Huntsville updates

[HSVTiger]

Stars owner talks, attendance poor, mentions new stadium,
typically this is the case early in the season, poor weather, cold and wet.
The stadium is the oldest in the league, when built was the multi purpose
style which is no longer the way to go. If a new stadium was ever built
it most likely would be in the same spot, a major renovation in reality.
There really aren't any downtown locations that are suitable, (Market Square was but new development there rules it out)
Mr. Prentice is a wealthy guy.

By MARK McCARTER
Times Sports Staff markcolumn@aol.com
Despite small crowds, Prentice says he has no plans to move team

Only 918 fans were at Joe Davis Stadium on Tuesday night for the Huntsville Stars-Mobile BayBears game. Sprinkled among them were four members of the team's ownership group, including principal owner Miles Prentice.

The meager numbers - nine of the 17 home dates have had triple-digit attendance figures - are "absolutely" a concern for Prentice, who bought the club in the fall of 2001 from a group of local owners.

"I'd like to see more people at the stadium," Prentice said. "We have a good product. It's a great family outing, and I think it's a diamond in the rough. It's very important for a community to have a professional franchise like this, one that's affiliated with Major League Baseball."

However, despite struggles at the gate and an aging ballpark (Joe Davis Stadium was opened in 1985), Prentice said he has no plans to sell or move the franchise.

"I'm not looking for either buyers or movers, as the case may be," he said.

Prentice was asked if he had hopes for a new stadium in Huntsville.

"I can dream," he said.

"We got one in Midland (Prentice owns the Midland RockHounds, Oakland's Double-A team in the Texas League). It took a while. And I believe the community has embraced it. That was a partnership (in construction) between public and private."

Prentice beamed when talking about the Stars' new clubhouse and noted that more improvements are forthcoming, depending upon "priorities" and the Brewers' "punch-list." Among possibilities: an improved visitors' clubhouse, a walk-in concession stand and improved skyboxes.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Times, Prentice touched on other subjects:

More on attendance: "That's something we need to work on. Tom and I and other members of the staff have worked on a format to get more groups in. That's where we feel we have to go.

"The season ticket base is going to be within a few numbers of what it is every year. We want utilization. We want to improve group sales and emphasize to corporations to have their picnics out here, have your parties out here."

On private funds from the owners being used for stadium construction: "It would depend on what we decided needed to be done and how it needed to be done and what the cost was. We don't rule out a combination of choices. Certainly if there were a new facility, if we were to go that far, there would be some contribution from private."

Is the team on the market? "No. In this case I have eight other owners, so I can't make that decision myself."

On an opportunity for local partners: "That's hard to say. I wouldn't rule anything out. But at this point we have our ownership group. If someone wanted to see, I would consider a local owner. Right now, everybody is pretty comfortable."

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Construction to begin shortly on the Governors Medical Tower, corner of Governors Dr and Gallatin,
downtown. It will connect to Huntsville Hospital with an overhead walkway.

groundbreaking on this building is this Friday the 11th.

[HSVTiger]

I would be surprised if Alabama does not win the steel plant the Governor
mentions. I think Friday is the day we find out.

By BOB LOWRY
Times Staff Writer bob.lowry@htimes.com
Governor speaks at Rural Alabama Action meeting

MONTGOMERY - Gov. Bob Riley used Madison County as an example Tuesday of what his new Rural Alabama Action Commission can accomplish in economic development.

"Everyone knows about the steel plant. We'll know Friday whether or not we're successful" in luring a $2.9 billion plant north of Mobile, he said. "If we're successful, you're going to see a region here that begins to expand similar to what has happened there (Madison County) over the past 15 to 20 years."

Riley spoke at the organizational session of the Rural Alabama Action Commission at the state Capitol, where volunteers from eight districts were invited to hear a presentation from Executive Director Gerald Dial and the governor. The North Alabama Action Commission - Region One - includes Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston counties.

"What's going on in Region One up there is phenomenal," said Riley. "Probably 16,000, not individuals, but jobs are coming into this area."

[HSVTiger]

New greenway pamphlet available if you can find one
the download version is here
http://www.hsvcity.com/gis/greenways/greenways_main.htm

Huntsville Times
Contact Brenda Cummings at bc7447@comcast.net.
The pamphlet Greenways might be the most popular publication in town right now, as environmental e-mail lists were abuzz recently with the announcement of its arrival.

The pamphlet, according to my mail, was superior to the downloadable version and appeared to be in short supply. You know how that affects demand.

