Huntsville updates

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by downtownhsvguy

Also more good news for Huntsville and my hometown of San Francisco/Bay Area!!!

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Financial literacy and consumer advocacy site NerdWallet has named Huntsville as one of America's top 10 best metro areas for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) graduates.

The Rocket City ranked No. 3 on a list with other major U.S. metro areas such as San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Arlington, Va., and Seattle.

In Huntsville, about 20 percent of total jobs call for a STEM bachelor's degree or higher, while the average salary for a STEM job requiring a four-year degree or higher is $91,873, NerdWallet reports.

NerdWallet analyst Divya Raghavan studied 357 U.S. metro areas using data she collected from the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C. Raghavan said she compiled the list by measuring the total number of jobs that require a STEM bachelor's degree, average salary and the overall economic health in each metro area.

"Huntsville definitely has strong STEM support and its main industries are ones that require STEM knowledge," she said. "For recent college graduates in general, the area also has a low cost of living and it might be good for someone who might have a lot of debt or not a lot of savings to start out."

In the report, Raghavan said Huntsville has strong science, technology, architecture, engineering and computer and math science fields.

"A major part of the Huntsville economy is driven by science- and engineering-related jobs in the defense and space industries," said Huntsville Career Center manager Mike Fowler.

Here's NerdWallet's complete top 10 metro areas for STEM graduates list:

1. San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Calif.

2. Washington, D.C., Arlington, Alexandria, Va./Md./W.Va.

3. Huntsville

4. San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont, Calif.

5. Trenton-Ewing, N.J.

6. Boulder, Colo.

7. Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue, Wash.

8. Boston, Cambridge, Quincy, Mass./N.H.

9. Ann Arbor, Mich.

10. Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, Wash.

Another good example of why Huntsville needs to have a first-class state of the art Science museum center that is more of an attraction. Preferably downtown. It could be to us what the Aquarium is for Chattanooga.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I keep wondering why people nationally doubt Huntsville's ability/success... True, a publication or two does not necessarily indicate a city's success... but many? By now, many have!!

It's about time that people realize that there have been a number of publications that recognize Huntsville as a great research center. I'm getting tired of people neglecting to mention the Tennessee Valley in the same breath as the Research Triangle.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Another good example of why Huntsville needs to have a first-class state of the art Science museum center that is more of an attraction. Preferably downtown. It could be to us what the Aquarium is for Chattanooga.

well that and a new downtown stadium, which could be linked to the dead Constellation eyesore (redeveloped). A lite rail south from downtown to Parkway Place, a west line to Research Park connecting to a downtown research park for those companies that don't need a huge campus but want to be linked to Cummings.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by quattordici

I keep wondering why people nationally doubt Huntsville's ability/success... True, a publication or two does not necessarily indicate a city's success... but many? By now, many have!!

It's about time that people realize that there have been a number of publications that recognize Huntsville as a great research center. I'm getting tired of people neglecting to mention the Tennessee Valley in the same breath as the Research Triangle.

In many ways Huntsville is doing more than the Triangle, it just can't be talked about.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

well that and a new downtown stadium, which could be linked to the dead Constellation eyesore (redeveloped). A lite rail south from downtown to Parkway Place, a west line to Research Park connecting to a downtown research park for those companies that don't need a huge campus but want to be linked to Cummings.

Honestly, I think a science museum/center with unique architecture would be great where the current Holiday Inn is located. You would have a convention hotel right across the street from it. Then you would have the Science Center, the Propst Arena, Convention Center, and the new ball park all on one side of the street just walking distance away with the beautiful Big Spring Park on the other side.

Location, location, location!

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

well that and a new downtown stadium, which could be linked to the dead Constellation eyesore (redeveloped).

I cracked myself up the other day when I realized that our Constellation, like all the ones in the sky, is lightyears away...

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

I cracked myself up the other day when I realized that our Constellation, like all the ones in the sky, is lightyears away...

The recession killed that. Otherwise it would have been completed by now.

[HSVTiger]

Mayor going after aldont

This morning, Battle held a news conference at the end of the controlled-access portion of Interstate 565 on U.S. 72 East at Moores Mill Road. Work to extend I-565 through the Moores Mill and Shields road intersections was postponed from next year until 2024 under a revised Alabama Department of Transportation statewide road improvement schedule.

Battle said the decade delay will push the cost of the I-565 project from $103 million to nearly $160 million.

"More than 52,000 people commute to work in and out of Huntsville each day, and thousands of those travel from Jackson County through this congested area," he said. "We can't afford to have I-565 end at a traffic light in one of the city's major corridors."

