Montgomery development news

[bystander1]

I guess Mayor Strange's "little meeting" with the ABC Board Thursday must have worked...

Changes On The Way For Downtown Alleyway
Written by Anjuli Lohn
Friday, 05 March 2010 04:12 pm

Those heading to the downtown Alleyway will soon be able to move freely in the area with open containers of alcohol. However, city leaders say they're treating Montgomery's first entertainment district with a dose of safety.

The announcement of the Alleyway entertainment district comes hand-in-hand with plans to open a new police substation in the Alley. The substation is expected to open for operation next week. Montgomery Police Department officers plan to man the new facility during peak hours to ensure the Alleyway entertainment district sets off without a hitch.

"We want to make sure people feel safe, and I think they already feel safe, but we want to make it even better with the little substation we will put there," M.P.D. Police Chief Art Baylor said Friday.

The state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is still finalizing regulations for Montgomery's Alleyway Entertainment District. The changes are expected to transition into effect in about three weeks.

WAKA.com

[bystander1]

Here's the full article from the paper...

Mayor, ABC Board resolve differences over downtown 'party' district
By Cosby Woodruff • March 6, 2010
montgomeryadvertiser.com

The downtown party is back on.

Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board objections to the city of Montgomery's plan to turn an area of downtown Montgomery into a party zone where drinkers can walk outside of establishments with open containers of alcohol have been settled, according to Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange.

Strange said he and ABC Board officials reached an agreement Thursday that could clear the way for the district to have special rules for the consumption of beer, wine and liquor within weeks.

A local legislation bill approved this week allows Montgomery to create the state's first entertainment district in an area surrounding the Alley project downtown.

If such a district is approved by the Montgomery City Council, a move that is seen as little more than a formality, patrons would be able to purchase alcohol in the clubs and restaurants in the district, then carry them out for consumption.

Earlier, ABC officials objected to the legislation, saying it violated the state's constitution. They said the ABC could issue licenses for on-premises or off-premises consumption, but not a combination of both.

Strange said ABC officials will work on the creation of a third category of license that will allow for what amounts to take-out orders of drinks. It appears such a category would have to be created by the Legislature.
Bob Hill, general counsel for the ABC, was unavailable to comment on the deal Friday.

Strange said such a district will make downtown Montgomery a more attractive place for conventions and other visitors who wish to enjoy nightlife at the Alley and surrounding establishments. Residents in apartments above the Alley's restaurants and bars and guests at nearby hotels also could benefit by being able to pick up drinks to take back to their room or home.

Strange admitted that the district, along with its police substation, could draw jealous looks from restaurant owners in other parts of the city.
"We have to start somewhere," he said. "We are going to look at this and see how well it works.

"If it works here, we can go elsewhere."

That would likely take additional local legislation because the new law limits the area that can be included in the district.

Jeremy Lunsford, who operates the El Rey Burrito Lounge in the city's Cloverdale district, said he would like the same kinds of benefits in that area.
"We would welcome that," he said of being allowed to permit patrons to take unfinished drinks from the restaurant.

He also said Cloverdale would welcome a police substation.

"We would appreciate some extra police in this area," he said.

Strange and Montgomery Police Chief Arthur Baylor said not every business is as welcoming of extra police.

"It is a visibility thing," Baylor said. "They don't want the police to be seen as an overwhelming presence."

Old Cloverdale can thank Bob Riley for single-handedly taking away their proposed district...for now anyway.

[tsully76]

This is great news and a welcome addition when they come aboard. Especially Marchelle's Bakery and Bistro. Nancy's Italian Ice is also a welcome site. and Ziggy's establishment along with the Dauber's Art Gallery will definately help. Hopefully the Alley can eventually add a men's clothing store, women's clothing store, a cigar establishment(selfishly), would be just too sweet.

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by tsully76

This is great news and a welcome addition when they come aboard. Especially Marchelle's Bakery and Bistro. Nancy's Italian Ice is also a welcome site. and Ziggy's establishment along with the Dauber's Art Gallery will definately help. Hopefully the Alley can eventually add a men's clothing store, women's clothing store, a cigar establishment(selfishly), would be just too sweet.

Cool. The more the merrier. Last week my brother and his friends from Birmingham wanted to go downtown for dinner but found a 45 minute wait at Wintzell's and an hour and 15 minutes at SaZa's. They ended up at Dreamland's because they only had a 15 minute wait.

...the full article.

Four businesses announce Alley Station plans
By Cosby Woodruff • [email protected] • March 6, 2010
montgomeryadvertiser.com

A jazz and blues club, a bakery, an art gallery and an Italian Ice shop all announced plans Friday to open in the Alley Station this year.

