Montgomery development news

[Capital Heights]

The city has revamped its website and it looks great: http://www.montgomeryal.gov/

[Scoots71]

they need an updated downtown skyline photo though.

[thoraudio]

Originally Posted by bystander1

hijakd, are your buildings on Perry Street going to have direct access to the Dexter Ave. deck?

Yes, they do.

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by Capital Heights

The city has revamped its website and it looks great: http://www.montgomeryal.gov/

Thanks for sharing; looks really good!

I do see a couple of things are missing, but I bet thay have not fully migrated everything yet...

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by Scoots71

they need an updated downtown skyline photo though.

I thought the exact same thing as the home page slideshow progressed. But most all of the photos really look good!

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by bystander1

Beside other things, mainly Loyalty.
He was quick to take his ball (boat) and head north for 'greener pastures' even after the city tried to work with him by building a temporary dock away from the old location while the city started work on the permanent dock and riverwalk. The city then would allow him to use the new permanent dock on the riverwalk once it was completed. But he viewed that as a slap in the face, and after talking about the city like a dog, left for Wetumpka where they promised to build a floating dock for his boat if he would move it there.


He did.


...a few months later, his operations went under...



...But now that a REAL riverboat is coming, he now wants to raise his head out the river, and swim back down to Montgomery, to take over operations for the new boat?!


...nall

Was exploring the updated City of Montgomery web site and came across the following article. Have not seen this on the news or in the paper yet, but it appears Mr. Bull is probably going to be the man when it comes to the new boat:

Mayor Names New Riverboat and Announces Departure to Home Port Posted Date: 8/22/2008 10:00 AM
Mayor Bright and the City of Montgomery have been given the honor of naming the City’s new riverboat by the boat owner, the Montgomery Riverfront Development Foundation, and is proud to base the name in the wonderful history of Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery’s new riverboat will be named the Harriott II.

Harriott II, will leave Savannah, Georgia Thursday of next week for her estimated 1400 mile, twenty eight day voyage to Montgomery, down the Intracoastal waterway, down to Fort Pierce, across Lake Okechobee, up to Clearwater, across the Gulf to Apalachicola, thence to Mobile and up the Alabama River to Montgomery. She is named for the first steamboat to reach Montgomery from Mobile October 22, 1821, after a 10 day trip that included 1 day each at Claibourne, Cahawba and Selma. That sidewheeler boasted 30 horsepower and could carry 80 tons. Her present day successor has 600 horsepower and can carry 400 passengers.

As the first Harriott brought economic development and prosperity to this then frontier village, City officials now hope that Harriott II will add to the revival of Montgomery’s Riverfront District. John Bull, Captain of the Betsy Ann which operated here from 1991-2002, is bringing the new boat here at an average speed of 6 miles per hour underway from dawn to dusk. There will be periodic reports on her progress until she arrives. Since many of Montgomery’s first settlers came here from Georgia with General John Scott, it is apropos that our new riverboat comes from Savannah.

While the boat has been in a Savannah shipyard since the Montgomery Riverfront Development Foundation purchased the vessel numerous items have been refurbished including sandblasting and repainting of the vessel and engine tune up work. In assessment of the voyage from Savannah to Montgomery, the boat’s height has necessitated the temporary lay down of the decorative smoke stacks so that it can minimize the risk of damage to the stacks or bridges along the way understanding that passing under certain bridges would be a tight fit for the large boat. Upon docking in Montgomery a punch list of non-shipyard work will need to be addressed by the foundation. The anticipated operational start date is mid to late October.

Further questions can be directed to Jeff Downes, Executive Assistant to the Mayor at 241-2002. Attached are pictures of Harriott II in dry dock being refurbished and a picture of the vessel port side prior to being renamed Harriott II.

Link to the story:

http://www.montgomeryal.gov/index.aspx?page=28&recordid=115&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

[kevinlpugh]

Here's the story from the Advertiser....

The city's new riverboat will pay homage to its oldest one -- a riverboat that cruised the Alabama River almost two centuries ago, providing an economic boost to what was then a frontier town.
Advertisement

The Harriott became the first steamboat to make the trip from Mobile to Montgomery, when it came to pick up a load of cotton in 1821.

