Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

yeah, pretty sure nobody is building a new enclosed mall these days.

I believe David1502 explanation is what Breland so far has clumsly revealed.
Since this is a long term development it probably has a 50/50 chance of happening other than the fact Breland owns a large swath of land.
Hopefully he has high quality developers on his team. Getting the interchange built quickly as possible is crucial.

[mp7123]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

So they are going to model this after Cool Springs Mall Nashville..Yikes.
I would hope it would be more innovative and forward thinking than a 25 year old existing mall. I hope Breland means in the quality of the stores and not in the design or layout. Cool Springs is Very successful and is expanding with other open air center across I-65. This Town Center is a 15-20 year build out so it will change and evolve. The biggest high priority is getting the new I-565/Zierdt rd interchange built (early next year start date). Until then we may just see a bunch of dirt being pushed around and the old Intergraph stucco city being torn down.
This development has potential to be huge but like so many other grand announcements slowly fade into the warehouse of grand proposed projects.
Hello to Constellation, new amusement park in the Shoals, Sweetwater, or how about this oldie but goodie WannSprings..

I'm thinking more like Eastchase in Montgomery. That development has turned out nice and has taken probably 10-15 yrs to get to where it is today and it still is not complete.

[Huntsvillenative]

Why does Huntsville not push for a theme park or water park? There is absolutely nothing for young families to do in this city. The Space Center is limited. We need to mimic Chattanooga. A state aquarium either downtown or out near Decatur. A water park could tie in with it. Tourists would come and put needed money into the local economy. Huntsville has no vision.

[Satertek]

Breland just bought some land across from the Wal-Mart at South Parkway and Hobbs Island Road.

http://whnt.com/2015/12/21/residents-dis...outh-huntsville-trailer-park-will-close/

The stretch of the Parkway between Mt. Gap and Hobbs Island is getting crowded, lots of new development happening.

[David1502]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Why does Huntsville not push for a theme park or water park? There is absolutely nothing for young families to do in this city. The Space Center is limited. We need to mimic Chattanooga. A state aquarium either downtown or out near Decatur. A water park could tie in with it. Tourists would come and put needed money into the local economy. Huntsville has no vision.

This is not what you are hoping for but this new amusement park on the Sand Mountain portion of Guntersville is another possibility for family entertainment: http://lakecityamusements.com/

To your post about "We need to mimic Chattanooga." The big difference is that Chattanooga is a pass though for millions of travelers from all portions of the Mid West on their way to Florida, so it is easy for them to stop and enjoy the TN Aquarium, and other attractions. A special effort has to be made for tourists to visit anything in Huntsville, with the exception of those traveling on I-65 - if the attraction is near enough. However, there are far more travelers on I-75 headed to Florida than are on I-65 and that makes a huge difference.

FYI: There are several free attractions within 100 miles:

Nashville has the Tennessee Museum of History in downtown near the War Memorial Auditorium.

Birmingham has the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Botanical Gardens - both of which are city owned and free to the public.

If you don't mind paying both cities have good zoos and Nashville has several historic homes (one of which is The Hermitage) which attract a lot of visitors.

[PSMadison]

Originally Posted by David1502

FYI: There are several free attractions within 100 miles:

Agree. It is both a blessing and a curse that we have so much within 2 hours drive; Nashville, Birmingham, and Chattanooga; all on major interstates.

[mp7123]

Anyone know what is going there? They have begun site work on a large parcel across 72. Definitely larger than a gas station or restaurant.

[TimCity2000]

Originally Posted by PSMadison

Agree. It is both a blessing and a curse that we have so much within 2 hours drive; Nashville, Birmingham, and Chattanooga; all on major interstates.

that's how we feel about Atlanta lol

[Tennhioland]

Originally Posted by mp7123

Anyone know what is going there? They have begun site work on a large parcel across 72. Definitely larger than a gas station or restaurant.

I read somewhere (I have no idea if it's true or not) that it may be a flooring store. Which is about as exciting as a bank or nail saloon being built.

[HSVTiger]

Detail of planned I-565/Zierdt Rd interchange coming relatively soon (2-3 years) hopefully

[stewdog1]

It's too bad that can't have an exit from West bound 565 onto Hughes Rd. That would alleviate so much of the backup on Madison blvd between Slaughter and Zeirdt.

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by stewdog1

It's too bad that can't have an exit from West bound 565 onto Hughes Rd. That would alleviate so much of the backup on Madison blvd between Slaughter and Zeirdt.

Well, it sorta does, in a round about way...

What is that asterix-shaped thing in the lower left corner?

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by ThatGuy

Well, it sorta does, in a round about way...

What is that asterix-shaped thing in the lower left corner?

Believe its a fancy arrow pointing due north

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by stewdog1

It's too bad that can't have an exit from West bound 565 onto Hughes Rd. That would alleviate so much of the backup on Madison blvd between Slaughter and Zeirdt.

