main reason all those things won't happen is because all the people that could make it possible look at the list and laugh. Then dismiss it. It's the same thing with the Olympic bid that Birmingham's doing. Instead of thinking "this is possible. it's unlikely, but possible." people laugh at it and say it's stupid. so, it never happens. that's not the way to get things done.

[NitekKetin]

The Bass Pro Shops store in Denham Springs is only 10K square feet larger than the store under construction in Spanish Fort.

The Mall of Louisiana, while admittedly enormous in size, is not larger than Bel Air Mall, Springdale Plaza and Eastern Shore Centre combined. It if where, it would be one of largest regional shopping centers in the country.

The Dale Earnhardt Racetrack development is slated for construction sometime in August, according to this Sunday's real estate column. Nearby at the intersection of I-65 and Industrial Parkway, there are plans to develop 95 acres for a new regional shopping center.

Yes, we do need a lottery and casino gambling. However, hypothetically speaking, there should be thorough architectural standards in place to prevent gaudy EIFS-cladded monstrosities from destroying Downtown's charm.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to BR.

[bayou15]

10k sq feet thats it? It looks cool looking with the tin side and built on the lake. The mall is just so much up scale. It was hard to get a good look ,with all the co-eds in my way! DAMN i hated that

[Bogue]

Curious... Wouldn't we need approval via the state legislature to have casino's? I don't see that happening.

Where exactly is Industrial Parkway? I can't remember an exit named that on I-65.

Any idea on their exact plans? Malls seem to have fallen from grace in the South. The open air shopping centers seem to be taking over.

[Bogue]

Originally Posted by mobile

Yeah I agree that USA is more important but that’s already in effect, so I would still like to see an HBC. The majority of my friends are black and some of them wanted to attend and HBC but they couldn’t do that in Mobile so they had to move.

If we didn’t put casinos on the causeway they would defiantly need to be downtown. Also if we didn’t do that we need to put more restaurants and low-rise places than are there now and clean it up a little.

But I still like Casinos on the Causeway along with the restaurants that are there now.

Causeway development has to be very cautious for a number of reasons. Insurance issues are going to preclude most developments from going there. Beyond that there are environmental concerns w/ the Causeway itself that will eventually have to be dealt with. Personally, I like the rustic nature of the restaurants on the Causeway. I don't think we really need much more development there... maybe a small handful of seafood restaurants.

I just can't get behind the HBC idea. They're almost never even solvent, much less profitable (due to their tiny enrollments, generally... AA&M has 5,000, ASU has 5,000, Miles has less than 1,000, Stillman has less than 1,000, Talladega has less than 1,000, Tuskegee has around 3600... all taken from http://www.edonline.com/cq/hbcu/alphabet.htm ) and they haven't been shown to have a real positive impact on the neighborhoods surrounding them to the point where they would be worth the investments. I bring up the economic side only to point out that the public money required to run them cuts into the funds available for other schools that get money from state coffers (like USA, UA, & AU). I think as far as public funds go focus should be on job training facilities and on USA.

[SouthSky]

Originally Posted by Bogue

Where exactly is Industrial Parkway? I can't remember an exit named that on I-65.

It's AL158... the same road the Dale Jr Raceway is planned... actually about a mile down the road.

[jrfstone]

Originally Posted by bayou15

And the Mall of LA is expanding. It is already bigger then BelAir,springdale, and the eastern shore center combine.

No its not that big. Bel Air Mall alone has 8.3% more retail space than the Mall of Louisiana.

The difference is how the mall is marketed, both to prospective tenants and prospective customers. The M of LA has identified itself as an upscale mall, and has had great success. The Bel Air Mall identified itself as the regular mall in Mobile, Alabama - big whoop!

[phoenixboi08]

Actually, I think Casinos would work pretty well in the DIP area...but I guess building there isn't the most attractive thing to developers...Why exactly are Casinos and the lottery outlawed in Alabama?

[jrfstone]

Originally Posted by alexjon

So I'll channel your negative energy into facts.

