Montgomery development news - Page 211

RSAHort · #**4201** Posted **Nov 10, 2009, 7:46 PM**

Does anyone have any idea about what will become of this place now that it has closed and being sold to developers? I will miss the restaurant aka 'the pudding palace' as it was called here at work. Best fried chicken and turnip greens in town IMHO.

bystander1 · #**4202** Posted **Nov 11, 2009, 3:42 AM**

It'd be a really nice place for a skyscraper...

OCA REP · #**4203** Posted **Nov 13, 2009, 1:18 PM**

The pedestrian bridge linking the intermodal facility and Montgomery's riverfront was installed yesterday according to this story in the Montgomery Advertiser:

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/arti...l-link-riverfront-to-intermodal-facility

Building a bridge: Structure will link riverfront to intermodal facility
By Jill Nolin • November 13, 2009

A pedestrian bridge, the last major piece of the intermodal project, is in place, and Montgomery officials say it could be open for traffic in three months.

A large crane helped install the 60,000-pound bridge Thursday afternoon, attracting more than a few curious spectators.

The installation of the 126-foot bridge required not only a crane, but considerable patience. Workers had to wait on three trains to pass before the train traffic could be stopped long enough for the bridge to be lifted and slowly, carefully eased into place.

Stopping train traffic, even briefly, is a significant problem on tracks that see about 70 trains on a typical day.

The pedestrian bridge, which goes over the train tracks, now connects the five-level observation tower on the riverfront with the intermodal facility on Molton Street. Once it's open to the public, it will be the third access point to the city's riverfront.

City Engineer Patrick Dunson said this will be the ideal way for people to enter the riverfront because they will be able to leave their car in the parking deck, walk across the bridge and then down the tower to the riverfront.

Right now, the primary way to get to the riverfront is through the tunnel at Commerce Street. During many events, the fence at the end of Coosa Street is also opened.

The entire project, including the construction of the parking deck and bus station, has cost $17 million. The construction of the tower, including the bridge, has cost $3.7 million.

The bridge and the observation tower will both be lighted in a way that will add a new effect to the riverfront landscape.

"It's going to be real pretty when it's done," said Terry Jordan, project coordinator for the city.

Waiting for a few trains to pass has not been the only test for the workers' patience. When the work first started in 2007, work was delayed when crews found massive rocks underground that were 20 to 40 feet in diameter. Officials believed at the time that the rocks were placed there in 19th century to keep the Alabama River from eroding the shoreline.

It took workers weeks and weeks to construct the foundation because pilings had to be driven deep into the ground -- some of them as much as 70 feet into the ground.

"It took me more than a month just to put the foundation in. Well over a month," Jordan said, adding that the actual construction of the observation tower started about 10 months ago.

There are several finishing touches that still must be done. Two of those chores will be pouring a five-inch concrete topping on the walkway of the bridge -- doing so before installation would have made the bridge unnecessarily heavy -- and a mesh will be put on the openings of the tower for safety reasons.

Capital Heights · #**4204** Posted **Nov 14, 2009, 7:27 PM**

There is a new Country & Western bar opening on Lower Dexter Avenue. It is called "Buddy's".

bystander1 · #**4205** Posted **Nov 14, 2009, 9:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capital Heights

There is a new Country & Western bar opening on Lower Dexter Avenue. It is called "Buddy's".

Is it going to be in the building on the corner of Dexter and Perry Street? There's been some renovation activity going on there for at least the last couple of months.

Capital Heights · #**4206** Posted **Nov 14, 2009, 9:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bystander1

Is it going to be in the building on the corner of Dexter and Perry Street? There's been some renovation activity going on there for at least the last couple of months.

Naw.....It is going in where Off The Wagon used to be. I wish I knew what is going in the buildings you are speaking of.

hiijakd · #**4207** Posted **Nov 15, 2009, 1:15 AM**

hey,
im moving into the fire house in cottage hills. rented out all my places.

gotta do lots of cosmetic stuff, but i'm excited

tsully76 · #**4208** Posted **Nov 15, 2009, 2:13 AM**

Thats awesome to hear you rented out all of your places and now working and living in the firehouse i know you will do an awesome job. Look forward to seeing it when its finished my friend.

bystander1 · #**4209** Posted **Nov 15, 2009, 5:35 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capital Heights

Naw.....It is going in where Off The Wagon used to be.

Where Off the Wagon used to be?! What happened?

bystander1 · #**4210** Posted **Nov 15, 2009, 6:54 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by hiijakd

hey,
im moving into the fire house in cottage hills. rented out all my places.

gotta do lots of cosmetic stuff, but i'm excited

That's great news! Congrats.

I passed by the fire house the other day and saw a lot of boxes inside and some policemen walking in and out of there. Were they using it for storage possibly?

Capital Heights · #**4211** Posted **Nov 17, 2009, 1:07 AM**

Hiijakd: It is good to hear from you. I thought you might have fallen off the face of the earth.

Scoots71 · #**4212** Posted **Nov 18, 2009, 2:07 PM**

Montgomery City Council to ask Legislature to allow entertainment districts
BY JILL NOLIN • NOVEMBER 18, 2009

The Montgomery City Council is asking the Alabama Legis lature to allow it to create city areas, called "entertainment districts," where people can le gally walk around with open containers of alcoholic beverages.

