Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

Due to the popular response, the Concerts in the Courtyard series at Bridge Street Town Centre has been extended through July 28.

The concerts are Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. in the Westin Huntsville courtyard. Performing contest winners appear tonight, Juice is performing July 14, Full Circle July 21 and a WAHR-FM 99.1 birthday celebration concert with a band to be announced will happen on July 28.

[mlog]

Originally Posted by chris21718

Trying to duplicate what Chattanooga has done with their downtown seems a bit strange. Chattanooga's nice part of downtown is right on the river and the aquarium is there. There's a nice pedestrian bridge over the river and things to do on both sides. On the north side is a nice park and a bunch of shops. On the south side is the downtown and the aquarium and lots of restaurants and stuff. Huntsville does not have a river to give it this characteristic.

I agree. Huntsville would be well served to study the success of Indianapolis. Huntsville today reminds me very much of Indianapolis 25 years ago. There was nothing open after 5 PM or on the weekends. The place was called "Nap Town." It was a sleepy place. However, today it has an alive and vibrant downtown. I would suggest the powers that be in Huntsville to take a trip north up I-65.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by mlog

I agree. Huntsville would be well served to study the success of Indianapolis. Huntsville today reminds me very much of Indianapolis 25 years ago. There was nothing open after 5 PM or on the weekends. The place was called "Nap Town." It was a sleepy place. However, today it has an alive and vibrant downtown. I would suggest the powers that be in Huntsville to take a trip north up I-65.

it's not so much to duplicate what Chattanooga has but how they did it. Even though they visited in 2000 other things have happened there. The focus would seem to be on housing, fund raising and private investment.
Huntsville has a good start on some of this. Indy, Greenville, SC, Raleigh, and Austin would all be good models.

[Huntsvillenative]

Something Hunstville should seriously consider is an incliner or chair ride from the foot of Monte Sano Mountain all the way up to the top like in Gatlinburgh or the one at Stone Mountain in Atlanta. At the top they could have a nice family style restuarant with an outdoor patio that overlooks the entire city skyline. Add some Alabam gift shops for tourism and other retail. Add some attractions for kids like a large arcade. We need to focus on tourism. TOURISM, TOURISM, TOURISM!!

Gatlinburgh's famous chairlift.


The incliner at Stone Mountain Georgia.

[HSVTiger]

a great idea and thinking out of the box. It could be done without impacting the mountain too much. After all there used to be a train that went up the mountain to the now gone, Monte Sano Hotel!

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

City leaders head to Chattanooga again. Similar trips have been made to Austin, Raleigh and hopefully they will lead to something. Huntsville is doing
positive things downtown, it just seems to take time.

Big Spring Partners is taking 116 community leaders this week to study Chattanooga's downtown in hopes of replicating some of the city's more successful endeavors.

"Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and Madison County Commission Chairman Mike Gillespie will be among the crowd returning to the Tennessee city for the first trip of this kind since June 2000.

Big Spring Partners, a non-profit organization focusing on revitalizing Huntsville's downtown, formed after that trip nine years ago using Chattanooga's River City Partners as a model, Executive Director Mary Jane Caylor said.

River City Partners, formed in 1986, is largely responsible for the Tennessee Aquarium and the famous River Walk.

"We believe we can take their success story and replicate it," said Caylor, who joined Big Spring Partners a few years after the first Chattanooga trip. "They had a lot of success back in 2000, and they've had even more since then."
HSV Times

Some comments since back from their trip

Some of the suggestions: Hire a full-time "empowered czar" with city money who does nothing but work on how to make downtown a more vibrant place; build a new baseball stadium for the Huntsville Stars where the slated-to-be-demolished Searcy Homes public housing project now stands; place art sculptures in public green spaces; create a long walkway along the downtown canal that is to be expanded soon and build shops and attractions alongside it; relocate SciQuest science museum from Calhoun Community College near current downtown attractions EarlyWorks Children's Museum and Constitution Village.

Other shared ideas included tearing up the streets surrounding the Madison County Courthouse to create green space and build an amphitheater.

Some members of the group suggested actions that wouldn't cost any money: Be passionate. Act with urgency. Be courageous and have faith in the big ideas.

[RuFresnel]

Are they finally getting started at Constellation?
Saw them pushing dirt around yesterday on the south end of the property.

[DavidH74]

It's pathetic that our airport does not have direct flights to NYC or Orlando anymore. Very annoying.

[jonnie256]

Originally Posted by RuFresnel

Are they finally getting started at Constellation?
Saw them pushing dirt around yesterday on the south end of the property.

I was wondering the same thing?

And when are they gonna start on the Madison huntsville hospital?

And when are they gonna start building the superwalmart off hwy 72 near balch rd across from madison bowling center?

Did they ever decide anything on the building height issue?whats the limit?

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by DavidH74

It's pathetic that our airport does not have direct flights to NYC or Orlando anymore. Very annoying.