It is indeed a handsome brochure, and much enhanced by Jerry Green's wildlife photographs. Inside are the guts. And it's a map! Wonderful maps. All the greenways are in place: the paved ones, unpaved ones and proposed ones. The greater beauty of the greenway system is you can enjoy the trails even without a copy of the new brochure.

Unpaved trails on Wade Mountain are multi-use: you can hike them, run them or ride your horse or mountain bike on them. A new little trail not on the map makes a short "lunchtime loop" and provides a picnic table. Wade Mountain is the first mountain north of town and west of Memorial Parkway (U.S. 431/231). To get there, turn left on Hollow Road about a quarter-mile north of Winchester Road. Follow signs to the Land Trust parking lot.

On the back side of Wade Mountain you'll find the paved greenway. Accessed by a parking lot on Pulaski Pike near Bob Wade Land, it is short, as the greenways tend to be, but an unpaved and as-yet unmarked trail leads higher up the hill.

The shortest trail at a half-mile is downtown. It connects Veteran's Park, Gateway Park and Cramer Park from Pratt to Jefferson streets. The guide indicates Little Cove Road Greenway is the longest, but in my reality, it dwindles away before reaching that distinction. It does, however, serve a good purpose, allowing for pedestrian and cycle traffic in an area that would otherwise be dangerous or at best unpleasant.
You can access the Little Cove Greenway at Hampton Cove School and Old Highway 431. Across that road you can access the Big Cove Creek Greenway and, ultimately, the Flint River Greenway at the parking lot on the south side of the Old 431 bridge over Big Cove Creek. Here is a true greenway, 12-15 feet wide with painted lanes for hikers and riders and their rides.

Most of the greenways are beside streams: Aldridge Creek, Big Cove Creek, Indian Creek, the Flint River and the Tennessee River. You can hear the gurgle of the running creeks, and on the Flint, you might see a turtle, snake or muskrat, a canoe or a kayak.

The Tennessee River Greenway is atop the levee between Ditto Landing and the Madison County Boat Harbor. You can reach both those areas by car from Hobbs Island Road. This greenway has recently been resurfaced and dense opaque foliage between the river and the trail has been replaced by newly planted trees.

[daveyp]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

groundbreaking on this building is this Friday the 11th.

so is this going to be on the southeast corner of that intersection? right where the parking lot for healthsouth is?

[TimCity2000]

glad to read this morning that the fire at the ussrc was not as bad as initially feared, and that the artifacts are likely recoverable and/or repairable.

btw, welcome to the forum daveyp!

[daveyp]

thanks! i've been lurking for a while (killing time while at work), but just never had anything to post about yet.

[HSVTiger]

boom heading north, this area will see huge development in the next 5 years. ALDOT widen the Parkway through Hazel Green and finish the overpasses you started 5 years ago. Sorry that makes too much sense.
Maybe Tennessee DOT could come down and help out

City planners are considering a rezoning request that would pave the way for a large subdivision in north Huntsville.

The project would feature about 700 homes across a 189-acre site west of Memorial Parkway and just north of the long-established Mt. Charron neighborhood, according to developer Wayne Self.

A public hearing has been set for the June 26 Planning Commission meeting.
Self told the commission's zoning subcommitee this morning the planned widening of Bob Wade Lane should make the homes especially attractive to buyers wanting easy access to Memorial Parkway and a direct route to Research Park and Redstone Arsenal.

Planners praised the prospect of a development that size in often overlooked far north Huntsville but expressed concern about the effect of traffic on neighborhoods nearby.

"From a development standpoint, all that north Huntsville area needs something going on," said planning Chairman Crawford Howard. "I'm just not sure what we've got in that area can handle double the density."

[HSVTiger]

good credit good

By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer john.peck@htimes.com
Officials say ratings help recruiting, save millions in borrowing

Some experts say the City of Huntsville knows how to manage its money well: Two major Wall Street firms have raised the city's credit scores.

The high marks should give business prospects the confidence they look for in deciding whether to build or expand in Huntsville, Mayor Loretta Spencer told a news conference Wednesday.
The mayor said the city "worked very hard to get them to buy into what is happening here and how stable we are."

The Aa1 credit rating by Moody's Investors Service and an earlier AA+ ranking by Standard & Poor's are higher than previous bond ratings, said Phil Dotts, a financial adviser for the city.

The city is preparing to borrow $50 million for schools and several major downtown improvements. The proposal, part of a $35 million Tax Increment Financing district, or TIF, is on the council's agenda tonight.

