Huntsville updates

[ThatGuy]

I think we used to have an Orvis on Airport road. Seems like yesterday but it could have been 20 years ago. ha!

[stewdog1]

Speaking of Cabela's... It's looking like the Bass Pro Shops will be delayed even further. There is now a lawsuit in Decatur based on this that is keeping the city from borrowing money.

[TheCapstone]

Alabama aerospace projects announced, including plan for 450 jobs in Huntsville

Alabama officials announced three aerospace projects on Tuesday, including plans by Science and Engineering Services to expand its Huntsville plant and add 450 jobs over the next five years.

The nearly $70 million expansion in Huntsville was announced by company officials and Gov. Robert Bentley at the Farnborough International Air Show in England.

Also at the air show, Bentley and GE Aviation officials announced that the company's Auburn plant will be the first of its kind to mass produce additive components for the jet propulsion industry. The governor said GE will invest $50 million in the existing 300,000-square-foot facility to prepare for the additional work. That will bring the company's total investment to $125 million.

The plant employs about 70 people, and company officials said the announcement will accelerate hiring.

Equipment installation will begin in late 2014 and production of additive components should begin in 2015.

"This groundbreaking technology is another step that keeps Alabama at the forefront in the aviation industry," said Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who is attending the air show.

Bentley also announced in England that GKN Aerospace has opened a composite design engineering center at its Advanced Composite Structures plant in Tallassee in central Alabama. The plant employs more than 1,000 people.

Science and Engineering Services, based in Columbia, Maryland, already has a major presence in Huntsville with 750 employees. The company provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for airplanes, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and ground combat systems. Its customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and international governments.

"SES will continue to provide great support to our current customers, but we will also be bringing in some new key programs supporting the Department of Defense, aircraft original equipment manufacturers and foreign military customers," company Chief Executive Officer E.J. Sinclair said.

Bentley said the announcements for Huntsville, Auburn and Tallassee show how Alabama has positioned itself to be a leader in aerospace and aviation.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/47e6f278011549a9ae81d1db638a523f/AL--Huntsville-Jobs

[bzdell917]

With the hire of Chad Emerson who created Downtown Huntsville Inc could not have come at a greater time. Everything is lining up greatly to keep the success of great downtown. All this popularity will help developers and investors see the importance of affordable living in downtown Huntsville.

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index...._huntsville_draws_thou.html#incart_river

[bzdell917]

I am excited to finally see the extension of Haysland Road/Weatherly Road heading South West.

http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2014/07/huntsville_green-lights_44m_ac.html

[TheCapstone]

This looks like a helluva lot of fun

Shakalaka, Huntsville's new all-ages extreme trampoline park, 'turns you into a kid again'

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Shakalaka Extreme Air Sports, the long-awaited indoor trampoline park in Huntsville, opened this week at its new University Drive location. The 26,000-square-foot trampoline arena in the Huntsville West Shopping Center was originally slated to open in April, but was stalled because of work delays. The venue features up to 12,000 square feet of trampolines, slack lines, dunk basketball hoops and Olympic Foam Pits with more than 50,000 cubes of foam

http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2014/07/post_135.html

[HSVTiger]

Bravo Italiana set for build out at Bridge Street, this is the new building under construction across from Toys r us adjacent to DSW .
Most locations are unique in design but this gives you an idea.

[HSVTiger]

Food Truck ally downtown last Thursday

[HSVTiger]

Jimmy Johns coming downtown

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches will open on Northside Square just east of Amendment XXI and below the new VIBE co-working space. The company, which has a restaurant on Airport Road, announced plans early this year to open another eatery at the new Legacy Marketplace development on Carl T. Jones Drive.

dont forget about Stanlieo's at the corner of Governors and Monroe..perfect for the Twickenham Square crowd

[HSVTiger]

Some exciting architecture maybe?

Firearms manufacturer Remington may look to New York's Fifth Ave. Apple store for inspiration on the exterior design of its 843,000 square facility in Huntsville, said Remington VP of corporate finance and planning, Corry Doyle.

"Many of you have seen New York's glass cube on Fifth Ave.—the Apple store," Doyle said, speaking to an audience at the Economic Development Association of Alabama's summer 2014 conference. "We're looking to take some inspiration there, with that modern, glass-enclosed look."

Doyle said Remington is tossing around some "exciting concepts" for the new facility.

"It's going to have a modern, innovative feel so when people walk up they aren't thinking, 'This is 200-year-old Remington,' they're thinking, 'This is Remington.'"
At this time, the Remington facility is expected to span about 145 acres, he said. The engineering building will be about 120,000 square feet, the manufacturing building will be around 570,000 square feet and the administration building will be around 150,000 square feet.

[HSVTiger]

best thing about this is the new Zeirdt Rd/I-565 interchange

A brand-new, 625,000 square foot shopping center is coming to Madison.


Two Florida-based companies are partnering to bring the project to the Tennessee Valley - The Sembler Company and Lennar Commercial.