1) Mobile, AL median household income is $9,000 less than the median household income for the entire United States.
2) Mobile, AL's GDP is 10 Billion while Seattle's is 186 Billion
3) Mobile, AL's per capita income is 21,000$ and Seattle's is 30,000$
4) Seattle gave the world Starbucks, Grunge, Boeing, UPS and is home to Microsoft.
5) Entering "Mobile" into Wikipedia gives a disambiguation page. Entering "Seattle" into Wikipedia gives you Seattle, WA
6) Seattle has been ranked the most intelligent city in the country versus Mobile which has been ranked, what...?

Mobile's Cost of living is 7.5% below the national average, compared to Seattle's which is 23.3% above the national average. So the income discrepancy is much lower than you portray.

As far as GDP, that will soon change, very dramatically. Forbes Magazine projects that Mobile will have the fastest growing GMP contribution to the GDP IN THE NATION. (That was before the tanker contract was awarded, btw)

The followings points you made are just pointless.

Starbucks, Boeing, UPS, and Microsoft would have come to be with or without an egotistical city in the Pacific Northwest.

Wikipedia redirections mean nothing. How many Seattles are there? There are two Mobiles, and "mobile" also has significant meanings as a common noun and adjective.

I would argue that one of our own cities has been ranked the most intelligent: Huntsville. Highest per capita level of engineers and scientists.

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by Bogue

I just can't get behind the HBC idea. They're almost never even solvent, much less profitable (due to their tiny enrollments, generally... AA&M has 5,000, ASU has 5,000, Miles has less than 1,000, Stillman has less than 1,000, Talladega has less than 1,000, Tuskegee has around 3600... all taken from http://www.edonline.com/cq/hbcu/alphabet.htm ) and they haven't been shown to have a real positive impact on the neighborhoods surrounding them to the point where they would be worth the investments. I bring up the economic side only to point out that the public money required to run them cuts into the funds available for other schools that get money from state coffers (like USA, UA, & AU). I think as far as public funds go focus should be on job training facilities and on USA.

Maybe we could do a land-swap or something and give you guys Alabama State University (ASU). While I know the school has some good points, it is very often a source of embarrassment up here in Montgomery. There are always stories concerning corruption (administrative and sports-related) that are just so sad. If we could send ASU to Mobile, Montgomery would have some prime midtown real estate that would be ripe for re-development.

[phoenixboi08]

I had a dream that I went to an aquarium...in Mobile! Srange!
So I put what I could remember together and here's what I got!


This side is SUPPOSED to be facing the Exploreum, but I messed up!


The dome on top is just glass....(see next picture)


Look at that! A parK!


I really don't think this is very realistic...I mean there would obviously be pillars or something here...

Sorry, I don't know how to import the images OUT of SketchUp and I was in a hurry, so I just used my Camera. I'll be getting better renderings up soon.
Also, where do I go to get decent materials to cover the building?

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by Bogue

USA now has football, though, which will be played at Ladd. I would prefer to see Mobile support a program that has a chance to be well known at the national level rather than one that would barely register on the local scene (like the ones in B'ham & H'ville do).

I don't know that I like the idea of the casino's on the Causeway. I would prefer to see the Causeway stay more along the lines of restaurants and low-rise places. It has a certain character. I think condo construction should really focus on the downtown area and the area just over I-65 on Airport. I would love to see that area get a few midrise condo projects to take the place of the decaying strip retail over there.

If Casino's do come to Mobile I dunno' where they'd locate, but I would rather those stay downtown as well to localize the impact as far as parking needs and police presence.

There are some HBCU`s that are not doing well because of leadership but not all of them. A four year HBCU would be good for Bishop because after all if you were to look up HBCU`s in Alabama, Bishop state will be on the top of the list so Mobile alredy has one. We just don`t have a 4 year institution which will bring the big games with Grambling, Southern,State,FAMU, and etc.


I believe that USA would be viewd on a local seen USA has a student population of 15,000 last I heared . The biggest college in Huntsville is an HBCU (AAMU) wich has 5,000 but is declining and UAH around 4,300 and growing . There no teams in B-ham or H-ville that are realy on a national level,well problably UAB and H-ville doesn`t have a stadium the size of Ladd or Legion Field.