If aldont does a correct job of signing, then the exit will indicate Hughes road and Zierdt Rd/Redstone Arsenal. If not it will be like the half ass job going over Chapman Mountain..figure it out yourself.

[ThatGuy]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Believe its a fancy arrow pointing due north

I was hoping for a Space Needle of our own... lol

[RocketDawg]

Looks like from the map that the "Zierdt Rd interchange" is west of where Zierdt presently crosses Hwy 20, maybe halfway to Hughes Rd.

If that's the case, the new northbound lanes have already been virtually finished all the way to Hwy 20. Gotta wonder what will happen with that intersection.

Also gotta wonder why they've essentially stopped work on the new northbound lanes. For several months there has been no activity at all north of Edgewater Dr., except last week they installed a short guard rail segment. And nothing at all has been done over the wetland at Edgewater Dr.

[David1502]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

Looks like from the map that the "Zierdt Rd interchange" is west of where Zierdt presently crosses Hwy 20, maybe halfway to Hughes Rd.

If that's the case, the new northbound lanes have already been virtually finished all the way to Hwy 20. Gotta wonder what will happen with that intersection.

Also gotta wonder why they've essentially stopped work on the new northbound lanes. For several months there has been no activity at all north of Edgewater Dr., except last week they installed a short guard rail segment. And nothing at all has been done over the wetland at Edgewater Dr.

The Zierdt Rd. interchange is actually east of Hughes Rd. and south of Highway 20 Never intersecting it)and technically has nothing to do with either Hughes Rd. or Highway 20. The original design did not include the Hughes Rd. extension over Highway 20 and I-565. It was added later as away of providing greater connectivity to the Town Madison retail development. The thinking being that Town Madison will be a great addition to the tax base of the City of Madison and wouldn't it be beneficial if it were easy for the many Madison residents who reside along the Hughes Rd. corridor to be able to shop there and thus increase the sales tax revenue to the City of Madison.

Speaking of retail, from newspaper accounts, it is clear that Breland originally thought he would have Cabela's and the flagship Belk (which ended up locating at Bridge Street). Now the question is what is his "plan B" to make it worth his spending $22 million out of his own pocket to build this highway interchange. It doesn't seem like another Target anchored power center like what already exists in three locations in the Huntsville/Madison area can justify that type of expense. However, at his recent press conference in December, announcing his purchase of the Intgraph property, he said he is hiring a nationally known land planner to design the layout of what will be developed. In the past, Macys' and Nordstrom expressed interest in going into Bridge Street (with a lot of incentive $ from the City of Huntsville) and Von Maur considered opening a store at Bridge Street back in 2007 and also wanted incentives from the City, too.

Without an anchor department store, it is hard to see that there will be anything to set Town Madison apart from the other regional big box centers.

[Tennhioland]

I also expect Zierdt Rd to eventually be extended north of Hwy 20 (where Shelton begins), all the way to Madison Pike. Portal Lane would probably connect to it and possibly all the way to Slaughter. This would be another direct route to Town Madison, especially for all the houses in the Highland Drive area.

[HSVTiger]

Two neighborhood Walmarts in the Huntsville metro being closed. Both were opened within the last year and both were built directly adjacent to Piggly Willys

Walmart Express stores — Date closed to public

#2173: 14331 Count Rd. 99, Headland, AL 1/28/2016
#2011: 18 Apple Way, Ashford, AL 1/28/2016
#2165: 952 E. Lawrence Harris Hwy, Slocomb, AL 1/28/2016
#2186: 407 West Washington St., Abbeville, AL 1/28/2016
#2235: 6361 Hwy 72 East Gurley, AL 1/28/2016
#2260: 87395 US Hwy 278, Snead, AL 1/28/2016
#3769: 3530 Cathedral Caverns Hwy, Grant, AL 1/28/2016
#3779: 10188 Hwy 431 South, New Hope, AL 1/28/2016

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Two neighborhood Walmarts in the Huntsville metro being closed. Both were opened within the last year and both were built directly adjacent to Piggly Willys

Walmart Express stores — Date closed to public

#2173: 14331 Count Rd. 99, Headland, AL 1/28/2016
#2011: 18 Apple Way, Ashford, AL 1/28/2016
#2165: 952 E. Lawrence Harris Hwy, Slocomb, AL 1/28/2016
#2186: 407 West Washington St., Abbeville, AL 1/28/2016
#2235: 6361 Hwy 72 East Gurley, AL 1/28/2016
#2260: 87395 US Hwy 278, Snead, AL 1/28/2016
#3769: 3530 Cathedral Caverns Hwy, Grant, AL 1/28/2016
#3779: 10188 Hwy 431 South, New Hope, AL 1/28/2016

When I saw the Walmart store in Gurley, I figured it'd put the Piggly Wiggly out of business, but I guess PW got the last laugh. I thought it was a Walmart grocery store ... not sure what a Walmart Express store is. Is more like a mini-Walmart? According to an article I read, it was a pilot project that just didn't work out.