Nancy's Italian Ice and MarChelle's Bakery will give the Alley more casual places to eat. Daubers Art Gallery will give the whole development its first real retail presence. Ziggy's Jazz & Blues will add another upscale dining option and nightspot.

Together, Alley developers say, the new businesses will push the city's entertainment area closer to becoming the destination that planners envisioned when they started the project.

The businesses will mean at least two dozen jobs, said the developers, but they also admit negotiations remain with three of the four businesses before leases are signed.

Daubers Art Gallery is committed with a signed lease, according to Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange.

The remaining companies have signed letters of intent, which basically spell out terms of the deal but are not as binding as a formal lease.

Nancy's Italian Ice recently opened a location on Vaughn Road and sees the Alley as a second location in a high-traffic area.

MarChelle's is relocating to the Alley, also in what is said to be a higher-traffic area, after closing its Prattville location.

"We like the way downtown and the Alley looks," owner Michelle Taylor said.
Although she has not yet signed for her space, directly across from SaZa's where the Alley meets Commerce Street, she said she hopes to have her doors open by the end of April.

Daubers will sell paintings and photographs, Strange said.

Ziggy's will complement existing Alley businesses, the mayor said.
The company is looking to expand from its first location in Lawrenceville, Ga., an Atlanta suburb. According to its Web site, food offerings are generally pub food such as wings, fingers and small burgers.

Tracey Williford, part of the ownership group for Alley Station, said the 16 apartments above the shopping and dining areas are filling quickly. Two of the three floors are complete and the third should be finished this month, she said. The owners have rented 11 of the 16 units and expect to fill the remainder quickly, she said. She called the apartments flats rather than lofts and said developers have been surprised by the tenants.

"We expected mostly younger people," she said. "What we found is that some folks are just looking to get out of their houses and into downtown."

Many of the units look out onto the Alley itself, but Williford said entertainment does not seem to be the major draw.

"A lot of the tenants work downtown and wanted to be close to where they work," she said.

The Alley Station also opened an indoor entertainment area along with an outdoor terrace. That terrace can be rented for private parties and will be available to the residents.

Each space will accommodate up to 350 people, according to the Alley Station Web site.

Alley developers say the first phase of the project is starting to wrap up.
"We are quickly running out of space," Strange said.

Jerome Moore, a Realtor representing many of the Alley property owners, said additional properties, including some that face Coosa Street, could be next in line for development.

[OldCloverdale]

Originally Posted by bystander1

... Last week my brother and his friends from Birmingham wanted to go downtown for dinner but found a 45 minute wait at Wintzell's and an hour and 15 minutes at SaZa's. They ended up at Dreamland's because they only had a 15 minute wait...

Did they check out The Brewpub? Olive Room? Lek's?

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by OldCloverdale

Did they check out The Brewpub? Olive Room? Lek's?

I asked him your question today and he said their next option would have been the Exchange. "After that, who knows," he said.

[OldCloverdale]

Baseball means home run for downtown businesses

Mar 09, 2010
Melissa McKinney

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Bob Parker opened Dreamland Barbeque nearly a year ago. It's right down the street from Riverwalk Stadium.

"It gave us great exposure," says Parker.

At that time, a vibrant downtown was still a dream.

But Parker believed with baseball and barbeque...he'd hit one out of the park.

"We didn't expect there to be this many people downtown even with baseball starting. We were surprised how successful we were in the beginning," he says.

Now, baseball season's here again--this time with two new players in town--SaZa's Italian restaurant and Wintzell's Oyster House.

"I think people can come down and say let's go downtown and see where we go to eat once we get down there," says Wintzell's Manager, Frank Hall.

He opened in the fall and expects his first ball season to score big.

"We feel that there's a lot to choose and a lot of new advantages for people to come and see the Montgomery Biscuits, but check out the restaurants downtown, too."

Fans are ready to sample the options.

"They gotta have some place they can come before the game, after the game, and I think with what you got going on, this place here is absolutely fantastic," says Wayne Allen of Phenix City.

"When we used to come to the games, there was really nothing to do, or very little to do. Now there's the Alley Bar, there's Wintzell's, there's Dreamland. It's a big draw when you're coming to the game," says Tallassee resident Linda Marvel.

It's a good sign the bases are covered for more downtown success.

"It's exciting to be a part of something that's pretty cool," says Parker.

Restaurants hope to seat customers quickly this season despite being packed.

Wintzell's added more employees to help with the rush.

