Mobile Development Thread

[Port_of_Bama]

Mobile's international outlook bright thanks to logistics (Bill Sisson)

Published: Tuesday, November 01, 2011, 2:45 AM Updated: Tuesday, November 01, 2011, 2:27 PM

By Gulf Coast Business Press-Register

MOBILE, Alabama -- The Mobile Bay region has become accustomed to finding itself on numerous Top 10 lists over the past five years. And I mean Top 10 in a good way -- not the bottom-of-the-list, hide-under-your-desk type that are stereotypical of Alabama.


View full sizeBill Sission is executive director of the Mobile Airport Authority.
I was especially proud of a recent ranking by Business Facilities magazine, which had Mobile as the eighth-best logistics/distribution/shipping hubs in the US, ahead of our Southern city competitors, Charleston and Savannah.

It confirms that the economic development anthem we've been singing about our region is indeed true: Our logistics are world-class and really are the key to our economic future.

The Brookley Aeroplex sits in the middle of that excellent infrastructure where our region's rail, water, road and air logistics all come together. Brookley's full potential has never been fully met. However, it will be in the near future if we continue to play our economic development cards right.

Mobile is a city that was founded because of transportation, and, as a port city, has always looked outward to build its economy. We are living in an era of protection and security here in the U.S. where government and people are beginning to take measures to close international doors. In the Mobile Bay region, we must continue to court international businesses, which inherently understand the benefits of our superior logistics. Already, eight of the top 10 businesses in Mobile are international businesses --- and Mobile can continue to have a competitive advantage in the US if we continue to look outward for opportunities.

Here are some of the elements that international companies look at while preparing the short list for relocation and expansion:

-- Quality and price level of the workforce.

http://blog.al.com/press-register-business/2011/11/mobiles_international_outlook.html#comments

[Port_of_Bama]

Rumored Midtown Publix approved by Mobile City Council
Published: Tuesday, November 01, 2011, 3:14 PM Updated: Tuesday, November 01, 2011, 3:14 PM
By Robert McClendon, Press-Register Press-Register

MOBILE, Alabama -- The Mobile City Council on Tuesday approved plans for a new Midtown grocery store believed to be a Publix Super Market.

Doug Anderson, the lawyer who has been guiding the project through the planning process, said the council’s action cleared the final land-use hurdle in the development’s path.

He said a few “due diligence” tasks remained, though he declined to say specifically what else needed to be done before construction could begin.

The development sits on a plot of land on Springhill Avenue and Mobile Infirmary Boulevard. A site plan for the project shows an anchor store with 45,600 square feet of retail space flanked by three smaller shops.

Developer John Argo, of Aronov Realty in Montgomery, declined again Tuesday to say who would occupy the anchor space, but Realtors have said it’s the future home of a Publix.

Argo said that the remaining checklist of pre-construction planning would last through the spring with shovels hitting the dirt late next summer. Construction will take about a year, he said.

Argo declined to say when the anchor retailer would announce the store opening.

The site was once tagged with a hodgepodge of zoning designations ranging from single family to commercial, but the City Council on Tuesday rezoned the entire plot to B-2, a retail-business class suitable for a grocery store.

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/11/rumored_midtown_publix_approve.html#comments

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I'll say it again, recessions create boom-towns, and Mobile will be one of those boom-towns.

[elb401]

Thats great news. I'm suprised nobody posted this link yet. Its about the status of some new and old plans for Mobile's downtown waterfront.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_ne...ef=scroller&categoryId=10001&status=true

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by elb401

Thats great news. I'm suprised nobody posted this link yet. Its about the status of some new and old plans for Mobile's downtown waterfront.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_ne...ef=scroller&categoryId=10001&status=true

Great news. I still really wanna see that pedestrian bridge constructed.

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by tredici

I'll say it again, recessions create boom-towns, and Mobile will be one of those boom-towns.

I hope so tredici !

[Port_of_Bama]

Well it`s not development news but $15,000 + worth of Christmas lights on one block is worth posting....



'Ceiling of Lights' to twinkle above Dauphin Street during holiday season

Published: Wednesday, November 02, 2011, 2:02 PM Updated: Wednesday, November 02, 2011, 2:55 PM

By Dan Murtaugh, Press-Register Press-Register

City of Mobile workers today are installing the infrastructure for a holiday season ceiling of lights on one block of Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile.
The lights will twinkle overhead from Joachim to Conception streets, the block with the Crescent Theater, the Soul Kitchen and Busaba’s Thai Cuisine.
The city will illuminate them Nov. 18, when it lights its Christmas tree in the adjacent Bienville Square, said Carol Hunter, a spokeswoman for the Downtown Mobile Alliance.
The Alliance spent years squirreling away $15,000 to pay for the lights and a consultant from Blachere Illumination — which also lights the Eiffel Tower — to set up the arrangement, Hunter said.