Building condos and Casions on the cause way would be a good idea but they were complaing about hurricans and what not ,but Felix Fish camp and others are still standing so I don`t know what the problem is. The solution to that would be to build several feet above sealevel just as the seafood joints do.

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by phoenixboi08

I had a dream that I went to an aquarium...in Mobile! Srange!
So I put what I could remember together and here's what I got!


This side is SUPPOSED to be facing the Exploreum, but I messed up!


The dome on top is just glass....(see next picture)


Look at that! A parK!


I really don't think this is very realistic...I mean there would obviously be pillars or something here...

Sorry, I don't know how to import the images OUT of SketchUp and I was in a hurry, so I just used my Camera. I'll be getting better renderings up soon.
Also, where do I go to get decent materials to cover the building?

he old court house site would make a perfect location for that or some of the surface parking lots.

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by bayou15

Can someone post da pic of the new condo/hotel for downtown Baton Rouge

Just came back from ol red stick today. Buying a new truck at Gerry Lane.

Anyway BR is really booming and is leaving Mobile in the dust. At one time the two sister cities imaged each other. The new Bass Pro Shop is 3x larger than the one in Daphne. And the Mall of LA is expanding. It is already bigger then BelAir,springdale, and the eastern shore center combine. Then they have the big waterpark that was full of people while i was passing by on I-10.

The reason i think this is happening is Revenue from the lottery and Riverboat Casinos. (also Lsu has 40k students compared to USA at 13K).

And it just seems to me the people over there get things done, Unlike old Mobile which most of the time just talks about it.(AKA ..A 2nd Boat , The DALE JR. Speedway with all the proposed development, etc....)

Not having casino here in Mobile County has came back to haunt us. The school system wouldn t be bitching about money, we would have already have better roads. And we wouldnt be loosing 30million to Miss. Gulf coast everyyear.


ALL of y' alls ideas sound great keep it up. I just wish Mobile will just DO IT ! Instead of just talking about it.


Time 4 a Cigarette! Geaux tigahs!

The city is good at being a go getter for jobs and that`s good but it needs the same attitude for attractions. Mobile county is much larger than Baldwin but they have more shopping centers . Like I mentioned before the Mall of L.A was first planned in Mobile but they(West Mobile residents)
turned it down, Jazzland which had another name was planned for Mobile but again they turned it down. This attitude just have to stop fortunantly for us a new generation for Mobile has emerged, I can say one thing Dow promised us a string of pearls and we got it. The new string of pearls that Jones mentioned should have some changes such as DT retail and a new shopping mall or town centre,theme park ( which will be built with the race track hopefuly).

[bayou15]

What about the one I heard that Theodore is where Walt Disney wanted to drop anchor. Or about Six Fags wanted to set up shop in GrandBay.
Politics has alot to do about it also.

The third largest Oil Refinery in North American was planned on being in Bayou La Batre. Instead Chevron landed a few miles west in Pascagoula.


O'well... I guess if the Pilgrams had killed a cat we would be eating some thing else for Thanksgiving


''Have a Great Day !" (Coach Miles, 2007).

[Bogue]

Yeah, Theodore was originally the place where Walt Disney World was going to be located but Walt made a trip to one last place down to a swamp in the middle of nowhere.... rest is history, of course.

Lots of funny "what ifs" in this area. Alabama was offered the opportunity to annex all of the Florida panhandle right down to Appalachicola around the turn of last century. Would've made the state the largest state east of the Mississippi and would've doubled the economic base in this state if development would've continued at its historic pace.

Oh Well...


...but on to the future.

I don't know that it's the fact of the hurricanes that turns off development on the Causeway, but I think it's more of an insurance co. issue. There's also some other issues... I forget, but isn't there some jurisdictional issue w/ that big old pink hotel? Think it was the insurance issue that sent the Original Oyster House down towards Spanish Fort from its old location.

I think we're more likely to get public bayfront space along the Causeway than anywhere else. I think that particular area along the causeway where the former gas station is might be nice to be a public park area. It's already used often as a boat ramp area. That type of thing could be enhanced along that side of the road and some greenspace could be added and maybe a large monument (a la Birmingham's Vulcan statue) in place of that area. A Nice marina in that area could be a good thing as well, though and add to the view of the city from newcomers coming in from the East.