Not originally on the agenda Tuesday night, the resolution asking the Montgomery legisla tive delegation to sponsor a bill allowing the city to create the districts was introduced and passed unanimously. Mayor Todd Strange proposed the reso lution.

The resolution says that the city is "actively working to be an established destination and gathering place for tourism and entertainment" and that the en tertainment districts would "en courage economic, cultural and social life" in Montgomery.

The entertainment districts, meant to spur economic devel opment opportunities, are being considered for areas such as downtown, Old Cloverdale and EastChase, according to Strange.

Strange said the city would likely start with one district, but he said an actual area has not been determined at this time.

The City Council would pin point districts and define the boundaries of a district, and those areas would be carefully selected, Strange said.

Strange likened the districts to the new Entertainment Ex press trolley routes. If the trolley routes are successful, they will be expanded to other parts of the city. For now, the trolleys serve Old Cloverdale and Maxwell Air Force Base.

Currently, if someone buys an alcoholic drink at one busi ness, they cannot leave that business and go somewhere else with that drink. If they do, they are violating an Alabama Alco holic Beverage Control Board rule.

The City Council is asking the Legislature to give Mont gomery the ability to make ex ceptions to that rule.

This issue was brought to the city's attention because of the pub crawls in downtown Mont gomery and because of issues at businesses located in or near The Alley.

Dreamland Bar-B-Que, for example, was allowed to serve alcoholic drinks inside but not outside because The Alley is public property. The city made an arrangement with the business where it leases a portion of The Alley, enabling Dreamland to serve drinks outside.

Instead of "piece-mealing" the situation in this way, Strange said he wants to address the issue comprehensively.

Hence, the entertainment district concept, which would mean creating one large enter tainment area for consumers, Strange said.

"It's all about generating rev enue," Strange said after the meeting Tuesday.

nouveau_Mauvilla · #**4213** Posted **Nov 18, 2009, 9:25 PM**

Uh oh, your metropolitan is showing.

Good work

Dyingyak · #**4214** Posted **Nov 19, 2009, 5:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nouveau_Mauvilla

Uh oh, your metropolitan is showing.

Good work

Not if the Baptists have anything to do with it!

floc34 · #**4215** Posted **Nov 20, 2009, 8:21 AM**

This would be great for Montgomery, I was just there this past weekend for Faulkners Homecoming, and the downtown area looks great. It would be great also to see bars/shops along lower Dexter Ave similar to Mill Ave here in PHX.

SpawnOfVulcan · #**4216** Posted **Nov 28, 2009, 7:23 PM**

I don't know if this is new, or if I just haven't noticed it, but I like the lighting on the RSA tower in downtown. On my way to Panama City from Tuscaloosa on Tuesday night, I looked up and saw some very powerful lights projecting a HUGE column of light up into the sky. It was like looking at the pyramid in Las Vegas, or the twin tower lights in New York.

If it was just me, and this really didn't occur, RSA should definitely look into doing it. Seems like it'd be pretty bad ass to see that column of light 20 miles away on I 65 as you drive south. Sort of like a subliminal advertisement for downtown.

OCA REP · #**4217** Posted **Nov 29, 2009, 1:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alabadrock

I don't know if this is new, or if I just haven't noticed it, but I like the lighting on the RSA tower in downtown. On my way to Panama City from Tuscaloosa on Tuesday night, I looked up and saw some very powerful lights projecting a HUGE column of light up into the sky. It was like looking at the pyramid in Las Vegas, or the twin tower lights in New York.

If it was just me, and this really didn't occur, RSA should definitely look into doing it. Seems like it'd be pretty bad ass to see that column of light 20 miles away on I 65 as you drive south. Sort of like a subliminal advertisement for downtown.

As nouveau_Mauvilla so eloquently put it... it was just our "metropolitan showing."

Brown Duckz · #**4218** Posted **Dec 2, 2009, 2:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alabadrock

I don't know if this is new, or if I just haven't noticed it, but I like the lighting on the RSA tower in downtown. On my way to Panama City from Tuscaloosa on Tuesday night, I looked up and saw some very powerful lights projecting a HUGE column of light up into the sky. It was like looking at the pyramid in Las Vegas, or the twin tower lights in New York.

If it was just me, and this really didn't occur, RSA should definitely look into doing it. Seems like it'd be pretty bad ass to see that column of light 20 miles away on I 65 as you drive south. Sort of like a subliminal advertisement for downtown.

You may be talking about the lighting coming from MPAC which is on the convention-hotel property.

SpawnOfVulcan · #**4219** Posted **Dec 2, 2009, 8:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brown Duckz

You may be talking about the lighting coming from MPAC which is on the convention-hotel property.

Haha, no, I assure you. This outstanding beam of light was being emitted from the RSA tower. I drove all over downtown that night.

RSAHort · #**4220** Posted **Dec 2, 2009, 9:20 PM**

Its not new. There are alot of lights around the tower. Most of the larger ones are on the roof of the 2nd floor and behind the gold shields near the roof. There are different lighting schemes depending on the night of the week. Some nights all of them are on and that is probably what you saw.