Huntsville updates - Page 102

TimCity2000 · #**2021** Posted **Feb 9, 2008, 6:55 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by g-man435

HSVTiger, do you have any renderings/site plans for constellation you could share? Thanks.

this is from last year... not sure how accurate it still is:

marvingardns · #**2022** Posted **Feb 12, 2008, 9:49 PM**

A business owner who leases property on Triana Boulevard has said that a developer expressed interest on his Triana/Governor's property and the adjacent properties behind and beside. At this point it is only interest and fact-finding. Anyone else heard about this? I'd love to see a revival of West Huntsville go full swing with new commercial development.

HSVTiger · #**2023** Posted **Feb 13, 2008, 1:21 PM**

a few more details on this project

By JOHN PECKTimes Staff Writer john.peck@htimes.com
Meeting to be heldMonday to getinput on projects

Another parking garage is coming to downtown Huntsville.

Plans call for a six-story, 400- or 500-space parking deck off Holmes Avenue between Green and Lincoln streets. The parking deck would adjoin an apartment building and possibly offer retail space on the first floor, if negotiations pan out between the city and interested proprietorsConstruction is expected to get under way by summer.

The Holmes Avenue/Lincoln/Green streets site is a surface parking lot operated by the city. The parking garage would add hundreds of public parking spaces. Planners say ample parking can spur other retail, commercial and residential growth.

Tommy Brown, director of parking and public transit for Huntsville, said having a private developer build something in conjunction with the parking deck will help offset the costs of the garage to taxpayers. The developer, Randy Schrimsher, would sign a long-term ground lease for the rights to build the apartment building on the site and also make annual lease payments for parking spaces reserved for tenants.

Schrimsher said the apartments would be on the east end of the garage fronting Lincoln Street. The apartments would be a more attractive "transition" between the parking deck and the Old Town Historic District adjoining Lincoln Street, he said.

Schrimsher said he would lease 80 to 90 spaces from the garage for tenants. Schrimsher believes there's a market for downtown living as evidenced by the Terry Hutchens Building makeover into condos (developed by Jim and Susie Hudson several years ago) and the 301 East Condominiums immediately north of the planned parking deck site on Holmes.

"As we all know about downtown, the emphasis has been to get people living down there and the services will come," Schrimsher said.

HSVTiger · #**2024** Posted **Feb 13, 2008, 7:37 PM**

Old downtown Geode sculpture may have a new home. It was removed years ago and has been shuffled around but now it may end up in the Lowe-Mill District.

probably near the Flying Monkey Arts building

Check out their calender, something for everyone!
http://www.flyingmonkeyarts.org/calendar.html

In May 1989, the Arts Council kicked off the Art in Public Places Program by sponsoring a sculpture competition. Fifty-four sculptors from across the Southeast submitted work.

A panel of 15 local jurors, chaired by Dennis Peacock, a professor of art at the University of Tennessee, selected five finalists.

Geode, by Mississippi artist Skip Van Houten, was chosen.

A geode, when it occurs in nature, is a rock formation that's lined with crystals. Van Houten's piece was a five-ton sculpture made of steel and Alabama marble.

Van Houten received a $10,000 commission funded by the City of Huntsville with assistance from the Arts Council.

In September 1990, the Arts Council and city officials unveiled Geode in the eastern end of Big Spring International Park.

Four years later, Big Spring East underwent a $2 million facelift, which included new walkways, benches and lights. According to a 1994 article in The Huntsville Times, Geode was supposed to remain in the park.

But in 1995 it was removed.

HSVTiger · #**2025** Posted **Feb 13, 2008, 8:20 PM**

Five Points/Downtown Streetscape plan ready to begin?

hopefully it is, this will be the 1st phase of extensive makeover of this historic
district streets. Pratt Ave to beyond Russell will see extensive landscaping,
with new stamped colored concrete cobblestone sidewalks, trees, benches, underground utilities and decorative lighting. It will create/re-establish a very walkable, pedestrian friendly environment. This is all along Star Market/Sazio/
Hardees etc . There will be some removal of Dogwood trees on Pratt but they will be relocated to nearby Coleman St.
At one time the old trolley rails that are under the street were going to be re-established but tripping hazards and basic costs prevented this.