It shows the development sitting on the southwest corner of the intersection of Zierdt Road and 565.

A proposed road and 16 retail and mixed use spaces are in the rendering along with more than a dozen tracts of land for future development.

No tenants are listed on the website.

However, Lennar's other similar-sized developments include stores like Macy's, World Market, and Nordstrom Rack.
WAFF TV

[David1502]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

best thing about this is the new Zeirdt Rd/I-565 interchange

A brand-new, 625,000 square foot shopping center is coming to Madison.


Two Florida-based companies are partnering to bring the project to the Tennessee Valley - The Sembler Company and Lennar Commercial.

It shows the development sitting on the southwest corner of the intersection of Zierdt Road and 565.

A proposed road and 16 retail and mixed use spaces are in the rendering along with more than a dozen tracts of land for future development.

No tenants are listed on the website.

However, Lennar's other similar-sized developments include stores like Macy's, World Market, and Nordstrom Rack.
WAFF TV

They did let the name of one tenant slip. If you click on the link to their brochure for the Town Madison project, http://lennarcommercial.com/wp-content/files_mf/1401404141052914_TownMadison_LeasingFlyer_Final.pdf and scroll down to the second page, and then blow up the site plan, you will see in the far southeast corner a building labeled Publix and if you look above that, you will a large building labeled, "Home Improvement" which means either Home Depot or Lowe's. My guess is that it will be a Home Depot.

Since this is listed as being a 625,000 square feet development, there will need to be some other really large stores to come in to get that volume of space - a 45,000 sq. ft. Publix and a 100,000 sq. ft. Home Depot would be just getting started.

This leads to the perennial question, will they land a Macy's or a Von Maur, as both stores have indicated an interest in the area. Also, will Sears and J.C. Penny see this as an opportunity to flee Madison Square Mall event though they already own their buildings and all of the parking lots in front of their respective buildings. Dillard's, which also owns its building and the adjacent parking lot is another possibility. The average household income of $91,385 for the 5 mile radius will be a real magnet for many retailers. As Wal-Mart is already on Madison Boulevard, Target will see this as a prime opportunity to reach the Zeirdt Rd. corridor.

The department stores will have a different criteria than Target as they will see Town Madison as being in the perfect location to reach shoppers form Decatur to Hampton Cove as it will be equidistant from both and will have easy interstate access with the new interchange on I-565 (shown on the site plan). The only drawback I can see is the cannibalization of the existing shopping centers and this is already being seen as Publix plans to move its store on Madison Blvd. to this new facility.

[beergutbrew]

Originally Posted by David1502

They did let the name of one tenant slip. If you click on the link to their brochure for the Town Madison project, http://lennarcommercial.com/wp-content/files_mf/1401404141052914_TownMadison_LeasingFlyer_Final.pdf and scroll down to the second page, and then blow up the site plan, you will see in the far southeast corner a building labeled Publix and if you look above that, you will a large building labeled, "Home Improvement" which means either Home Depot or Lowe's. My guess is that it will be a Home Depot.

Since this is listed as being a 625,000 square feet development, there will need to be some other really large stores to come in to get that volume of space - a 45,000 sq. ft. Publix and a 100,000 sq. ft. Home Depot would be just getting started.

This leads to the perennial question, will they land a Macy's or a Von Maur, as both stores have indicated an interest in the area. Also, will Sears and J.C. Penny see this as an opportunity to flee Madison Square Mall event though they already own their buildings and all of the parking lots in front of their respective buildings. Dillard's, which also owns its building and the adjacent parking lot is another possibility. The average household income of $91,385 for the 5 mile radius will be a real magnet for many retailers. As Wal-Mart is already on Madison Boulevard, Target will see this as a prime opportunity to reach the Zeirdt Rd. corridor.

The department stores will have a different criteria than Target as they will see Town Madison as being in the perfect location to reach shoppers form Decatur to Hampton Cove as it will be equidistant from both and will have easy interstate access with the new interchange on I-565 (shown on the site plan). The only drawback I can see is the cannibalization of the existing shopping centers and this is already being seen as Publix plans to move its store on Madison Blvd. to this new facility.

I don't see Publix moving across the street, even though it is the first and oldest Publix building in the metro. And if they do it would decimate that whole shopping center, might as well tear it down.

Oh, and I don't get the new interchange location. I thought for sure it would finally be going on Zierdt Rd, where all they would have to do it build up some land ramps. Looks like this plan would require overpasses and a whole new road system. But since the developer is footing the bill they can put it wherever they want....

[David1502]

Originally Posted by beergutbrew

I don't see Publix moving across the street, even though it is the first and oldest Publix building in the metro. And if they do it would decimate that whole shopping center, might as well tear it down.

Oh, and I don't get the new interchange location. I thought for sure it would finally be going on Zierdt Rd, where all they would have to do it build up some land ramps. Looks like this plan would require overpasses and a whole new road system. But since the developer is footing the bill they can put it wherever they want....

