Mobile Development Thread

[Bayside]

Originally Posted by elb401

spanish plaza is to far from anything...except the neighborhood to the west.

Spanish Plaza could be very important depending on how we redevelop the Civic Center property. I hope this property is addressed in the new downtown development plan. Spanish Plaza could be a gateway into that development.

[pboo74]

Originally Posted by elb401

Parks are about the quality of life....and its a lifestyle. Its more for the people who live there (more attractive to residence). Also parks give people a reason to linger around after they have shopped or eaten. 2 parks (the only ones close enough to the center of downtown....the other two are really out of the way) is not enough. Beinville and Cathedral are being used....everyday!! Riverside is still closed and spanish plaza is to far from anything...except the neighborhood to the west.

Parks are not about making money....its about improving the atmosphere that will bring more residence and then retail to downtown. That is what will make money.

But....i think some of the courthouse lot should be a park....not all...the retail (or, and condos) and the park can share. Besides isn't the new probate court going to take up most of government street.

There's nothing wrong with more green space(parks) downtown,but we have several parks that's under used now why have another so the bums can run everybody off.For instance bieneville square,spanish plaza,cooperiverrside park's,could have art's and craft,kiosks,food vending machine,hotdog/hamburger/pizza and drink stands etc....utilize the parks you have now bottom line.You can still build condo's and incorperate a public park into the mix.

[Bayside]

Originally Posted by pboo74

....utilize the parks you have now bottom line.

How do you mean? There is something going on in Bienville Square and Cathedral Square every month. Have you not visited either? In the Spring and Fall, Bienville is used every Wednesday for brownbag in the park, and during the summer they have Kid's Day each week. You also have Mardi Gras, Bayfest, Chili Cookoff, St. Patrick's Luck of the Irish Celebration, Volunteer Mobile Annual Shrimp Cookoff. At least one 5k run has post race party there. The Walk-a-thon begins and ends there. Recently they started Fridays@5 with live music.

School kids use the park every week. School buses pull up on St. Joseph St and unload two to three buses of kids who picnic in the park.

Cathedral Square is used daily and hosts arts related events during the weekends.

How much more use do you require?

[CottonCity251]

I really do think a park or a hotel with penthouses at the top is the best option for the old courthouse property, mid-rise of course...about 13-18 floors. I don't think retail will fit in quite nice in that area. I see St. Louis Street being a better corridor for retail than anywhere downtown. A market would be better at Cooper Riverside Park than anywhere else. First the city should do trials at other areas downtown...say Bienville Square, Cathedral Square, or an empty lot...before just building a facility to accommodate a market.

The park is going to be built though.

By the way, do any of you who argue that there is no need for another park even go downtown? Bienville Square and Cathedral Square are used. When I was in high school our photography class went there almost everyday around lunch time and there was always a nice size crowd. Spanish Plaza is away from the central business district and is in front of an entertainment graveyard(Civic Center)...there is very little foot traffic in that area, that is why it is rarely used but nice to have.

[elb401]

I like the idea of the hotel. St. Louis street could be made into something cool.

The only hope for spanish plaza is to do something with the civic center.

I'm not saying that the whole courthouse site needs to be a park just the part facing the museum on royal street. How much of the space is going to be taken up by the new probate court?

[bayou15]

Someone tell me, why are we talking about this subject again? I thought the mayor already stated it was geauxing to be a park. Did I miss something?

[BlessedMobile]

Originally Posted by Bayside

Spanish Plaza could be very important depending on how we redevelop the Civic Center property. I hope this property is addressed in the new downtown development plan. Spanish Plaza could be a gateway into that development.

I agree that Spanish Plaza would provide a very nice park near a redeveloped civic center property. Let's be merciful and tear that money pit down. Since we won't have any sizeable trees on the civic center lot we will have an area nearby that will give residents in the multiple mid-rise condos a place to connect with the land. I hope those residents will get to overlook downtown rather than a large bridge as is likely.

[NitekKetin]

This is somewhat of an absurd question but what purpose does the Civic Center Arena serve? Large functions such as trade and auto shows seem to take place at the Convention Center and Mitchel Center. Perhaps Expo Hall could be renovated and re-purposed into a high quality performing arts theater. A smaller civic arena could be developed north of Downtown.

Oh yes, I could see a moderately dense mixed use development, featuring a full-scale supermarket and regional department store, be constructed on the Civic Center's massive site.

[montysano]

Originally Posted by pboo74

There's nothing wrong with more green space(parks) downtown,but we have several parks that's under used now why have another so the bums can run everybody off.

Compelling public space is one of the common threads of great cities (great architecture is another).

I spent time in Chicago last summer. Millennium Park occupies real estate that must be worth 100s of millions of $$$, yet I doubt you'd find many locals who would advocate ripping it up for "something that turns a profit". And that's just one of many parks and green spaces in downtown Chicago. They were jammed with people the whole time we were there, and the views of Chicago's architecture from the park are just breathtaking.

Same with New Orleans, where we lived in the pre-Katrina era. If there is anything nicer than being in Jackson Square on a beautiful day, I haven't experienced it. Same here in Huntsville with our Big Spring Park, which anchors the downtown.

Mobile has the raw materials, but it will take time and vision to pull it together. But you have to get people coming to downtown, hanging out in downtown. This requires lodging, retail, dining, architecture, and interesting public spaces. You don't yet have that "Wow, it's great to be here" public space, but you're heading in the right direction.

Re: the "bums". Huntsville recently zoned a long-standing homeless shelter out of a neighborhood, forcing it to move. It will likely move to a more industrial area. It's a tricky situation: on one hand, we all want to do the right thing and help those who are less fortunate. However, I don't believe that this should be done at the expense of an entire neighborhood, which is what happened to the historic Lowe Mill neighborhood here in Huntsville. That homeless shelter, that one building, determined the fate of that whole neighborhood for as long as I've lived here. It appears, I must say, that the same thing is happening in downtown Mobile.