Hunter said the downtown holiday events are reaching such a status that the Mobile Convention and Visitors Bureau is touting them alongside the popular Christmas lights display at Bellingrath Gardens.
“We’re finally reaching that critical mass of holiday events where people will come in from out of town, stay in the hotels, eat in the restaurants and shop in the stores,” she said.

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/11/ceiling_of_lights_to_twinkle_a.html


This will be intiresting to see..... Pics will be coming soon

[SouthSky]

Originally Posted by elb401

Thats great news. I'm suprised nobody posted this link yet. Its about the status of some new and old plans for Mobile's downtown waterfront.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_ne...ef=scroller&categoryId=10001&status=true

This, along with further capitalization of the container and intermodal facilities at Choctaw Point, will be huge for the city and area.

I'm still wondering about the ins and outs of the ferry service... I haven't heard anything about the purchase of the actual ferries nor initial routes.

[elb401]

There are a couple of options for the ferries.

1) The city could buy them. Cost a few multimillion dollars for the high speed ferries and under a million for the non-high speed. If they bought non-high speed you might lose the time advantage of using the ferry.

2) The state could purchase and operate the system.....yeah right not with our current governor.

3) They could find a private operator and owner for the ferry system. Work out some sort of public-private partnership. That would mean all the communities working together (Mobile, Mobile County, Baldwin County, Fairhope, and potential company) would have to agree. Baldwin County's Commission is really anti-growth anti-progress right now, so it could be hard to get them to argee to anything.

I like option 3 but, I'm sure there are more options out there. As for me I commute every day to the Gulf Shores area. I would take the ferry if it stopped in GS near the intercoastal waterway bridge. I would take it even if it took just a little longer to get to work if I could save on gas. I think they only want to offer that route in the summer months though.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by elb401

There are a couple of options for the ferries.

1) The city could buy them. Cost a few multimillion dollars for the high speed ferries and under a million for the non-high speed. If they bought non-high speed you might lose the time advantage of using the ferry.

2) The state could purchase and operate the system.....yeah right not with our current governor.

3) They could find a private operator and owner for the ferry system. Work out some sort of public-private partnership. That would mean all the communities working together (Mobile, Mobile County, Baldwin County, Fairhope, and potential company) would have to agree. Baldwin County's Commission is really anti-growth anti-progress right now, so it could be hard to get them to argee to anything.

I like option 3 but, I'm sure there are more options out there. As for me I commute every day to the Gulf Shores area. I would take the ferry if it stopped in GS near the intercoastal waterway bridge. I would take it even if it took just a little longer to get to work if I could save on gas. I think they only want to offer that route in the summer months though.

What really needs to happen is a transit authority that covers Baldwin and Mobile Counties. One that encompasses the buses, ferries, and whatever future methods may be offered in the future. Otherwise, it won't ever be successful.

[Electrical Porpoise]

I do not think it will ever be a big money maker, but you need to developments like these that add to a city's general image.


I'm curious how long a ferry to Gulf Shores would take. If you make a triangle from Navy Cove to Mullet Point to the ICW entrance near Bon Secour, there isn't much water at all. I guess they'll run down the ship channel and take the ICW, but that's a pretty long run.

[Port_of_Bama]

News

Looking for ways to bring more retail to downtown
By Peter Teske
Issue#
NOVEMBER 1, 2011

Included in rent at the recently opened Downtown Mobile Alliance-run business incubator — which is $4 per square foot with a minimum of 100 and maximum of 500 square feet — are resources like in-house marketing, inventory control and personnel management. A visitor beyond mid-November is likely to come across retail offerings from Shelby Home (specialty food items), Bellingrath Gardens Gift Shop, Covered Boutique (women’s clothing), Manna Bakery, a home linens store and another gift shop with established locations along the Gulf Coast, he said.

You won’t find much in the way of art, however.

"We’re not looking to compete with the wealth of already established galleries downtown,” Pittillo said. "We want this to be good for the existing businesses, too.”

Director of downtown economic development for the DMA, Fred Rendfrey, believes the incubator is going to help businesses locate or relocate downtown by making the process easier.


Outside success stories
As streamlined as the Urban Emporium process seems to be, not everyone will find it the best way to open their business. And that certainly hasn’t stopped some from succeeding.

Specifically citing Papillon, a vintage and antiques store on the corner of Joachim and Conti Streets, Rendfrey said there are examples aplenty.

Another case study in independent business owners betting the farm independently rests in the space formerly inhabited by the Demented Needle Tattoo Parlor — Paint Nail and Beauty Bar.

"Paint” Owner Tarrica Madison said the only snag she hit was a minor one with signage.

"Other than that, everyone’s been very welcoming,” said Madison, who left a successful cupcake design business in Atlanta after 14 years.

"I’ve been asked probably 3,000 times why I chose to leave (Atlanta),” Madison added. "I can’t tell anyone anything other than I had to go on faith. The vision had been sitting on me for about four years, and I just did it. And I’m really glad I did.”

http://classic.lagniappemobile.com/article.asp?articleID=4954&sid=1





This is a good start but i would love to see an FYE,Old Navy,Gap, or Lucky Brand downtown.

