Montgomery development news

[OldCloverdale]

The free parking on a portion of Commerce Street is now gone and in its place will be decora­tive concrete.

The free parking in the cen­ter of Commerce Street that is north of Madison Avenue will re­main for the time being. The changes are meant to improve aesthetics and make the area, which is part of the city's entertainment district, safer for pedestrians.

There has also been a prob­lem with delivery trucks backing up traffic, since there was no designated loading and unloading area.

The city intends to make up for the loss of spaces by turning the parallel street parking into angled, metered parking, which will happen on both Commerce and Tallapoosa streets. The city's parking lot on the Tallapoosa Street side of the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center will also be available for free public parking after 5 p.m. as of today.

There will not be any net loss of parking, even with re­moving the illegal parking in the center.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Details from the Advertiser

Jill Nolin
Montgomery Advertiser
Friday, October 21, 2011
Link

The next phase of the Alley, which is already under way, will create another cut-through
that will connect the Alley to Coosa Street and carve out new retail spaces in the popular downtown
entertainment dis­trict.

The project is a public-pri­vate venture, with Montgom­ery real estate developer Jerry Kyser
fronting the $250,000 needed to construct the exten­sion through a Coosa Street building.
The city will repay Kyser and also pay rent for the public space over a 15-year pe­riod.

A recent study examining the demand for retail space in downtown has found that
the market could support 309,000 square feet of retail and restau­rant space, according to
Mayor Todd Strange. The details of that report will not be released for another week.

Kyser believes the four re­tail bays that will be created by this project will satisfy a need
for small retail space. It will al­low entrepreneurs to take less risk and open small-scale
shops carrying regional merchandise, he added.

"You've got a lady who comes with her husband (to a convention). She doesn't want
to go to every store she can go to in a hundred other cities. She wants some unique
shop­ping related to the South and related to Montgomery," Kyser said.

The cut-through, which will have a design similar to the Commerce Street breezeway,
will also improve the flow of pedestrian traffic and create development opportunities on
Coosa Street and possibly even Monroe Street, according to Kyser.

But the work needs to hap­pen now before downtown re­development progresses any­more,
Kyser said. Kyser is the owner of 129 Coosa Street, which is a venue for special events.

"This is the last chance we have to make this connection," Kyser said Thursday during a
news conference Thursday.

The cut-through to Coosa Street will also create a public entrance to another, larger
re­tail space that sits opposite to the smaller retail bays. The smallest bay will be 400 square feet,
but all said, a combined 4,500 square feet will be avail­able via the new breezeway.

The city has entered into a lease agreement with Kyser because it hopes to multiply its investment
through increased sales tax revenues.

The city will reimburse Kys­er for the $250,000 construc­tion cost, plus 6 percent inter­est, and
pay to lease the space for a period of 15 years, ac­cording to Deputy Mayor Jeff Downes.
The city will pay $60,000 per year until Kyser has been repaid, and then will pay $34,000 per
year after that to lease the space.

As a result, the city expects to see an additional $115,000 in sales tax revenues per year be­cause
of the project and an in­crease of $1.7 million over the life of the lease, according to Downes.

Kyser owns the bottom floor of the building being used for the project. Kyser also said the he still
working with restaura­teurs to open a restaurant at 129 Coosa Street that would have a Southern
flair and fresh, local vegetables.

[OldCloverdale]

Montgomery's newest, and perhaps smallest, retail spots are now under construction.

The two adjacent structures, which will each be 576 square feet, will have a restroom that connects them. They are going up at the corner of Tallapoosa and Commerce streets.

The city will rent the spaces to fledgling retail business owners who go through train­ing that includes the Small Business Resource Center's Entrepreneurial University.

Officials have said the pur­pose of the incubators is to in­crease retail choices in down­town Montgomery by allowing entrepreneurs a low-risk op­portunity to see how their products will sell before decid­ing to move downtown on a more permanent basis.

"We are close to signing a lease on our first one," said Chad Emerson, the city's direc­tor of development.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/arti...on?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|p



Construction continues on two city-owned retail incubators in downtown Montgomery. David Goodwin, left, and Dustin Simmons with Framing Professionals are working on the project being built by Distinctive Homes

[OldCloverdale]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/arti...nt?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s

The third time proved to be the charm for Montgomery businessman Ken Register, whose plan to redefine a Gar­den District property received approval from the Architectur­al Review Board.

Register owns the lot at the corner of South McDonough Street and Noble Avenue, the site of what was the historic Gay House. He wants to devel­op the .84-acre property into single-family homes, which he's previously said would be in keeping with the character of the historic neighborhood.

He and his project manager, Sue Lauffner, have come before the ARB twice before with plans for de­velopment that were met with resistance.

Tuesday night, Lauffner, along with architect Lida Sea­se, presented a plan that took into account the board's previ­ous concerns about setbacks from the street and the density of the development.

The plan that was approved calls for six lots, down from the original eight lots. The board looked over detailed ar­chitectural renderings that showed curb cuts, driveway placement, parking and tree placement.

Board member Brandon Brazil thanked Lauffner and Register for meeting with members of the Garden Dis­trict Preservation Association to address their concerns, an issue that was raised at a previ­ous ARB meeting.

