Montgomery development news

[10101000]

thanks for sharing

[| BRAVO |]

What exactly is the alley?

[thoraudio]

Originally Posted by | BRAVO |

What exactly is the alley?

Earlier article and pics

Basically The Alley Way is an under-construction entertainment area. It links the new Hotel/Convention Center with the Riverwalk area (ballpark and Riverwalk). It's supposed to include a couple of bars and restaurants.

[| BRAVO |]

That's cool! Sounds like a nice development.

[bystander1]

...another highrise as downtown RSA continues to grow...



Judicial building OK'd as opposition quiets
By Jill Nolin • November 14, 2008

The crowd at the Montgomery Planning Commission bore no resemblance to the community meeting earlier this year where 120 preservationists and residents protested the Retirement System of Alabama's judicial building project on Dexter Avenue.

Nobody in the barren chamber Thursday night offered any objection to RSA's request to combine 10 lots into one for the 12-story building. The commission approved the request with little discussion. The old Alabama Supreme Court building sits on the property.

Work began over the summer on the 500,000-square-foot office complex, which is one block from the State Capitol. At the first meeting, opponents objected to the height of the building, which they said would obstruct the view and dwarf the Capitol.

The opposition has since quieted and one of its leaders, local historian Mary Ann Neeley, declined to comment further on the issue when contacted by phone Thursday.

"I think the feeling was that we couldn't do anything about it," said Betty Baldwin in a telephone interview. "I don't think you can fight Dr. (David) Bronner (chief executive of RSA). I think he does what he wants to do. And he has certainly done some wonderful things for Montgomery, but I was just against this particular project because I think it's bad for Dexter Avenue."

The height of the building exceeds six stories, and does not qualify under the SmartCode, but members of the Planning Commission and city-planning department said that would not be an issue. The project, known as the RSA Judicial Office Building, will double that six-story limit and rank among the highest buildings downtown.

Bronner has said that he would preserve the old Supreme Court building by encapsulating the three-story structure inside the new building. The building will also include a special section that will honor Alabama chief justices and associate justices.

The first meeting last January saw state and local officials, builders and two RSA representatives gather to address the protesters' claims. Those who objected to the plan also staged an aggressive letter-writing campaign, but RSA didn't budge and opposition died down.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com

[Brown Duckz]

Do we have any new renderings for the judicial building? Isn't it going to be glass?

[bystander1]

Some of us knew this a long time ago, but Dreamland BBQ will be a part of the Alleyway downtown!

WSFA has announced it to the world, so I can officially say it now. And the owners of this Dreamland operation have direct ties to the one in Tuscaloosa, unlike the current owner of the franchise in the city now.


Here's the building it will be located in.





By the way, hiijakd was interviewed by the reporter because of his successful investments downtown.
...sounded almost like a campaign speech...

[hiijakd]

hahah....i've been wanting to spill the beans for a while now. yes the dreamland will open up on the alley probably march 09. they will have ribs and bread, plus a few of the other items dreamland has added over the years and maybe a few more on top of that. im excited.
BERRY FOR MAYOR 2009

[bystander1]

hiijakd, I felt the same way every since we went to that investors meeting 7 or 8 months ago about Dreamland locating downtown. Thanks for inviting me.

[floc34]

Originally Posted by bystander1

Some of us knew this a long time ago, but Dreamland BBQ will be a part of the Alleyway downtown!

WSFA has announced it to the world, so I can officially say it now. And the owners of this Dreamland operation have direct ties to the one in Tuscaloosa, unlike the current owner of the franchise in the city now.


Here's the building it will be located in.





By the way, hiijakd was interviewed by the reporter because of his successful investments downtown.
...sounded almost like a campaign speech...

Are there any videos of the announcement?

[hiijakd]

look for something about Dreamland tomorrow. the wsfa announcement was just a brief mention at the end of the story on development.

BERRY FOR MAYOR

[OldCloverdale]

Originally Posted by hiijakd

look for something about Dreamland tomorrow. the wsfa announcement was just a brief mention at the end of the story on development.

BERRY FOR MAYOR

[RSAHort]

I think somebody on here mentioned this before...from the WSFA website.

ADPH plans Downtown Montgomery campus

Posted: Nov 18, 2008 10:59 PM CST

Updated: Nov 19, 2008 11:49 AM CST


Montgomery, Ala. (WSFA) -- It's a growing trend.

Development in Downtown Montgomery is on the rise, with a few projects popping up across the area.

The next proposal is $6.5 million campus for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Instead of moving to the outskirts of town, ADPH wants to set up shop just east of Riverwalk Stadium, a spot currently occupied by an old train shed and abandoned buildings.