The reason that they are planning on building the interchange west of Zeirdt is that there is too little land on the north side between 565 and Madison Blvd to have the exit from 565 west to Zeirdt and likewise from Zeirdt to 565 west. You would have exiting cars from 565 running into cars from Zeirdt going northbound trying to turn right and go east on Madison Blvd. The cars which had just exited 565 would try to cut in front of them or they would need another traffic light just to turn left and go south of Zeirdt to enter the shopping center. It would be a disaster waiting to happen.

By having the exit about a half mile west of Zeirdt with flyover ramps, there would be a clean interchange without complications from the existing roads.

I think the reason that Publix is planning on moving to Town Madison is a defensive move to prevent Kroger from entering the shopping enter. Currently, Publix has a monopoly on the Zeirdt Road corridor (the only alternative is to go to Wal-Mart.) They know that Kroger would locate at Town Madison and many of their existing customers would say, "Why bother driving any farther north, when Kroger is right here?" Keep in mind that there are a lot of folks who drive from neighborhoods way south all the way to Triana to just reach that Publix. Think about the 1,000 homeowners in River Landing on Beadle Rd. who will be driving a good 5 miles just to reach Town Madison.

[stewdog1]

Originally Posted by David1502

I think the reason that Publix is planning on moving to Town Madison is a defensive move to prevent Kroger from entering the shopping enter. Currently, Publix has a monopoly on the Zeirdt Road corridor (the only alternative is to go to Wal-Mart.) They know that Kroger would locate at Town Madison and many of their existing customers would say, "Why bother driving any farther north, when Kroger is right here?" Keep in mind that there are a lot of folks who drive from neighborhoods way south all the way to Triana to just reach that Publix. Think about the 1,000 homeowners in River Landing on Beadle Rd. who will be driving a good 5 miles just to reach Town Madison.

Plus that Publix is old and pretty small for that area.

[jhsv]

Originally Posted by stewdog1

Plus that Publix is old and pretty small for that area.

We have quite a few empty grocery store buildings in the area. Those seem to be harder to get a new tenant.

[stewdog1]

Originally Posted by jhsv

We have quite a few empty grocery store buildings in the area. Those seem to be harder to get a new tenant.

I agree. However, that small strip could do with a nice makeover. The new development and interchange might make that happen.

[TheCapstone]

FirstBank expands Alabama operations at Twickenham Place in downtown Huntsville

Officials with the third largest bank in Tennessee said today they have signed a lease with Triad Properties to open a new financial center at the five-story office tower at Twickenham Square in downtown Huntsville.

Nashville-based FirstBank, which announced in March it would expand its Alabama operations in the Rocket City, will span 9,000 square feet at the office building known as Twickenham Place. The development sits at the corner of Gallatin Street and St. Clair Avenue near Huntsville Hospital.

The downtown business will be FirstBank's "marquee location," meaning it will feature a full-service bank branch, drive-thru and consolidated FirstBank Mortgage Partners (FBMP) office. A rendering provided by FirstBank shows Birmingham-based Asian Rim Sushi Co. will also operate on the first floor.

[HSVTiger]

new use for old school near downtown, Clinton Ave should be redeveloped as a landscaped/improved gateway corridor to downtown

"The city school board voted to authorize Superintendent Casey Wardynski to execute a deal for the Stone Middle School and its grounds with developer Randall Schrimsher, who already bought almost four acres of the property back in January.

On the west end of the site, school system officials said, one tenant would be Huntsville-based brewery Straight to Ale.

"Currently there is a plan for new vertical construction toward the easterly section of the parcel that will house Yellowhammer Brewery, with parking lot and amphitheater-type area in the middle," said Chief Financial Officer Jason Taylor. "A gateway to the Entertainment District."

Officials said the price for the site will be $1.139 million, and that the development plans include tearing down about 30,000 square feet of the old building. The majority of the school building will remain intact."
WAFF

[beergutbrew]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

new use for old school near downtown, Clinton Ave should be redeveloped as a landscaped/improved gateway corridor to downtown

"The city school board voted to authorize Superintendent Casey Wardynski to execute a deal for the Stone Middle School and its grounds with developer Randall Schrimsher, who already bought almost four acres of the property back in January.

On the west end of the site, school system officials said, one tenant would be Huntsville-based brewery Straight to Ale.

"Currently there is a plan for new vertical construction toward the easterly section of the parcel that will house Yellowhammer Brewery, with parking lot and amphitheater-type area in the middle," said Chief Financial Officer Jason Taylor. "A gateway to the Entertainment District."

Officials said the price for the site will be $1.139 million, and that the development plans include tearing down about 30,000 square feet of the old building. The majority of the school building will remain intact."
WAFF

Heard the Yellowhammer guys talking about this last month, pretty exciting news for beer lovers. Straight To Ale and YellowHammer plan to also incorporate a Lowe Mill type vibe there as well with merchants and live music.