Huntsville updates

[bzdell917]

Originally Posted by tascalisa

Welcome to the forum! Nice to see another North Alabamian around here.



Maybe it's just the fact I never really frequented any part of Jordan Lane north of University, but that seems like an awkward place to put a WalMart....

Originally Posted by tascalisa

Thanx for the clarification... haha, I just went back to HSVTiger's post and realized that he said Walmart NM... I'm familiar with the scale. Considering that, it is actually quite appropriate. The Neighborhood Market in Decatur at the corner of 6th Ave and 8th St fits in quite nicely with its surrounding neighbors.

Your quite welcome. I guessed your already knew. I thought you might have miss read Hsvtiger. I like the business model Walmart has for Walmart NM. That area in Decatur and Jordan & Oakwood are exactly what Walmart is looking for. Also I hear word that there 2nd Walmart NM possible be located in Downtown HSV.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by bzdell917

Your quite welcome. I guessed your already knew. I thought you might have miss read Hsvtiger. I like the business model Walmart has for Walmart NM. That area in Decatur and Jordan & Oakwood are exactly what Walmart is looking for. Also I hear word that there 2nd Walmart NM possible be located in Downtown HSV.

While I was home for Christmas, I actually really liked visiting the Walmart NM in Decatur at 6th/8th. If anyone who pays attention to this thread that is familiar with the Publix on The Strip in Tuscaloosa, it's basically the same thing (though, I don't think the Walmart NM deli is up to that Publix's mark).

[bzdell917]

My favorite is Old Town Coffee Shop https://www.google.com/#q=old+town+coffee+shop+huntsville+al

But I also really like Sam & Gregs on The Square Downtown
https://www.google.com/#q=Sam+%26+Greg's...%2C+Northside+Square%2C+Huntsville%2C+AL

Sam & Gregs opening new location in Madison
http://blog.al.com/kaylor/2008/01/like_coffee_gelato_pizza_then.html

A great hangout place for Coffee and a great sandwich while studying your school work is The Foyer on the NE corner of Jordan Lane & Holmes Ave.
https://www.google.com/#q=the+foyer+huntsville+al

A good place to grab a cup of coffee while walking The Big Spring is The Cozy Cow
https://www.google.com/#q=the+cozy+cow+downtown+huntsville+al

Cafe 153 is ok. They have two locations one in Madison and one in Bridge Street.

I hear Emma Tea Room on Pratt Ave. is good as well.

I didnt want to list every coffer shop. So reply if you like one that I didnt mention.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

The Madison County Engineering Department will host an informational meeting Wednesday to share plans for a new Walmart Supercenter on U.S. 231.

The 157,754-square-feet store is planned to be on 16.4 acres on the northwest corner of the highway and Charity Lane. The site is three miles south of the Alabama-Tennessee state line. Bids for the project are due March 3, with construction starting around March 11 and completing by Dec. 28.

The engineering department sent out letters to adjoining property owners, inviting them to an informational meeting about the project. That meeting is Wednesday a 7:30 a.m. at the engineering department office, 266-C Shields Road in Huntsville.

some help may be coming

After hearing Hazel Green residents' fears of dangerous traffic surrounding the new Walmart, Madison County officials have proposed to expand Charity Lane from two to five lanes.

District 1 Council Commissioner Roger Jones said his office has already begun talking to property owners about buying right of way along a stretch of Charity near U.S. 231/431 to see if widening the road is feasible. The right of way will be necessary to proceed, he said.

[HSVTiger]

We shall see if aldot comes through

A $250 million road improvement partnership between the City of Huntsville and Alabama Department of Transportation is expected to get rolling this spring.

City Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said the initial project - a third inbound lane on U.S. 72 East over Chapman Mountain plus a triple left-turn lane from U.S. 72 onto Moores Mill Road - should break ground in May.

Work will also begin this summer on a new $5 million road on Chapman Mountain connecting Epworth Drive to Maysville Road. When finished, residents of several neighborhoods at the base of Chapman Mountain will no longer have to exit directly onto busy U.S. 72 East.Guess this will give aldot another excuse to not build the overpasses in this area that have been promised for twenty years

Much more road work will come later:

New Memorial Parkway overpasses at Byrd Spring and Lily Flagg roads in south Huntsville, scheduled for an early 2015 start;
A new Parkway overpass at Mastin Lake Road in north Huntsville earmarked for a 2016 groundbreaking;
Six-laning U.S. 72 West from Providence Main Street to the Limestone County line, also in 2016;
The next leg of the Northern Bypass/Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from Pulaski Pike to the Parkway, getting under way in 2017;
A third lane for vehicles climbing Cecil Ashburn Drive on both the Jones Valley and Hampton Cove sides of Huntsville Mountain, also in 2017;
Improving traffic flow on the Parkway south of Weatherly Road, also in 2017.