The mayor is also pushing Gov. Robert Bentley and ALDOT Director John Cooper to take quicker action on planned Memorial Parkway overpasses at Byrd Spring, Lily Flagg and Mastin Lake roads.

Citing a decline in gasoline tax collections, ALDOT recently pruned its five-year, $4 billion statewide budget for new road construction to $1.5 billion over 10 years. The revised plan significantly delays 14 major Huntsville road projects.

We can’t afford to have I-565 end at a traffic light in one of the city’s major corridors.

Battle noted that the I-565/Moores Mill Road project is "fully funded" through the federal Appalachian Regional Commission and does not require matching state funds. The commission funds three transportation corridors in North Alabama: Corridor V in Huntsville, and Corridors X and X-1 in Birmingham.

The city says ALDOT, which determines the timeline and distribution of federal dollars for all three corridors, is scheduled to spend $442 million on the Birmingham corridors but only $300,000 on Huntsville's Corridor V from now until 2022. Between 2023 and 2032, the city says, the state plans to allocate another $3 billion to the Birmingham corridors while spending $156 million in Huntsville extending I-565 past Moores Mill and Shields roads and improving the U.S. 72 East-Dug Hill Road intersection.

"We understand the funding issues ALDOT is facing, and we are not asking for any additional (Appalachian Regional Commission) monies for new projects at this time," Huntsville Urban Development Director Shane Davis said today. "All we are asking from the state is for the construction date for I-565 at Moores Mill to be moved up within the 10-year spending plan."

ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris said the agency gets approximately $1.2 billion a year to maintain 11,000 miles of state and federal highways, replace outdated bridges and construct new roads - called capacity projects - in 67 different counties. Harris said the Legislature diverts about $80 million annually from ALDOT to other state agencies.

"When we did a real critical assessment of our available funding," he said today, "the unmistakable conclusion was that only a limited number of (capacity) projects could move forward in the foreseeable future.

"It's impractical to think we can address all the needs in Madison County, and in the rest of Alabama's counties, without spreading those needs out over a number of years," said Harris.

[HSVTiger]

Big Spring upgrades
hopefully they can round up the 10,000 Canadian Geese that have been down there.
Big Spring International Park in downtown Huntsville is in line for its first major renovation since the early 1990s.

Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said the city would like to "spruce up" both the main and east portions of the park with new sidewalks and sod, a modern sea wall around the lagoon and other improvements.

"We won't do anything drastic," Davis said Wednesday. "The park just needs some attention to kind of polish it up some. The goal is to take the park and make it better, make it more usable."

Before any work begins, Davis is recommending the city hire G.W. Jones & Sons Consulting Engineers to perform a detailed topographical survey of the 18-acre park. The Huntsville City Council is expected to vote on the proposed $19,650 contract at its meeting tonight.

Davis said a topographical map showing the exact contours of the park will help city planners decide the best location for sidewalks and other improvements. Some old walkways behind the Huntsville Museum of Art might be removed, he said, to create larger expanses of green.

Replacing the stacked-stone sea wall ringing the lagoon is likely to be the most expensive part of the Big Spring Park overhaul. Davis said the mortar has crumbled in many spots, allowing water to seep behind the wall and erode the soil.

The G.W. Jones survey is expected to take about 60 days. City planners will then get to work on an updated park plan with the goal of starting construction in 2014, said Davis.
HSV Times

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Mayor going after aldont

This morning, Battle held a news conference at the end of the controlled-access portion of Interstate 565 on U.S. 72 East at Moores Mill Road. Work to extend I-565 through the Moores Mill and Shields road intersections was postponed from next year until 2024 under a revised Alabama Department of Transportation statewide road improvement schedule.

I still don't understand how the state can so suddenly go from being able to spend $4billion in 5 years to just $1.5billion over 10.

Are they saving up money for the Mobile River Bridge or the Northern Beltline in Birmingham? I really don't get it. I don't think we're getting the entire truth from ALDOT, money doesn't just go away like that (I might be overestimating the innocence of ALDOT in suggesting that the money just went away).

[Tourian]

Maybe it has something to with the Feds takin the money away if it isn't used within a certain time. The 22/65 interchange is ongoing and the 2059 plan is pretty much a go but the NB/X-1 thing is still too far out. So they have to push these two big projects through and get their graft and game plan together for next time when they go back and ask for more federal money.

[HSVTiger]

pressure on aldot paying off a little, still doesn't address the 14 major projects delayed by 20 years on top of the 10 they already have been.
It will take years to come close to fixing aldots revenge from the last 25.

The Alabama Department of Transportation on Thursday said it will recommend Gov. Robert Bentley give Madison County $54 million in the final round of ATRIP grants, more than twice as any other county.