Dreamland managers say they're waiting to see how the season goes and may expand the restaurant in their basement.

Because of the rainout, the MAX Capital City Classic has been postponed until March 24th.

The Montgomery Biscuits open their season April 8th.

[Brown Duckz]

Is this a problem that could be/should be addressed for the Riverfront?

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Brown Duckz

Is this a problem that could be/should be addressed for the Riverfront?

Dear lord! Tuscaloosa's riverfront is flooded as well, though not as much as it was last year. Fortunately, usually these things are constructed to handle the possibility of flooding.

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by Brown Duckz

Is this a problem that could be/should be addressed for the Riverfront?

No. This is what it's designed to do; take on water and drain itself dry when the water recedes.

Though a rock band is scheduled to begin their tour with an amphitheater concert Saturday night. They may have to move it to Union Station if it's not ready.

[thoraudio]

as I said a couple of years ago when it flooded, it's the Amphibitheater

[OCA REP]

Originally Posted by Brown Duckz

Is this a problem that could be/should be addressed for the Riverfront?

Nope; that is just one of the perils of having a RIVERWALK amphitheatre.

They have moved the One Republic concert to the Union Station Train Shed according to today's Montgomery Advertiser:

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/arti...recast-More-flooding-for-Montgomery-area

Forecast: More flooding for Montgomery area
By Marty Roney • [email protected] • March 12, 2010

Montgomery's Harriott II Riverboat has announced that it has canceled cruises today and Sunday, and Saturday's OneRepublic show at the Riverfront Amphitheater has been moved to the Union Station Train Shed because the riverfront moved halfway up the amphitheater.

All of this was because of weather systems Tuesday through Thursday that dumped 2 to 4 inches of rain over the Montgomery area, causing minor flooding along the Alabama River.

A wetter than normal fall and winter, coupled with an expected active weather pattern through the spring, has the National Weather Service predicting an above normal chance of moderate river flooding for central Alabama through the first of April.

People with interests along the river need to pay attention to weather forecasts in the coming weeks, said Michael Garrison, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Birmingham. Historically the frequency of river flooding typically peaks from early March to the first week of April, a recently released NWS outlook said.

"The Montgomery area has seen well above-average rainfall, about 211/2 inches, for December through February," Garrison said. "There has been a string of minor flooding events along the Alabama River. We are in the middle of one of the wettest periods we have seen in awhile.

"If we get two systems in a week to a week and a half like we had Tuesday through Thursday, we could see moderate flooding."

The Alabama River at Montgomery is under flood warning until late Saturday night. Flood stage in Montgomery is 35 feet, with the river expected to crest at 39.6 feet this morning. When the river gets above 30 feet, there is extensive overflow of lowlands, flooding occurs at the golf course at Maxwell Air Force Base and River Road north of Montgomery can be flooded.

There is also a flood warning for the R.F. Henry Lock and Dam, located on the Alabama near the Autauga and Dallas County lines. The warning area affects Autauga, Dallas and Lowndes counties. The warning is in effect until Sunday afternoon.

Flood stage at the dam is 122 feet, with the river expected to crest at just over 124 feet Saturday night. Flooding of agricultural lands should be expected.

The drainage area of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers received anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of rainfall this week, NWS data shows. The two rivers converge at Wetumpka to form the Alabama.

Lake Martin, the major reservoir in the region, was at 487.31 feet Thursday afternoon. Alabama Power Co., which owns and operates Martin Dam, is in flood control mode, said Jan Ellis, spokeswoman for the company.

Lake Martin usually doesn't get up to 490 feet, considered full summer pool, until the last week in April, she said.

"We drop Martin to the winter level of 480 feet to allow property owners to have access to docks and boathouses for maintenance, but also to be able to contain the amount of rainfall we usually get over the winter," she said. "We work with the weather service and other agencies on a daily basis to determine releases to keep flooding at an absolute minimum. We do that at Martin and the other reservoirs we have in the state as well."

El Niño, the warming of Pacific Ocean waters off the western coast of South America, is causing the wetter than normal pattern, Garrison said. The condition is expected to begin weakening in June, forecasts show.

"Due to El Niño, we will see frequent storm systems across the area," he said. "Throughout the winter we have seen those systems track right over central Alabama. There's nothing in the data and computer models that show that pattern will likely change in the next few weeks."

[Jefficator]

You should see old pictures of Montgomery from around 1880. The reason the street Union Station is on is called "Water Street" is because prior to reinforcement of the riverbank, that whole portion of the city just sorta dipped down into the Alabama.