[bzdell917]

AL.com article about $250 Million rods projects starting in May.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2014/02/lets_get_ready_to_rumble_250m.html

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

This not the Lendon development under construction west of Target

During a Huntsville zoning committee meeting this morning, Raymond Jones Jr. unveiled drawings of a planned 400,000-square-foot shopping center at the northwest corner of Carl T. Jones Drive and Ledges Drive.

Jones, who is developing the 126-acre property with relatives from the Lowe and Blue families, said the still-unnamed retail project would be "more high-end" than the Valley Bend at Jones Farm shopping center directly across Carl T. Jones Drive.

The family is working with the architectural firm that designed The Summit in Birmingham and Turkey Creek, an upscale commercial development in Knoxville, Tenn.

Jones said an "ambitious" timeline would have the first stores opening in 2015.

The Huntsville City Council gave the green light Thursday to a new high-end shopping center in Jones Valley.

Following a public hearing, the council voted unanimously to change the zoning on the 126.9-acre property from high-density residential and neighborhood retail to highway business C-4 – a category that allows a wider range of retail and specialty uses.

Raymond Jones Jr. and several relatives intend to build a 400,000-square-foot shopping center at the northwest corner of Carl T. Jones Drive and Ledges Drive, directly across from the Target-anchored Valley Bend at Jones Farm.

[beergutbrew]

The once a year rumor of a Cheesecake Factory finally making it to Huntsville is once again alive and well according to bar patrons at Bar Louie and Below the Radar last night.

Anyone heard or can confirm this?

[JuanHunt]

If HSV would pitch in about $4mil, I'm sure the Cheescake Factory would come to HSV. We gave Belk $4mil to move 2 miles, seems like good deal for a restaurant many want to see in town.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

If HSV would pitch in about $4mil, I'm sure the Cheescake Factory would come to HSV. We gave Belk $4mil to move 2 miles, seems like good deal for a restaurant many want to see in town.

Actually, it's over 6 miles.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

Actually, it's over 6 miles.

you sure about that?

[mp7123]

Anyone know what is being built behind the new Dunkin Doughnuts and mattress store on 72W near Madison Hospital? Seems like a good spot for a hotel.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

you sure about that?

If you are talking about the Belk at Parkway Place that is relocating to Bridge Street then yes, according to Google Earth.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by Huntsvillenative

If you are talking about the Belk at Parkway Place that is relocating to Bridge Street then yes, according to Google Earth.

The Belks store at Madison Square is the one moving, Parkway Place store will remain as is.

[Huntsvillenative]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

The Belks store at Madison Square is the one moving, Parkway Place store will remain as is.

Oh, gotcha. Then in that case, it's only about 2 miles as the original poster stated.

[bzdell917]

I am very excited to see the High End Shopping Center in Jones Valley across form Valley Bend.

I love the layout and it being on the corner of Ledges Drive and Carl T Jones Drive.

I also like how the Layout has its entry and exit points. They have it set up just like Valley Bend. Some entry and exit areas make you go only left or only right.

[bzdell917]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

If HSV would pitch in about $4mil, I'm sure the Cheescake Factory would come to HSV. We gave Belk $4mil to move 2 miles, seems like good deal for a restaurant many want to see in town.

The City of Huntsville wanted to keep Belk store thats in Madison Square Mall to stay in Huntsville rather than moving that Belk store to Decatur. With the tax incentive Belk choose to move to Bridge Street.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by bzdell917

The City of Huntsville wanted to keep Belk store thats in Madison Square Mall to stay in Huntsville rather than moving that Belk store to Decatur. With the tax incentive Belk choose to move to Bridge Street.

the city should have called their bluff..Von Maur would have probably jumped at the chance to locate at Bridge Street. Hopefully they will be part of the Madison Square revitalization.

[JuanHunt]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

the city should have called their bluff..Von Maur would have probably jumped at the chance to locate at Bridge Street. Hopefully they will be part of the Madison Square revitalization.

$4mil at a 4.5% payback rate on sales means they have to do about $90mil just to get us back to even, and thats a $90mil increase not total, not counting the cost of the city to borrow the $4mil since I dont think they have to much excess cash laying about.

The city and the state have been giving away millions since the 1970's, ans we still dont have a large enough tax base to pay for basic infrastructure maintenance. Someday we will realize that governments arent just cash cows for corps and that someone has to actually pay for these incentive packages.

[Huntsvillenative]

IMHO, Bridge Street will be closed within a few years. They had their chance to make it a tourist destination and they blew it. They already have a luxury hotel to anchor it, along with a world class movie theater, and an entertainment complex for families and young adults. Adding a signature observation wheel next to the lake that they drained would have drawn in way more out of state visitors leading to more shoppers than what they ever will now resulting in an economic boost for the area. Nobody goes there anymore now that they've drained the beautiful lake. People like myself used to go there just to enjoy the rare scenery and elegance of the place. Now it's virtually a ghost town. Shops are moving out as fast as they go in. Belk will do the same.