A TIF borrows money to make improvements such as a school, road or shopping center parking and pays off those improvements with property tax gains resulting from those investments.

The proposed $50 million bond would still keep the city far below its $395 million debt limit. The city had an accumulated $162 million debt entering this budget year in October.
Studies by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama show Huntsville with one of the highest per-capita debts among Alabama cities. But city officials are quick to note that the city also has a high per-capita income and a strong economy.

The TIF to be considered tonight would steer $10 million toward a new Lee High School; $5 million for a service road over Chapman Mountain along U.S. 72; $4 million each for Von Braun Center renovations and a new downtown parking garage on Green Street; $4 million for a combined downtown police and fire headquarters on Clinton Avenue; $3 million for renovations at Butler High; $2 million for Madison County Courthouse renovations; $2 million for a Huntsville Museum of Art expansion; and $1 million toward the rebuilding of Councill High School.

[daveyp]

noticed a dozer tearing down the old bridge between market square and the medical mall when i drove by a few minutes ago.

[HSV79]

Where are the proposed plans for Market Square? Thought I heard someone say it was reported on 19 that the plans were to be released by May 1st.

[HSV79]

Where are the proposed plans for Market Square? Thought I heard someone say it was reported on 19 that the plans were to be released by May 1st.

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSV79

Where are the proposed plans for Market Square? Thought I heard someone say it was reported on 19 that the plans were to be released by May 1st.

within the next two weeks

[Exodus]

I rode past Research Park today and noticed that the new buildings were finally getting some of the facades built.

[HSVTiger]

The City Council ratified the city's fifth special tax district Thursday night with authorization of a $53 million borrowing plan to pay for schools and major downtown projects, including extensive improvements to the Von Braun Center and Madison County Courthouse.

[HSVTiger]

By JOHN PECK
Times Staff Writer john.peck@htimes.com
Finance chief says city in 'comfortable' spot midway in budget year

City revenue is streaming in at an impressive clip, setting the stage for a potentially healthy budget surplus as the mayor and two council members head into the 2008 election season.

City Finance Director Randy Taylor delivered the welcome news Thursday in a midyear budget briefing to the City Council. Overall revenue collected through March was 10.4 percent ahead of the first six months of last year, Taylor reported.

"That puts us in a very comfortable position. It will probably mean we'll have some (more) money to spend," Taylor said at a council work session. The present budget was built on a projected growth of just under 3 percent.

"If that pace continues, we'll have a considerable amount of money available left over from 2007."

[HSVTiger]

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

groundbreaking on this building is this Friday the 11th.

Governors Medical Tower is the most expensive commercial construction project announced so far inside Tax Increment Finance District 4, eclipsing a major addition to the Surgery Center of Huntsville on Madison Street and an overhaul of the old SCI headquarters on Clinton Avenue, said city Planning Director Dallas Fanning.

The sprawling tax district, created last September, covers most of downtown and northeast Huntsville.

Fanning estimates that the office tower will generate $225,000 a year in property taxes for the city - enough to leverage about $3 million for public improvements within the tax district. If the building opens as planned in early 2009, it would be added to the tax rolls in October 2009.

"This is a great investment in downtown," Fanning said, "and at the same time affords debt service" for the tax district.

[HSVTiger]

With all the housing developments going on, news like this is even
more important . It would be nice if they could stop all development
on the slopes.Good job Land Trust

The Land Trust of Huntsville & North Alabama has added another large piece to its growing Green Mountain nature preserve.

Last week, the nonprofit group bought 78.1 acres atop the mountain from T.E. Properties, a development company from Chattanooga. Land Trust Executive Director Cynthia Parker said they paid about $200,000 for the site, tentatively called "The Narrows" because it is on a thin mountain ridge with a panoramic view of the surrounding valleys.

"This site was too fabulous to pass up," Parker said Friday. "We got a great deal on it, we feel like."

The land trust prefers to acquire property through donations but occasionally buys land deemed critical to its preservation goals. The Narrows contains part of the 1960s Space Walk Trail that the land trust is working to re-establish, Parker said.

"If somebody had put a house up there," she said, "it would have stopped the Space Walk continuation dead in its tracks."

[HSVTiger]

Huntsville has spent a lot of time studying Greenville, SC., (along with Raleigh, Austin and Chattanooga)to see what works there and try to adapt it here. Huntsville will see more in the coming weeks with the announcement of a major downtown project as well as the previously announced projects in the Medical District

By MARIAN ACCARDITimes Business Writer marian.accardi@htimes.com
South Carolina official explains how her city rejuvenated downtown

The economic development director of Greenville, S.C., credits public-private partnerships with helping transform that city's downtown.