That was a significant turning point for the area then. City officials hope the return of the riverboat on the Alabama River will mark another pivotal moment in Montgomery's history.

"We're reliving history in a way," executive mayoral assistant Jeff Downes said. "I mean, this is stuff you cannot re-create anywhere else."

So with these high hopes, the city has christened the new riverboat the Harriott II, tasking it with the mission of spurring further revitalization in downtown Montgomery.

"It's a symbol that we hope (the Harriott II) will do what the first Harriott did almost 200 years ago," said Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright on the name choice.

The contemporary riverboat is far more powerful than its ancestor -- the Harriott was a 30 horsepower sidewheeler while the Harriott II packs a 600 horsepower engine.

Local historian and riverboat enthusiast John Napier helped the city research potential names. His first pick was the "Gen. Richard Montgomery" -- a name used for a riverboat after the Harriott's time -- but the city went with his second suggestion, "The Harriott II."

The name takes the city back to its beginnings.

The advent of the steamboat was married to the invention of the cotton gin -- a correlation that gave life to the city of Montgomery, Napier said.

"When these settlers moved here to this infant town, they came here to raise cotton," Napier said. "Until they had the steamboat, they couldn't get back up (river). It took a steam engine to make a real revolution in Southern agriculture."

Passenger river travel tapered off just before World War I because of the improvements made in the safety and comfort of railroads, which were the faster option for travelers. The steamboat still was used for freight for another two decades, he added.

It will still be at least another two months before a new era of the riverboat begins in the Capital City, but the Harriott II has to conquer a long and challenging journey before it makes it to Montgomery.

The Harriott II will leave Savannah, Ga., on Thursday, and it will travel at an average speed of about 6 mph, from dawn until dusk.

The boat's captain, John Bull, will issue updates via a laptop, and those status reports will be posted online at www.montgomeryadvertiser.com.

It is ex pected to take the boat 28 days to make the 1,400-mile trip.

Bull is a familiar name to Montgomery residents. He was the captain of the Betsy Ann, the riverboat that operated in Montgomery from 1991 to 2002 before riverfront construction became too much of an obstruction. The Betsy Ann now operates out of Panama City Beach.

The Harriott II currently is being refurbished, which includes sandblasting, repainting the vessel and an engine tune-up.

The riverboat, which was formerly Savannah's "The River Queen," is possibly too tall to make it under some of the bridges along the route, so the decorative smokestacks are being temporarily cut down.

The Montgomery Riverfront Development Foundation used a $700,000 loan through Regions Bank to purchase the vessel.

The riverboat cost about $500,000, and it will cost about $20,000 to move the boat down river. The rest of the money is being used to refurbish the boat.

The riverboat is expected to bring in about $45,000 per month. Money will be made through things such as general ticket sales, leasing the boat for public and private events and meals.

[Bogue]

There's a riverboat in Tuscaloosa and soon one in Montgomery. Are there any others around the state? Just curious. Also, will it be sort of a dinner cruise thing, a special events platform, a museum, or what?

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by Bogue

There's a riverboat in Tuscaloosa and soon one in Montgomery. Are there any others around the state? Just curious. Also, will it be sort of a dinner cruise thing, a special events platform, a museum, or what?

I am not sure. I think it will be a special events type thing. Previous (smaller) ships held theme cruises (jazz, etc.). With this one being so much bigger, maybe it will be able to host dinner cruises... Sunday brunches, etc.

I guess time will tell... although there seems to be LOTS of potential!

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by Bogue

There's a riverboat in Tuscaloosa and soon one in Montgomery. Are there any others around the state? Just curious. Also, will it be sort of a dinner cruise thing, a special events platform, a museum, or what?

When Mayor Bright first proposed replacing the old riverboat with a new one, he said it would be a dinner cruise boat. And with the size of this one compared to the old one, it is said to be able to handle up to three events at the same time...depending on group sizes. So yes, I think it will be used for dinner cruises as well as for a variety of other things.

Also, when the mayor proposed getting a new boat, it was mentioned that the Riverside casino in Wetumpka wanted to build a dock next to the casino so that passengers can cruise from downtown Montgomery to downtown Wetumpka to visit the casino, and tourist in Wetumpka can cruise down to the riverwalk to visit the Riverfront Entertainment District in Montgomery.

