Huntsville updates

[AspiringCE]

Originally Posted by tredici

I'm glad Madison is starting to act more like a business center in the "Tennessee Valley Triangle." I would think this would fuel some growth further west.

I'm very surprised that East Limestone isn't built up like Madison and West Huntsville are. You can tell when you hit Limestone County without looking at the signs; the landscape turns rural.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by AspiringCE

I'm very surprised that East Limestone isn't built up like Madison and West Huntsville are. You can tell when you hit Limestone County without looking at the signs; the landscape turns rural.

I think it's just a problem of the differences between governments. Many times, growth just won't overflow unless there is that critical mass that Huntsville, Decatur, and Madison don't have yet. I mean, Decatur has had annexed land across the river for years, yet there has really been no big development.

Don't worry though, as more job growth occurs closer to the county line, it'll probably turn into a regular occurrence to see new development in Limestone.

EDIT: BTW, if you wanna see good examples of areas where a political boundary like city limits or county lines have kept growth from occurring, just pull of google maps and look at the view of Lexington, KY and Toledo, OH. Lexington has had urban growth boundaries for years, but you can still see a stark contrast, and Toledo is right on the Ohio/Michigan state line, that one is pretty interesting to look at.

[HSVTiger]

A few highlights in an article today about the decreasing vacancy rate in Huntsville

Commenting on Huntsville's retail future, Joe Vallely(development director) said there's been a "flurry" of meetings in the last 10 days or so with developers representing various retailers.

"We haven't had that kind of activity in two years," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, adding that there's "pent-up demand" in the market.

In the Huntsville-area retail market, which includes Huntsville, Madison and Harvest, there's more than 11.8 million square feet of retail space; 1.28 million square feet is vacant.

Retail vacancy
Last year's rate - 10.8 percent - dropped from 11.11 percent in 2009 and 12 percent in 2008, according to a new survey by the commercial real estate firm Graham & Co. The vacancy rate in 2007 - before the recession hit - was 9.12 percent.

Office
The Graham & Co. survey also shows that the vacancy rate in the Huntsville-area office market was 8.11 percent last year, down from 9.33 percent in 2009.

In previous years, the vacancy rate in that market was 7 percent in 2008; 7.36 percent in 2007; 6.89 percent in 2006; 7.23 percent in 2005; and 10.34 percent in 2004.
HSV Times

[HSVTiger]

Construction of new baggage claim area at Huntsville International Airport

[HSVTiger]

In a related retail issue posted earlier
"People have already put more than 800 retail ideas on the map, from a Nordstrom at Bridge Street Town Centre to a Cheesecake Factory behind the Von Braun Center to Crate and Barrel at Parkway Place Mall.

"We now have raw data that we can take to developers and bring some of these ideas to reality," Willis said today.

He said Battle plans to host a second retail development summit in the next few weeks to discuss the findings from the map initiative, and how the city plans to use that information to court new stores and restaurants.
Time is running out to add your suggestions to the city's retail "Ideas Map."

Trent Willis, chief of staff for Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, said the interactive map will remain online until midnight Tuesday. Find it at www.huntsvilleal.gov/ideas/"

HSV Times

Doesn't mean all or any of these will happen, some are limited by demographics and reality but a smart retailer will pay attention to the fact
that people in this city want them to locate here.

[HSVTiger]

Indications are that some exciting retail announcements for the city are coming soon. Also the hotel mentioned earlier adjacent to the VBC may plan construction for spring of 2012.

[ThatGuy]

Big Spring Jam should take notes on what a good line-up looks like...

http://hangoutmusicfest.com/?page_id=38

[HSVTiger]

Downtown Hotel proposed a Sheraton

"National Ventures Group President Robert L. Schwartz met privately on Friday with Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and City Council members Will Culver and Richard Showers.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Schwartz said he intends to get together with the other council members and VBC officials over the next two weeks.