Well these are things the airport works on every day, they can't make an airline fly to the airport. HSV did have NYC nonstops (LaGuardia) but they were cut due to the sagging economy. Also nonstops to Orlando a few years
ago but Allegiant pulled out and Delta cut those as well. New nonstops to Chicago start in September 2. I expect these destinations will be back as the economy improves.

[David1502]

Originally Posted by DavidH74

It's pathetic that our airport does not have direct flights to NYC or Orlando anymore. Very annoying.

The greatest chance the Huntsville Airport has of regaining service to Orlando is if AirTran Airways decides to serve the market. Delta has discontinued its Orlando minihub so the chances of Delta restarting service are pretty slim. AirTran, on the other hand has a strong presence in Orlando and has recently begun three day a week service from Orlando to some smaller market cities - Allentown, PA, Charleston, WV and Knoxville. Also, another factor in HSV's favor in atttracting AirTran to HSV is that the number one destination is Washington Reagan National and the number two is Orlando. AirTran could provide service to both and would be the only airline to provide full body jet service to the nation's capitol.

At the present time, with the exception of American's three flights to DFW, all HSV flights are regional jets. AirTran could change this situation and more importantly provide much needed fare competition through its ATL hub. Hopefully, the marketing department is giving a full court press to land AirTran.

The chances of landing New York service are less likely as there are only 21,000 passnegers in the HSV-LGA market.

For the top twenty origin and desitnation information, I referenced, see http://www.hsvairport.org/rc/stats_hia.html

[Colin Giersberg]

[QUOTE=jonnie256;4350956]I was wondering the same thing?

And when are they gonna start on the Madison huntsville hospital?

And when are they gonna start building the superwalmart off hwy 72 near balch rd across from madison bowling center?





The hospital will come. I am sure that they are getting it designed, which takes time. The architect has to be selected, which may take some time, since a hospital tends to have some very specific requirements that other structures do not have, and I am sure that those requirements are complicated to design. Huntsville Hospital will take their time to make sure that the new hospital will meet their needs for future expansion, so they are probably deciding just what all features they want, and then there are permits that have to be obtained prior to construction. Site work will have to be done, and there could be some archeological or enviromental issues that would have to be dealt with, and there will be problems with the design that will have to be worked out as construction continues. You can expect at least a two year time frame for everything to come together before the hospital will open, but that is just my opinion.

Walmart will come when the economy improves, if they don't back out of their plans for that piece of land.

Regards, Colin

[Huntsvillenative]

Huntsville definitely needs a new stadium of about 13,000 seating capacity (with grass seating space in the outfield) that is multipurpose use for baseball, football and concert events. And it needs to be in downtown for revenue and development growth. The ideal and most realistic and logical location would be adjacent to the VBC as shown below. Also notice how similar it would look to the location of Indianapolis' AAA stadium next to the RCA Dome. The front entrance would be off of Holmes and an outfield entrance plaza with concession stands and booths off the corner of Clinton and Monroe St.





The yellow outlining is where the stadium would go with the seating facing towards the downtown skyline. The red area lining would be parking areas. Holmes Ave would have to be rerouted as seen above. And the green areas would be greenspace or retail development. The blue ares would be either hotel or retail eatery developments.

[jmanhsv]

Originally Posted by David1502

The greatest chance the Huntsville Airport has of regaining service to Orlando is if AirTran Airways decides to serve the market. Delta has discontinued its Orlando minihub so the chances of Delta restarting service are pretty slim. AirTran, on the other hand has a strong presence in Orlando and has recently begun three day a week service from Orlando to some smaller market cities - Allentown, PA, Charleston, WV and Knoxville. Also, another factor in HSV's favor in atttracting AirTran to HSV is that the number one destination is Washington Reagan National and the number two is Orlando. AirTran could provide service to both and would be the only airline to provide full body jet service to the nation's capitol.

At the present time, with the exception of American's three flights to DFW, all HSV flights are regional jets. AirTran could change this situation and more importantly provide much needed fare competition through its ATL hub. Hopefully, the marketing department is giving a full court press to land AirTran.

The chances of landing New York service are less likely as there are only 21,000 passnegers in the HSV-LGA market.

For the top twenty origin and desitnation information, I referenced, see http://www.hsvairport.org/rc/stats_hia.html

Actually, AirTran's DC hub is at BWI, the only major DC airport which HSV currently doesn't have non-stop service, and the #3 destination on the list you referenced (up from #5 six months earlier), probably because of its proximity to Goddard/NASA headquarters. But point taken. We do need AirTran, badly.

[mlog]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Huntsville definitely needs a new stadium of about 13,000 seating capacity (with grass seating space in the outfield) that is multipurpose use for baseball, football and concert events. And it needs to be in downtown for revenue and development growth. The ideal and most realistic and logical location would be adjacent to the VBC as shown below. Also notice how similar it would look to the location of Indianapolis' AAA stadium next to the RCA Dome. The front entrance would be off of Holmes and an outfield entrance plaza with concession stands and booths off the corner of Clinton and Monroe St.