Rounding out the top five counties, shows Shelby could receive $23.9 million; Jefferson, $23.4 million; Mobile, 22.1 million; and Tuscaloosa, $19.1 million.

Madison County will have received $86.7 million of the $970 million the state will award in three rounds of the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program, if Bentley approves the latest recommendations.

HSV Times

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

pressure on aldot paying off a little, still doesn't address the 14 major projects delayed by 20 years on top of the 10 they already have been.
It will take years to come close to fixing aldots revenge from the last 25.

The Alabama Department of Transportation on Thursday said it will recommend Gov. Robert Bentley give Madison County $54 million in the final round of ATRIP grants, more than twice as any other county.


Rounding out the top five counties, shows Shelby could receive $23.9 million; Jefferson, $23.4 million; Mobile, 22.1 million; and Tuscaloosa, $19.1 million.

Madison County will have received $86.7 million of the $970 million the state will award in three rounds of the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program, if Bentley approves the latest recommendations.

HSV Times

Well, it wasn't ALDOT that decided the allocations.

[HSVTiger]

restaurant changes downtown

The former James Steakhouse at the corner of Washington Street and Clinton Avenue, which closed June 30, is expected to spring back to life late next week as The Bottle with Chef Andy Howery in charge.

The seasonal menu will feature classic French-influenced dishes prepared with heirloom tomatoes from Keel Mountain, Gulf seafood and other mostly Southern ingredients.

Next door, Humphrey's Bar & Grill is undergoing a more extensive makeover, including a new acid-washed concrete bar and shifting focus from eclectic bar food to barbecue and blues joint.

When Humphrey's re-opens in mid-August, customers will be greeted with smoked turkey wings, barbecue sliders, pulled pork spring rolls, moonshine-soaked peaches and other unique but familiar eats. Chef Chris McDonald said much of the cooking will take place on a large meat smoker behind the restaurant.

"We're bringing the smell of barbecue back to downtown Huntsville," McDonald said Tuesday.
HSV Times

[JuanHunt]

The Joe Davis stadium property is likely to be available soon, and the too small to be viable Mason Plaza property is unlikely to be seriously considered for a Super Walmart any more.

[downtownhsvguy]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

The Joe Davis stadium property is likely to be available soon, and the too small to be viable Mason Plaza property is unlikely to be seriously considered for a Super Walmart any more.

What is the "word" to say that the stadium property is about to be on the market? are the Stars for sure leaving town? Has anyone heard any news about if they would build another stadium downtown in recent weeks other than what was in the paper a few weeks ago?

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by downtownhsvguy

What is the "word" to say that the stadium property is about to be on the market? are the Stars for sure leaving town? Has anyone heard any news about if they would build another stadium downtown in recent weeks other than what was in the paper a few weeks ago?

WAFF 48 had a small piece last week about the stadium idea and they interviewed people off the street. One young man said it would bring more people to downtown and new business (smart kid) but some dumbass from Birmingham shot down the idea and said "it would take away from Big Spring Park". Sounded pretty ignorant to me.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

WAFF 48 had a small piece last week about the stadium idea and they interviewed people off the street. One young man said it would bring more people to downtown and new business (smart kid) but some dumbass from Birmingham shot down the idea and said "it would take away from Big Spring Park". Sounded pretty ignorant to me.

That's hilarious, virtually the only places to put a stadium in downtown are right next to the park. Any informed person from Birmingham should understand how that would impact park traffic...

[*BRAVO*]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

WAFF 48 had a small piece last week about the stadium idea and they interviewed people off the street. One young man said it would bring more people to downtown and new business (smart kid) but some dumbass from Birmingham shot down the idea and said "it would take away from Big Spring Park". Sounded pretty ignorant to me.

This smartass from Birmingham thinks it is a great idea. I'd be impressed if Huntsville pulls it off.

[stewdog1]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

pressure on aldot paying off a little, still doesn't address the 14 major projects delayed by 20 years on top of the 10 they already have been.
It will take years to come close to fixing aldots revenge from the last 25.

The Alabama Department of Transportation on Thursday said it will recommend Gov. Robert Bentley give Madison County $54 million in the final round of ATRIP grants, more than twice as any other county.


Rounding out the top five counties, shows Shelby could receive $23.9 million; Jefferson, $23.4 million; Mobile, 22.1 million; and Tuscaloosa, $19.1 million.

Madison County will have received $86.7 million of the $970 million the state will award in three rounds of the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program, if Bentley approves the latest recommendations.

HSV Times

Been approved. Nowhere near enough to put more than a dent in the decades late expansions, but progress.