In the 1970s, with the move of department stores to suburban retail centers, there were more vacancies downtown than occupied buildings, said Nancy Whitworth, Greenville's economic development director. Main Street - with its four lanes of traffic and parallel parking - had "not a tree in sight," she said.


"The city and the private sector came together and decided to do something about downtown," she said. "One thing that has truly made a difference in Greenville is the public-private partnerships."

Whitworth spoke Friday at the Hotel Russel Erskine as part of the Harvie Jones Lecture Series presented by the Historic Huntsville Foundation and the North Alabama Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Today, Greenville's Main Street has two lanes of traffic, wider sidewalks for pedestrians and outdoor dining and diagonal parking - and the street is lined with trees.

The central business district of about 1.75 square miles now includes more than 3 million square feet of office space, about 80 restaurants, most of them unique to downtown Greenville, and some 130 shops.

According to Whitworth, public-private partnerships made it possible to create strong anchors. "One thing we've done is use anchors as catalysts" for future development, she said.

The first successful partnership anchor was Greenville Commons, which includes a Hyatt Regency hotel, convention center, offices, stores, parking and a plaza that's considered a public park.

Whitworth said the city, using mostly federal grants, acquired the property, built the convention center and garage, and private individuals contributed money to the project.

Previously, there had been no major hotel in the downtown area, Whitworth said.

Another public-private partnership in Greenville helped create a performing arts complex, the Peace Center for the Performing Arts.

A local family committed $10 million to launch the project, Whitworth said, and the city acquired the property - through tax increment financing.

The center includes newly built performance spaces and renovated historic buildings that house restaurants, offices and stores.

Whitworth recommended pursuing developments with a blend of retail, residential and office space in revitalizing downtown areas.

She suggested using public money to leverage economic development. "We can't do everything ... but we try to focus on things that will give us the most bang for the buck."

Huntsville has employed similar methods to revitalize its downtown. City leaders have nabbed federal grants to convert drainageways into aesthetically pleasing creeks lined with sidewalks and landscaping.

Partnering with the state, the city also has improved downtown access roads to help lure major developments such as the Embassy Suites convention hotel and the makeover of the Heart of Huntsville mall site into a planned hotel-retail-entertainment complex.

And in an effort to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly, the city is spending $1 million on better sidewalks and streetlights. A recently passed special tax district commits $4 million for a new garage downtown.

City officials stirred controversy by partnering with a developer for the Big Spring Summit office tower overlooking Big Spring International Park. The city leased the prime park-side land to Triad Properties in exchange for the "air rights" to add two levels to the Von Braun Center garage.

Officials hope that the office building will help provide the critical mass of people needed to support more restaurants and entertainment venues downtown.

Downtown advocates have proposed other ways to enhance the appeal of downtown, including an amphitheater, a rail link connecting downtown with the Tennessee River, sidewalk cafes and more public fountains.

Staff writer John Peck contributed to this report.

[HSVTiger]

Tourism continues up trend

By MARIAN ACCARDI
Times Business Writer marian.accardi@htimes.com
Spending up 13% over 2005; special events set for this year

More than 2.5 million tourists and other visitors came to Madison County last year, handing the travel industry here another record.

And travel-related spending reached more than $779 million for 2006, up 13 percent compared with 2005 spending.



"It's exciting to see continued growth and the potential for future growth," said Judy Ryals, the president and CEO of the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "I believe next year will be a banner year."

"Reaching more than three-quarters of a billion dollars (in travel spending) is a huge milestone for us," said Charles Winters, vice president of marketing for the bureau.

The new figures for Madison County show a 10 percent increase in the number of visitors and a 38 percent growth in travel spending since 2003. The estimates are included in an economic impact study by Auburn University Montgomery's Center for Business and Economic Development for the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel.

The diverse, ever-changing tourism "product" here and expansions and additions of existing attractions make selling the community to tourists and meeting planners easier, Ryals said.

For instance, the nation's largest seasonal butterfly house and children's garden opened last summer at the Huntsville Botanical Garden, which was named Alabama's 2006 Tourist Attraction of the Year.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of U.S. Space Camp at the Space & Rocket Center, and the inaugural Space Camp Hall of Fame induction banquet will be in June. Actor William Shatner is scheduled to be master of ceremonies.

Ryals believes Space Camp events will mean even greater numbers of summer travelers here.