What is the main source of the indigent in downtown Mobile? Is it the church that is just west of Bienville Square?

[The 251]

What happened to the NBA Development league team was stationed at the civic center arena? I would love to come watch some of those games... I heard we won the championship (with Skip to My Lou and Jamario Moon playing, and Sam Vincent coaching) and then just quit? That is very disappointing. I hope the league decides to organize another team in Mobile in the near future.

Also.. I have looked everywhere for some photos of downtown and the bay from the top of RSA. I would gladly pay for them, if they exist. Can anyone help me out with this?

[Bayside]

Originally Posted by The 251

Also.. I have looked everywhere for some photos of downtown and the bay from the top of RSA. I would gladly pay for them, if they exist. Can anyone help me out with this?

You might check with this photographer. Here are some pictures from within the RSA spire: Inside the spire of the tallest building in Alabama

[nimsjus]

Originally Posted by The 251

What happened to the NBA Development league team was stationed at the civic center arena? I would love to come watch some of those games... I heard we won the championship (with Skip to My Lou and Jamario Moon playing, and Sam Vincent coaching) and then just quit? That is very disappointing. I hope the league decides to organize another team in Mobile in the near future.

Also.. I have looked everywhere for some photos of downtown and the bay from the top of RSA. I would gladly pay for them, if they exist. Can anyone help me out with this?

The Revelers were scrapped due to a complete lack of attendance. I don't know if it would even be possible to find the figures, but I want to say they averaged in the vicinity of 1-2K fans per game over the course of the season. Some games had crowds that didn't crack 1k. I think part of the problem was that Mobile tends not to be the first place to jump at something new. In hindsight it seems crazy to think that a few years ago we had a team with two NBA players(Rayford and Jamario), an NBA coach (Vincent) and a Harlem Globetrotter(Eugene Edgerson), that could not draw 1k fans. At the time though, the NBDL was new and people here were not sure what to make of it. I am a huge bball fan and I never went to a game because I didn't think any of those guys had a shot of making it to the NBA(and if they did, they would be the last guy on the bench who never plays). We didn't know if it would be like baseball, where minor league players frequently make the move to the big leagues, or like arena/semipro football, where almost noone moves up to the NFL. The only thing that was obvious was that we had a good team in a league full of above average college players, highschoolers that werent drafted/couldnt make grades for college, and street ball guys trying to make it legit. Playing in the civic center did not help the cause either. If they played at the Mitchell Center or a new arena in the city, it might have been a different story.

[Alxx611]

A few updates:

Hampton Inn:







Space 301 (the glass atrium looks much smaller than I expected)




Crescent Theatre construction



Some spires











I wasn't brave enough to climb the fire escape, too many cops roaming around the area.




"Support the tanker"

[LightMangler]

My info is that the Tower lights will be tested tomorrow night.

The turn on date is not too far off.

Keep watching the skies!!!

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by Alxx611

A few updates:

Hampton Inn:







Space 301 (the glass atrium looks much smaller than I expected)




Crescent Theatre construction



Some spires










I wasn't brave enough to climb the fire escape, too many cops roaming around the area.




"Support the tanker"


[IMG]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/Alxx611/downtown/100_0177
.jpg[/IMG]

A park for the old courthouse site would be good only if they agreeto bring functions to it.
There is hardley any new development near the areas where pic 9 & 10 are shot. Those are some very ugly surface parking lots and what drove the city to tear down such historic buildings for those parking lots? If I was a developer I would build condos and retail on those infamous surface parking lots. I thought the city was trying to make those things a thing of Mobile`s past ?!!!

IMG]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/Alxx611/downtown/100_0197.jpg[/IMG]

[Randallg223]

I'm new to this forum, but a life long resident of Mobile. It's exciting to see the growth of downtown Mobile. I never thought I'd ever see another building taller than the AmSouth being building built in downtown. My hope now is that the attention Mobile has recieved lately will draw the attention of a few private developers to see that this area has a lot to offer and that some large condo/retail/office towers will spring up. Maybe even another RSA/David Bonner investment or two. Heck we can turn the keys of the city over to him, would be fine with me. The man has vision and knows a good deal when he see's one. And right now Mobile is HOT!!! and I think the word is out. So hopefully major developments or in our very near future.

[CottonCity251]

Great pictures Alxx611!!

[Port_of_Bama]

Originally Posted by Randallg223

I'm new to this forum, but a life long resident of Mobile. It's exciting to see the growth of downtown Mobile. I never thought I'd ever see another building taller than the AmSouth being building built in downtown. My hope now is that the attention Mobile has recieved lately will draw the attention of a few private developers to see that this area has a lot to offer and that some large condo/retail/office towers will spring up. Maybe even another RSA/David Bonner investment or two. Heck we can turn the keys of the city over to him, would be fine with me. The man has vision and knows a good deal when he see's one. And right now Mobile is HOT!!! and I think the word is out. So hopefully major developments or in our very near future.

Welcome aboard my man !! I`m happy to see so many people in Mobile taking pride in the city. If every body realy supports the city come down town and spend a day ,Mobile has so much potential. All we need is vision and investment.

[bayou15]

The lastest on the site according to Downtonmobile alliance.........
The land is on the market. The developer has one offer and a second coming soon hmmm.........

Also the chamber has its latest 4/08 info out.
http://www.mobilechamber.com/view/2008/4-2008.pdf




''Have a Great Day" (Coach Miles,2007).

[Bama_75]

Went downtown and seen the test of the crown. It seems much brighter than the RSA crown.