"It's a really blighted area now. "It'd be just a wonderful thing to happen, and it would make everyone in that area very happy," said City Council President Charles Jinright.

The campus itself would house an emergency operations center and become the state's central training facility for health workers.

"Downtown would give us great service area for the people we would need to have come in and train the nurses and doctors and technical folks," said Ed Davidson, Public Health Administrative Officer.

Don't forget the jobs the project could generate.

"25 to 30 people stationed there permanently," Davidson explained.

That's a concept city leaders say they're ready to welcome downtown.

"It's something that needs to be done, so it's nice to hear that the health department wants to do it--and they have a plan and it's a great plan," Jinright said.

Right now, ADPH is in the process of securing the land.

Officials hope to have everything squared away by January and start construction sometime between June and August of next year.

If all goes well, the campus would open in 2010

[OCA REP]

From The Montgomery Advertiser:

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20081119/NEWS01/811190305

Council Mulls Land Donation
By Jill Nolin • November 19, 2008

State health officials said they are willing to construct a $6.5 million public health campus in downtown Montgomery if the city will donate the property for them to build it on.

Representatives from the Ala­bama Department of Public Health, including Administra­tor Donald Williamson, pitched the idea Tuesday to the Mont­gomery City Council.

The health department is eye­ing a portion of the 40-acre par­cel of land the city bought with the intention of turning it into a municipal court complex one day. The public health campus would only take up about one-third of the property, leaving the site open to future develop­ment on the part of the city.

The downtown site, which is the old Western Rails location, is surrounded by decay and di­lapidated buildings.

"It's something that really needs to happen right there. It's an area that really needs a shot in the arm," said City Council President Charles Jinright.

No action was taken, but there is no apparent opposition to the idea at this point. The council members will spend the next two weeks reviewing the proposal, and then come back at the Dec. 2 meeting to put it to a vote.

Mayoral executive assistant Jeff Downes, who has been the city liaison for the project, said the administrative office and the planning department are be­hind the project because it would "spur on development in an otherwise blighted area."

Downes said the project would also complement the work that has already been done to revitalize downtown.

The State Health Department is in the Retirement Systems of Alabama Tower on Monroe Street, and Williamson said the state agency needs more space for large conferences and train­ing events.

The first part of the develop­ment would include a two-story, 30,000-square-foot multipurpose facility that would serve as an emergency operations center, teaching clinic and conference center.

Future plans also call for two additional two-story, 40,000-square-foot office build­ings and a new state laboratory, which would be housed in a 60,000-square-foot building. The lab is currently located at the Auburn Montgomery campus.

In addition to the land dona­tion, the city would contribute $150,000 to build public access roads. The state's portion for the roads would be $200,000.

Downes pointed out that the city would one day need these streets to access any building that is built on the site one day.

The parcel is located at the end of North Perry Street, and part of the paving project would be to extend Perry Street. North McDonough Street also would be extended.

The plan incorporates space for a public park, and it works around the historic train shed and mill. The train shed is one of only two of its kind in the world, with the other one being the riv­erfront train shed, according to planning director Ken Groves.

Groves also noted that reus­ing an industrial area would make the city more eligible for federal and state grants.

Public Health administrative officer Ed Davidson said after the presentation that the state agency has the money and vi­sion for the project -- it just needs the land. Once a site is se­cured, the state would be ready to get started within six to eight months.

I was not aware that Montgomery was home to two of the last train sheds of that type in the WORLD? If this is true, I sure do hope that some type of preservation plan takes hold and we do not lose these great treasures.

Like a previous poster said about the term "campus," it just screams suburbia. Does anyone know if the downtown master development plan actually covers the area where this ADPH complex would be located? It just seems a little off the beaten path to truly be considered downtown.

I hope all of this does come together. When a blighted area can be re-claimed, that is a good thing.

[OldCloverdale]

ADPH plans Downtown Montgomery campus

http://www.wsfa.com/global/story.asp?s=9375707&ClientType=Printable

Posted: Nov 18, 2008 10:59 PM CST
Updated: Nov 19, 2008 11:49 AM CST




Montgomery, Ala. (WSFA)

It's a growing trend.

Development in Downtown Montgomery is on the rise, with a few projects popping up across the area.

The next proposal is $6.5 million campus for the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Instead of moving to the outskirts of town, ADPH wants to set up shop just east of Riverwalk Stadium, a spot currently occupied by an old train shed and abandoned buildings.

"It's a really blighted area now. "It'd be just a wonderful thing to happen, and it would make everyone in that area very happy," said City Council President Charles Jinright.

The campus itself would house an emergency operations center and become the state's central training facility for health workers.