He said he hopes to give a public presentation on the hotel -- a 210-room Sheraton topped by condominiums or executive suites -- in early March.
Joe Vallely, the city's economic development director, said another hotel within walking distance of the VBC would be "extremely helpful" in luring bigger conventions to the Rocket City.

However, Vallely said the location preferred by Schwartz and his partners -- the North Hall parking lot facing Clinton Avenue -- could make an already tight parking situation at the VBC worse.

"If you consume parking, there's a cost" to replacing it elsewhere, Vallely said Tuesday. "There would be a substantial pricetag to that ... and I think the mayor feels that needs to be part of the discussion."

Also, the city does not want to commit land to a hotel that the VBC might need for future expansion, he said."

The hotel would be financed privately.

I say propose that the a parking deck be included or propose the site a block,
east at Clinton and Monroe and add 2 levels of parking to the existing deck adjacent to Big Spring Summit. Add 5 more floors of rooms as well. This is the same group building the downtown Westin in Birmingham. I would like to see what parking plan this group has in mind.

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

However, Vallely said the location preferred by Schwartz and his partners -- the North Hall parking lot facing Clinton Avenue -- could make an already tight parking situation at the VBC worse.

I'm confused. Do they want to be able to buy the land or to be given the land? If we are going to give them land, give them the old Stone Middle School location. It is right down the road and would help renovate the area. It isn't the ideal area for the developers, but it might be worth it if the land is free.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

I'm confused. Do they want to be able to buy the land or to be given the land? If we are going to give them land, give them the old Stone Middle School location. It is right down the road and would help renovate the area. It isn't the ideal area for the developers, but it might be worth it if the land is free.

That would not be a good location for a hotel. This downtown proposal needs to be adjacent to the VBC. The understanding is the city would give the land
but I don't see that happening, because it eliminates parking and possible future
VBC expansion. The developer should buy the corner lot ate Clinton and Monroe
and go from there.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

IMO, that lot that you're talking about (the one at the corner of Clinton and Monroe) would be a better choice than the one next to the North Hall.

The Monroe lot is closer to Big Spring Park, right next to a parking deck, and just fits in better with the downtown area.

[HSVTiger]

From the Birmingham Insider

Huntsville is likely to be a winner again should another round of military base closings be ordered by whoever is president in 2015, according to the head of one of the biggest commercial property developers in the country.

Randall Griffin, CEO of Maryland-based Corporate Office Properties Trust, told a conference of commercial real estate pros that conversations he's had with major players in Washington lead him to believe that Huntsville's dramatic military-related growth is far from over.

The current round of re-alignments ordered by President George W. Bush on the recommendation of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission is expected to bring 20,000 jobs to Huntsville from closed bases elsewhere. The next round of base closings is expected in 2015, and Huntsville is well-positioned, Griffin said.

"Buy a lot in Huntsville," he said.

Griffin has a lot to gain from growth in Huntsville. His company is in the early stages of building a $1 billion office park on 486 acres near Cummings Research Park. The Cummings facility -- a public-private initiative -- can't build on spec. But Griffin's project is all speculative.

(This would be Redstone Gateway which is now in site prep stage.They are movin a lot of dirt.

[thunder89]

^^^

My father is continuing to help move and lay foundation for the gargantuan development out on the Arsenal. He says its unbelievable the size of the amount of land they are using, but overall is very excited about it. He use to work on the arsenal back before my time before starting his Contracting company, so he says any help the arsenal gets to draw the public's attention to it is wonderful. I'm excited to drive by on 565 next time I come to Huntsville

[HSVTiger]

A refresher or for those who didn't know some facts about Cummings Research Park. There is a tremendous amount of things going on here that will transform the future.

Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Established:1962 - as Huntsville Research Park
Renamed:1973 - in Honor of Mr. Milton K. Cummings
Major Expansion:1982 - CRP West; Land Purchased by City of Huntsville
# Ranking: 2nd largest research and technology park in the United States
# 4th largest in the world
# Most Outstanding Science Park in the World (AURP, 1997)
Current Land Area: 3,843 Acres / 1,550 Hectares
Companies: 285 Companies
Workforce: 25,000 Employees
Buildings: 175 Buildings
Capacity: 9.5 million Square Feet

Zoning: Restricted zoning for technology industries
Air Access: Huntsville International Airport (10-Minute Drive)
Highway Access: I-565 (Adjacent), I-65 (15-Minute Drive)
Key Industries Software Design, Engineering Services, Aerospace & Defense,
Computers & Electronics, Research & Development, Biotech
# Current Tenants: Fortune 500 companies
# International technology-based companies
# Award-winning small businesses
# Local entrepreneurial startups
# BizTech - technology business incubator
# Higher education - 9,800 enrolled students
# Technology-oriented high schools
# HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology
# Alabama Supercomputer Authority
# Academic and non-profit research centers
# Government and military research facilities
# Bridge Street Town Centre
# Auburn University Huntsville Research Center

[Port_of_Bama]

I was wondering if the stadium at A&MU is the only municipal stadium in Huntsville that could hold a crowd of 20K. I use to live up there for about three years and AAMU`s stadium seemed to be the only stadium in the Huntsville area is that true ?

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Port_of_Bama

I was wondering if the stadium at A&MU is the only municipal stadium in Huntsville that could hold a crowd of 20K. I use to live up there for about three years and AAMU`s stadium seemed to be the only stadium in the Huntsville area is that true ?

For that size yes, Louis Crews Stadium at Alabama A&M 21,000
Joe Davis, Huntsville Stars baseball could get 11,000 squeezed in,
Von Braun Center Arena 10,000 (although 13,000 can be arranged for concerts)
Milton Frank home to high school football 12,000, built in 1949.
Goldsmith Schiffman a cool stadium in historic Five Points built in 1934 could maybe hold 1000.

[Port_of_Bama]

I saw the Milton Frank stadium but didn`t know the name until just now.The city use to shoot fireworks from that area I believe.

[David1502]

Confirming the statements made by the City of Huntsville (Mayor Tommy Battle in particular) that retail is about to grow again in this area, there were three building permits listed in the HSV Times Business First section this past Sunday for Bridge Street. The permits were as follows:

1. $2.95 Million for a new building for Huntsville Power Center at 6884 Governors West
2. $1.5 Million for a new building for Huntsville Power Center at 6888 Governors West
3. $900,000 ....at 6886 Governors West

The Huntsville Power Center Center is the strip center presently anchored by the Sports Authority store. Sports Authority's address is 6890 Governors West. Apparently the developers of Bridge Street must have some big box anchor tenants lined up because it is hard to see how they could get financing for such big projects. It will definitely be interesting to see who comes in.

Also, this leads to the question of how things are going with their efforts to attract Von Maur's Department Store which they tried to entice last year by getting the City to give a sales tax abatement in order to finance a parking garage - The City was not agreeable.

Second, is how things are going on their efforts to get tenants to justify construction of new office buildings to go in the North West corner of the development which will look similar to the present CSC building overlooking the lake.

This construction permit notice is a good sign and hopefully the announcement of the big box tenants will be coming soon.

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by David1502

Confirming the statements made by the City of Huntsville (Mayor Tommy Battle in particular) that retail is about to grow again in this area, there were three building permits listed in the HSV Times Business First section this past Sunday for Bridge Street.

Add these to the Kohls in Jones Valley and it certainly looks like we are turning a corner.

Update:That post has been pulled from the blog for some reason. He did say there were street access issues to work through before it could be finalized... Maybe he is just "saving it" for the Mayor to announce in his planned "Retail Development" meeting.

[cyberfox]

I have to take back all of the positive comments about the city and county clearing the roadways after the snowfalls. This morning is a joke. The snow came early and the roads for the morning rush hour are closed or hazardous and should be closed. The same comments can go for the state also.

It is ridiculous to have the citizens and businesses impacted like this over a 2 inch snowfall.