Board chairman Chuck Jones was pleased by the up­dated plans.

"Let me just commend you. This is fine. This is very well done," Jones said to Lauffner and Sease.

Brazil noted that any grad­ing or tree removal will re­quire separate ARB review.

Lauffner assured the board that they would bring any po­tential buyers to work with preservation coordinator Christy Anderson to avoid problems with such issues as architectural details, paint choices and stone or brick se­lection.

The board unanimously ap­proved the petition. Now, Reg­ister will go before the Mont­gomery City Council for rezoning. Then, the lot will have to be replatted before any lots can be sold.

After the meeting, Lauffner said she was excited, and that potential buyers have already approached Register about the lots. Lauffner thinks the con­cept could be the first of many others.

"I think once we get one un­der our belt, we'll be able to move on, and take other pock­ets within the city and the downtown area and see what we can do, and how we can be effective at making change," Lauffner said.

Register was pleased, and said he is ready to proceed. "It's good for Montgomery."

+++

sad:

[brad0022]

Originally Posted by OldCloverdale

Montgomery's newest, and perhaps smallest, retail spots are now under construction.

The two adjacent structures, which will each be 576 square feet, will have a restroom that connects them. They are going up at the corner of Tallapoosa and Commerce streets.

The city will rent the spaces to fledgling retail business owners who go through train­ing that includes the Small Business Resource Center's Entrepreneurial University.

Officials have said the pur­pose of the incubators is to in­crease retail choices in down­town Montgomery by allowing entrepreneurs a low-risk op­portunity to see how their products will sell before decid­ing to move downtown on a more permanent basis.

"We are close to signing a lease on our first one," said Chad Emerson, the city's direc­tor of development.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/arti...on?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|p



Construction continues on two city-owned retail incubators in downtown Montgomery. David Goodwin, left, and Dustin Simmons with Framing Professionals are working on the project being built by Distinctive Homes

I like this idea.

[thoraudio]

Drove down to take a look at them yesterday, and noticed that people are STILL parking in the middle of Commerce, despite the ongoing concrete work. Annoying as all get out.

[brad0022]

I missed this announcement several months ago so this was a surprise to me today. The Renesant Bank renovation of the former Regions bank is coming along. They are renovating 10,500 sq feet of the building. This will be the division headquarters for the Montgomery market.

"This location perfectly compliments our talented and experienced Renasant team by giving us a high profile location to provide our premier banking and lending services," said Mike Ross, Renasant's Eastern Division President. "With all the products of the big banks but the relationships and personal service of a community bank, we look forward to becoming a major part of the Montgomery community. Although Renasant may be a new name, our bankers have over 70 combined years of banking and lending experience in the local Montgomery marketplace."

http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2011/08/changes_coming_to_montgomery_s.html

if that link is dead then try this one
http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/blog/2011/08/renasant-bank-picks-montgomery-hq.html

[brad0022]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/arti...evard?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage



Group signs $2.5M deal to redevelop Maxwell Boulevard

"A Montgomery-based development group has signed a $2.5 million agreement to buy and rede­velop a city-owned stretch of property along Max­well Boulevard.

Maxwell Development LLC offered the most money out of the four developers that submitted proposals for the property between Holt and Whit­man streets.

David Payne Jr., vice president of Design Build South and one of the key players behind Maxwell Development, said Wednesday that the planned roughly 300,000-square-foot building will stretch the entire length of the property and in­clude 304 apartments and about 50,000 square feet of retail space. The most recent plans call for a va­riating roofline of five and six stories."


"But the plans are not yet set in stone, Strange said. While he's confident that there is a market for 300 apartments near downtown -- he has recent housing and retail demand studies that tell him there is room for much more than that -- HUD could come back and say the project should be scaled down.

A smaller project is what the property owners along Clay Street would like."

Attorney Dean Mooty of Mooty & Associates who has a view of the river is apposed to the project as this project will give him a view of back of the building and a parking lot.

[thoraudio]

Looks nice, but I don't think they'll get them that big...

[OldCloverdale]

Supposedly, the Southern Trails store at the old Brewpub building will open on "Black Friday."

[rbp]

Originally Posted by OldCloverdale

Supposedly, the Southern Trails store at the old Brewpub building will open on "Black Friday."

They're moving pretty fast, replacing all the windows. First & second floors look done. Not sure what they're going to do with the old kitchen section.

[OldCloverdale]

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Tell me again, where is that building located?

[Brown Duckz]

I'm not sure if anyone else has noticed but the illuminating light from the "now" Renesant tower is a pretty nice addition to the skyline, especially from the river bridge. It goes along nicely with some of the other property's lighting.

[OldCloverdale]

Originally Posted by tredici

Tell me again, where is that building located?

Montgomery, Alabama, USA

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by OldCloverdale

Montgomery, Alabama, USA

Oh ha ha ha ha ha. But seriously, anyone know an address? Or just a general location?

[OldCloverdale]

Downtown

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by OldCloverdale

Downtown

W/e, I give up.

[Brown Duckz]

Originally Posted by tredici

W/e, I give up.

It's in the Warehouse District adjacent to Riverwalk Stadium.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Brown Duckz

It's in the Warehouse District adjacent to Riverwalk Stadium.

Thank you very much