That's a good (but outdated) photo of downtown Indy. In 1996, the city abandoned the old AAA Bush Stadium and built the modern Victory Field downtown. Bush Stadium was converted to dirt track for midget auto racing. I'm not sure what it's doing today -- probably unused. The city has adopted the theme of sports. Downtown it hosts the NFL Lucas Oil Stadium (the RCA Dome in the photo is no more), the NBA Conseco Fieldhouse, AAA baseball Victory Field, NCAA Headquarters and Museum, Indiana University Natatorium, as well as a fairly new zoo adjacent to the new White River State Park downtown. They have a "canal" downtown with a walkway similar to Huntsville, though the Indy canal is longer, but the concepts aren't that much different. Obviously, Huntsville isn't going to attract NFL and NBA teams to downtown, but the point is that there are similar approaches that could be followed.

[HSVTiger]

Downtown project still alive, even though we haven't seen anything yet,
from WHNT TV

HUNTSVILLE, AL - A big piece of land in the heart of Huntsville that some have forgotten about is starting to show signs of a pulse. It located near Clinton street near Memorial Parkway. The spot is marked as home for the Constellation project.

The developer of the project says the project is moving forward. Several people in Huntsville may have driven by the site that measures 18 acres, and thought-- "what's ever going to happen here?"

The developer says despite all the delays, the piece of land will hold a magnet to attract more people to downtown Huntsville which is supposed to be the heart and soul of the city.

It's no surprise to anyone our nation is in a economic slump. The financial crisis has been impacted from coast to coast.

Developer Scott McLain says Huntsville is a bit different.

"We have our issues as well, but because of this location, and this economy this project is happening," said Developer Scott McLain.

The project McLain talks about is called the Constellation. Its designated home sits off of Memorial Parkway near the Von Braun Center. The Constellation's construction was announced couple years ago.

McLain says its 18 acre site will put an emphasis on attracting people to downtown Huntsville.

The dirt has yet to move at the site that is said to be the heart of Huntsville.

"There were just a couple of permitting issues, and such that were tedious, and took a long time," added McLain.

McLain says he's worked through the issues. He acknowledges it's taken a long time, but things are about change.

"We're talking to restaurants, green grocery stores, we're working on the condominium, or apartment project. We've got our two hotels in process," added McLain.

The land near Memorial Parkway looks wide open, untouched, and neglected to the naked eye. The Constellation's developer says everyone should hear his view of what's happening behind the scenes.

"Every part of the project has action. To drive by, you don't see that, but I work on it everyday," added McLain.

McLain says he hopes the project will be completed in less than five years.

[DavidH74]

I wish Constellation the best. I'll leave it at that.

Is there any way HSV can pull off a mini "Power and Light District" that seems to have had great success in rejuvinating downtown KC? "Fourth Street Live" in downtown Louisville is another example of injecting life into an otherwise not-so-vibrant downtown.

[Huntsvillenative]

I talked to a guy downtown tonight that says he's spoken with members of the council and says we're looking at building a state-of-the-art Aquarium to rival the one in Chattanooga and Science Museum for downtown Huntsville. He also said he doubts there will be a new baseball stadium in downtown but expects a new one somewhere and a possibility that the Stars may move up to Triple A and a name change could be coming and that would call for a new stadium and first class amenities that 'The Joe' doesn't have. I asked where he thought the new stadium would be but he said it's too early to speculate on that. it's still in the development process. I'm trying to figure out where the city is getting all of this money to make these dream projects a reality? The renovations to the arena are now expected to cost much more than originally thought.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

I talked to a guy downtown tonight that says he's spoken with members of the council and says we're looking at building a state-of-the-art Aquarium to rival the one in Chattanooga and Science Museum for downtown Huntsville. He also said he doubts there will be a new baseball stadium in downtown but expects a new one somewhere and a possibility that the Stars may move up to Triple A and a name change could be coming and that would call for a new stadium and first class amenities that 'The Joe' doesn't have. I asked where he thought the new stadium would be but he said it's too early to speculate on that. it's still in the development process. I'm trying to figure out where the city is getting all of this money to make these dream projects a reality? The renovations to the arena are now expected to cost much more than originally thought.

Well unless there are some huge private investors out there it seems a bit
far fetched..but never say it can't or won't be done.

"Former Mayor Loretta Spencer and Stars owner Miles Prentice negotiated the current lease, which will expire Sept. 30, 2010.

"Miles was driven because he was an investor, but we cooperated very well," Spencer said Friday. "We knew what their needs were to stay in Huntsville, and I thought we were extremely fair."

While the idea of a new downtown ballpark has been batted around for years, Spencer said she never seriously considered it. She said she chose to focus instead on expanding Huntsville's retail and industrial base.

A new stadium "would be great," Spencer said. "But you have to have projects that pay their way. What we get a return on is what we put the biggest investment in."

Mayor Tommy Battle has no plans to invest the city's limited resources in a new stadium, either.

"The city can't afford to do everything," he said. "We've got especially tight resources right now, and there's no guarantee that a downtown stadium would alter attendance that much."
HSV Times

[TimCity2000]

Isn't Triple A usually for pretty big markets? I would think the Barons would move to Triple A before the Stars. Maybe I'm wrong.