It sounded like an ambitious dream at one time, but it looks like some of those things are actually coming together:

* The riverboat is coming.

* Montgomery's previous riverboats regularly made cruises to Wetumpka anyway, so
that's nothing difficult.

* Two new parking decks in the Riverfront District, one complete, one under construction, will provide some much needed parking space for those visiting the riverwalk area. (Developers claimed this is what they sorely needed in order to move forward with their plans for shops, bars and restaurants along the riverwalk.)

* The Riverside casino is moving forward with its plans to build a hotel,
auditorium/concert hall, and larger gaming facility. The huge parking deck has already
been completed. Maybe with the riverboat coming we'll hear some new info about the casino building that riverside boat dock.



No clue on whether they are really committed to doing this, (or even remember), but these things will add to making the downtown entertainment district a major destination for tourist, visitors and residents alike.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I know Gadsden used to have one. And of course, the Delta Queen made frequent trips up the Tennessee.

[thoraudio]

Montgomery actually has a riverboat right now, but it's not well attended or advertised. You can see it docked if you drive over the Northern Bypass river bridge.

[bystander1]

Yeah, I thought about that one too, but I didn't really count it because it doesn't work.
Boarding a boat that you can't ride to me is like getting in a swimming pool with no water.

[thoraudio]

Posting live from a 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 harrassment class in downtown Montgomery. This is because I got a promotion and has absolutely nothing to do with that email I sent.

[RSAHort]

Originally Posted by thoraudio

Posting live from a 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 harrassment class in downtown Montgomery. This is because I got a promotion and has absolutely nothing to do with that email I sent.

Congrats on your promotion!

Those classes are oh so fun....

Side note:

RSA will be moving into their new facility the fourth week of September. At least one tenant has already moved in.

[thoraudio]

Just sat through a 30 minute harrassment video from the 80's.

Even I was offended.

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by thoraudio

Just sat through a 30 minute harrassment video from the 80's.

Even I was offended.

By their behavior ...or their clothes?

[OldCloverdale]

Originally Posted by bystander1

By their behavior ...or their clothes?

Big Hair?

[OCA REP]

I read this at www.montgomeryal.gov, but had not seen this discussed here:

http://www.montgomeryal.gov/index.aspx?page=28&recordid=103&returnURL=%2findex.aspx

Mayor Receives Urban Design Award Posted Date: 8/24/2008 10:00 AM

On May 23, 2008, Mayor Bright was awarded the Franklin M. Setzer Outstanding Urban Design Project by the Alabama Chapter of the American Planning Association (ALAPA). He accepted the award at the annual honors banquet held at the Doubletree Inn in Birmingham, Alabama.

The award recognizes the excellent design and construction of the Court Square Plaza which was completed in April 2007. As one of the most significant projects affecting Downtown Montgomery and local business owners, the conversion of Court Square from an “enclosed mall” to a true “urban plaza.” has improved pedestrian safety and vehicular circulation in the downtown area. The idea for the plaza originated in the Downtown Montgomery Plan prepared by the internationally renowned Dover Kohl and Partners in association with Rick Hall of Hall Planning and Engineering in Tallahassee, Florida. The Court Square Plaza represents the first true plaza built in the United States in more than 80 years.

This project has received local, state, and national notoriety for its foresight and unique physical design. With Court Street reopened for vehicular traffic, the center of the city has experienced increased visibility and an enhanced customer base. During lunch hours, the Montgomery Lightning Route, a rubber tire trolley service, can be seen moving through this area to carry Montgomery professionals and residents to several dining establishments within the area. Similarly, plans are underway to improve the streetscape along Dexter Avenue. This project should give this area the additional strength needed to attract tenants to this important and historic street.

The Franklin M. Setzer Award is in memory of Auburn Professor Frank Setzer who established the Urban Design Lab in Birmingham, and each year it is presented for the outstanding, design concept and the transferability of the concept to other communities. As an article in the 2007 Fall/Winter Issue of “Design Alabama” notes, “No Alabama city embodies a turnaround guided by fresh currents in planning better than Montgomery.”

The last line of the article says a lot!

[OldCloverdale]

Steve & Barry's closing = the final nail in Montgomery Mall's coffin