[elb401]

I think this is great. While we would love to the big retailer names downtown it probably won't happen, at least anytime soon. Those types of stores require lots of parking and downtown isn't built like that. It would be great to see those stores move into the market.....maybe legacy village or Bel air mall.

The Urban Emporium will hopefully foster a more local, unique retail atmosphere downtown. We need the rental rates to drop downtown or you won't see any significant increase in shops or residents. We need to do more to create a creative class in Midtown and downtown.

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by elb401

I think this is great. While we would love to the big retailer names downtown it probably won't happen, at least anytime soon. Those types of stores require lots of parking and downtown isn't built like that. It would be great to see those stores move into the market.....maybe legacy village or Bel air mall.

The Urban Emporium will hopefully foster a more local, unique retail atmosphere downtown. We need the rental rates to drop downtown or you won't see any significant increase in shops or residents. We need to do more to create a creative class in Midtown and downtown.

This defiantly is a good start.Downtown has been missing quality retail for years ! I would love to see The city turn St.Louse Street into a retail corridor.It is a major street downtown but it is under used.And when they get the ball moving I hope they model St.Louis street after the Fort Conde Village.That would be a really cool retail corridor.For right now I`m glad that many are considering retail downtown.

[Port_of_Bama]

Dinner Cruises returning to Mobile with the arrival of the Harbor Lady
Published: Wednesday, November 09, 2011, 9:14 AM

By Robert McClendon, Press-Register

MOBILE, Alabama -- Dinner cruises are about to return to Mobile’s waterfront.
The Harbor Lady, a 95-foot yacht based out of Wisconsin, will spend six months docking at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center starting next week, the owner of the vessel announced Tuesday in a news conference.
Sightseeing cruises will begin Nov. 15, with dinner cruises starting December 1.
Three dinner cruise ships have plied the Mobile River in years past, and some did fairly well, but not well enough to stay, said Bob Brazier, the general manager of the Convention Center.
The last ship, the Spirit of LaSalle, left in 2009.
Brazier was confident that the Harbor Lady would succeed where others failed, thanks to the quality of the ship.
The two-deck vessel, which was recently refurbished and has the feel of a swanky hotel lobby inside, can carry up to 149 people.
The Harbor Lady’s contract calls for the company to pay the Convention Center $1,500 per month for six months, Brazier said. When the six-month period is over May 15, the ship will return to Lake Michigan for the summer season.

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/11/dinner_cruises_returning_to_mo.html



Harbor Lady :

http://www.sturgeonbay.net/images/uploads/businesses/profile/HarborLady2011-1_medium.jpg

http://www.harborlady.com/files/images/HarborLady-back-deck.jpg

http://www.mywedding.com/cassiephil/images/HarborLadyCruises3.jpg

[eshore78]

I'm hearing if things work out the way they plan, the Moe's BBQ downtown is going to be big. Around 7000 sq ft with a good size of it being a music venue.

[Port_of_Bama]

Where will it be located ? I also noticed that the Hurrican Brewery building will be a Text mex restaraunt.That is a nice size building and a great location as well.

[eshore78]

The building I've heard thats being looked at is the triangle shaped building at the red light by the garage and bicycle shop on Dauphin Street.

[SouthSky]

Originally Posted by eshore78

The building I've heard thats being looked at is the triangle shaped building at the red light by the garage and bicycle shop on Dauphin Street.

That would be fantastic.

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by eshore78

The building I've heard thats being looked at is the triangle shaped building at the red light by the garage and bicycle shop on Dauphin Street.

Whoa !! Cool !!


CHECK THIS ARTICLE OUT GUYS

Nonprofit organization Artspace will visit Mobile Published: Monday, October 31, 2011, 7:31 AM
By Press-Register staff Press-Register

MOBILE, Alabama — The City of Mobile’s Neighborhood and Community Services Department, in conjunction with the Downtown Mobile Alliance, will bring in Artspace, a national nonprofit developer, on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 7-8, to gauge downtown’s potential to sustain spaces in which artists would work and live.
To continue that momentum, public and private citizens have taken the recommendation from the New Plan for Old Mobile to investigate the feasibility of continuing the progress and investment made by both sectors. What sets a project like this apart from more recent residential development in downtown is that it provides affordable housing options with the space for artists to create and sell their work.

Buildings being toured for consideration in the study are: the former Red Cross building at Broad and Dauphin; the old Mobile Press-Register building on Government Street; and the Gayfers and Van Antwerp buildings on Dauphin Street; and City Hall North on St. Joseph Street.

http://blog.al.com/entertainment-press-register/2011/10/national_nonprofit_organizatio.html

http://www.artspace.org/events/


It would be really nice to see an investment in those buildings especialy Gayfer and Van Antwrep !