[OldCloverdale]

watch this short video!

CNN in downtown MGM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8dsKFiWx3Q

[| BRAVO |]

Very cool. Great publicity for all of Alabama.

[Jefficator]

Am I the only one who is so unaccustomed to the feeling of a well-produced report about things going RIGHT in Montgomery that I'm not sure what to do?

[Thedarkone1977]

Hi guys,

I've been following this forum for a year and you guys do a great job of keeping every one up-to-date on all the Montgomery development news.

I love what's going on in Downtown Montgomery. I lived in San Antonio, TX for 4 years and they had a great downtown and I loved going down there. Montgomery has a long way to go before it’s there but I love the things that have been done so far.

Am I just immature or does Downtown need a Mall (or Shopping Center) and Movie theater to draw more people. I know they need to be built in a way that blends in and they need to have parking garages. But I think they would be great. I don’t think they would harm the smaller businesses, I think you would find more people staying “Oh, I didn’t know they were down here”. That’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that Downtown Montgomery doesn’t have an everyday draw and the Mall and Movie Theater can be that. let us be honest Eastdale mall isn’t going to make it with East Chase being less than 5 miles away. We all know Dillard’s will be closed in 2-3 years and most of the smaller franchise stores have already left. If you put a mall downtown, it will not only be supported by neighborhoods that has a 15-25 year prestige expectancy but it will also be supported by the people who work in the downtown businesses, Maxwell AFB, Hotel Guest, Interstate 65 Users, tourist, and all Central Alabamians who want to come downtown and visit the riverwalk and the park across the river (GREAT IDEAS).

[Dyingyak]

Originally Posted by Thedarkone1977

Hi guys,

I've been following this forum for a year and you guys do a great job of keeping every one up-to-date on all the Montgomery development news.

I love what's going on in Downtown Montgomery. I lived in San Antonio, TX for 4 years and they had a great downtown and I loved going down there. Montgomery has a long way to go before it’s there but I love the things that have been done so far.

Am I just immature or does Downtown need a Mall (or Shopping Center) and Movie theater to draw more people. I know they need to be built in a way that blends in and they need to have parking garages. But I think they would be great. I don’t think they would harm the smaller businesses, I think you would find more people staying “Oh, I didn’t know they were down here”. That’s the biggest thing I’ve noticed is that Downtown Montgomery doesn’t have an everyday draw and the Mall and Movie Theater can be that. let us be honest Eastdale mall isn’t going to make it with East Chase being less than 5 miles away. We all know Dillard’s will be closed in 2-3 years and most of the smaller franchise stores have already left. If you put a mall downtown, it will not only be supported by neighborhoods that has a 15-25 year prestige expectancy but it will also be supported by the people who work in the downtown businesses, Maxwell AFB, Hotel Guest, Interstate 65 Users, tourist, and all Central Alabamians who want to come downtown and visit the riverwalk and the park across the river (GREAT IDEAS).

I will agree that downtown Montgomery needs more retail but probably not in the form of a urban mall or urban shopping center. A series of retail blocks would be a better start for downtown than a "self-enclosed block" type retail center. It is essentially a mall in a more vertical form to fit in a downtown situation and they typically only work in dense urban cores that already have a good deal of pedestrian and auto traffic. In Montgomery it would be too expensive because of the availability of cheap land - a la Montgomery Mall, Eastdale Mall and East Chase. Plus with a "self-enclosed block" type center your pulling people off the street...they would drive to the site, park and walk directly in...how would that be any different than a mall anywhere else in the city, just the fact that it's downtown.

A good row of retail along a series of blocks would draw people downtown and get them on the streets were they interact with other aspects of downtown that whatever would be in the "mall." Personally I think this is the type of renaissance that Dexter Ave is due for. Probably the most historic street in the state needs to have better pretense within the capital.

I hate to admit it, because David Bronner really is financial genius, but you could easily compare a downtown mall to the high rise office towers that he is building. They are sucking up all the smaller individual tenants into one structure instead of leaving them dispersed throughout the downtown.

[OldCloverdale]

Will the Baumhower's in the new RSA headquarters make it?
It is certainly not very visible or enticing.

Why didn't they go towards the Alley area?

[thoraudio]

Originally Posted by OldCloverdale

Will the Baumhower's in the new RSA headquarters make it?
It is certainly not very visible or enticing.

Why didn't they go towards the Alley area?

Yes, but it's really more situated as an upscale cafeteria as opposed to a stand alone restaurant. There are alot of people within walking distance, more potential lunchers than the alley.

Service needs to improve a little though....