"Downtown would give us great service area for the people we would need to have come in and train the nurses and doctors and technical folks," said Ed Davidson, Public Health Administrative Officer.

Don't forget the jobs the project could generate.

"25 to 30 people stationed there permanently," Davidson explained.

That's a concept city leaders say they're ready to welcome downtown.

"It's something that needs to be done, so it's nice to hear that the health department wants to do it--and they have a plan and it's a great plan," Jinright said.

Right now, ADPH is in the process of securing the land.

Officials hope to have everything squared away by January and start construction sometime between June and August of next year.

If all goes well, the campus would open in 2010.

[hiijakd]

that looks quite suburban. maybe they will build something much more in keeping with smart code ideas so that "future" development will not continue in the same manner.

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by hiijakd

that looks quite suburban. maybe they will build something much more in keeping with smart code ideas so that "future" development will not continue in the same manner.

I totally agree with you on that. It's great that so much land downtown is in demand to be developed, but do it right the first time. Use smartcode the way it was planned for that area and don't waste so much space on that land. Hopefully the project will open the way for living space and retail for that area and the eastbank...like a Hampstead-type development.

[ExpatBaman]

Nice to see development in that area, but, as several folks mentioned, it needs to be urban in character. Is the SmartCode mandatory for that property?

Hopefully one day the train shed will be restored and put to use. Too bad that the guys trying to put together the Alabama Railpark project couldn't get any traction a few years ago.

[OCA REP]

I received a link to this article today in the Montgomery Chamber e-newsletter for this week:

http://www.globest.com/news/1289_1289/other/175246-1.html

ANALYSIS Last updated: November 15, 2008 04:34pm
Montgomery CBD Revitalization Humming Along
By Amy Wolff Sorter


Alleyway

MONTGOMERY, AL-At one time, downtown Montgomery was little more than the seat of government, where people came to work by day and vacated it by night. These days, with help from a close to $1 billion investment from the city and the Retirement Systems of Alabama , as well as and interest from private developers, the former dead zone is coming to life.

Once the birthplace of the Confederacy and the civil rights movement, the CBD today is home to the 7,000-seat Riverwalk Stadium at 200 Coosa St., home to the Montgomery Biscuits Baseball Team. The team's claim to fame is that it is the AA club feeds players into its major league team, the World Series Tampa Bay Rays. Nearby, at 355 Coosa St., stands the Riverwalk Ampitheater, which offers upwards of 7,000 people for various performances. A new riverboat arrived in early October, which can hold 400 passengers for cruises.

Then there is the Alleyway. Bordered by Commerce, Bibb, Coosa and Tallapoosa Streets, this two-acre plot is sprouting local restaurants and entertainment venues. The area also boasts the Montgomery Performing Arts Centre and the adjacent Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center. A new court building has been erected, as has an office building.

As successful as it seems to be, revitalization didn't just appear out of thin air. It took many years, launched by the 2000 election of Bobby Bright to city mayor to get the wheels going. Jeff Downes, executive assistant to the mayor says Bright was familiar with the CBD's history, especially that of Dexter Avenue, Montgomery's main street. He then considered the Alabama River and how it might fit in with a revitalization concept. Then he decided the whole thing needed a fresh vision.

"That resulted in a 2000 time frame of a downtown plan, setting up certain projects and ideas to hopefully spur private development," Downes comments. The initial plan brought the stadium, convention center and performing arts theater to town. Downes tells GlobeSt.com that incentives were freely used to lure developers to the area, and to spur mixed-use, residential activity.

Jerry Kyser, a local developer, says he's been investing in the CBD since 2000 because of its potential. "Economic conditions here are better than in other parts of the country," says Kyser, who is constructing space for restaurants and bars in the Alleyway. "We felt like the downtown area might have a lot of opportunity for conventions and meetings, and wanted to provide some amenities and entertainment for visitors."

The ballpark is successful, the amphitheater draws people and restaurants in the Alleyway will be open in March 2009. But Kyser and Downes say the work of revitalization is far from complete.

"If what we're doing now is successful and we can get the momentum going, there'll be a lot more opportunity down there," Kyser comments. Kyser and some partners own a three-block parcel of vacant land on the edge of downtown. "Depending on market demand and success, we plan to participate in future expansion," he notes.

Downes adds there's plenty of work to be done, especially on the edges of the CBD. Some of the projects include investment in a new county office building and improvement of Dexter Avenue.

"Suffice it to say, there's enough work to be done for the next five-to-ten years," he comments. "We have it in the planning stages, and it's our hope that the private sector will come along side of this as well."

[bystander1]

Cool read, thanks.
I was down there the other day and saw that they have built what looks like the foundations for the water tower that will anchor the entrance for the Alley.