TimCity2000 · #**2026** Posted **Feb 13, 2008, 8:21 PM**

probably not a big deal to some, but i just noticed that you can now use the "bird's eye" feature at http://maps.live.com/ for most parts of huntsville. pretty cool. some parts aren't quite up-to-date, though.

Huntsville_secede · #**2027** Posted **Feb 14, 2008, 2:52 PM**

How do you delete a message you posted?

Huntsville_secede · #**2028** Posted **Feb 14, 2008, 3:00 PM**

This could be devastating in particular to Madison's further expansion plans. It could hurt Huntsville too but Huntsville can easily expand east or north if it wants to.

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletim...380.xml&coll=1

HSV Times Article
Bill to halt land grabs is in works
Thursday, February 14, 2008
By WENDY REEVES
Times Staff Writer wendy.reeves@htimes.com

Annexations inLimestone Countyfocus of measure

A bill to stop annexations of Limestone County land by neighboring cities could soon be introduced to the state Legislature.

The proposed constitutional amendment was still being put together in Montgomery on Wednesday, said state Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison.

WAFF

http://www.waff.com/global/story.asp?s=7869017

Updated: Feb 13, 2008 07:26 PM
Limestone County fighting annexation

By Robyn McGlohn
WAFF 48 News Reporter

A Valley county tired of losing land is fighting back.

County leaders are taking their fight to the Alabama Legislature.

Limestone County wants outside municipalities to stop annexing its land.

Rail Claimore · #**2029** Posted **Feb 14, 2008, 6:27 PM**

^Oh boo-hoo. They're just mad that those cities are selling alcohol and thus "robbing" them of tax revenue.

HSVTiger · #**2030** Posted **Feb 14, 2008, 7:37 PM**

Developers, zoning committee members, city planners and a representative of the city's two downtown historic neighborhoods debated the building height issue for more than an hour Wednesday. It marked the fourth review of the building height ordinance since 2006, when the 10-story limit was finally implemented from the city's 1989 downtown master plan.

Developers, led by Scott McLain and Randy Schrimsher, complained the building height seems arbitrary and will deter downtown development. Both agree to some limits and protections near downtown neighborhoods but they oppose a defined height limit in the central core.

"I think you're missing an opportunity. If you just arbitrarily limit it to 10 stories, you're limiting future development of what could be a really monumental project," said Schrimsher, who has had a 24-story building planned for several years. The structure would be a mostly residential complex above a parking deck at the corner of Holmes Avenue and Jefferson Street. The space is now a parking lot for the Heritage Club.

McLain said downtown real estate costs as much as $30 per square foot. Lifting the height limit would make many projects more economically feasible, he said.
McLain said the city recently lost a 20-story major name hotel downtown because of the height limit.

"They were from out of town and didn't want to fight City Hall," McLain said
If we don't allow some new landmarks to occur, I really think we're cutting ourselves off at the knees for future development," he said.
Zoning members agreed the height limit ordinance is a "work in progress" that could change over time.

the rest of the article
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletim...380.xml&coll=1

-=skywalker=- · #**2031** Posted **Feb 15, 2008, 2:24 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HSVTiger

Zoning members agreed the height limit ordinance is a "work in progress" that could change over time.

That's just great, here in Alabama "over time" means a generation or so...guess that means a 20+ story building won't be happening anytime in the next 10 to 20 years.

g-man435 · #**2032** Posted **Feb 15, 2008, 5:51 AM**

I don't think this has been posted yet: http://www.sellersphoto.com/construction/

HSVTiger · #**2033** Posted **Feb 15, 2008, 12:57 PM**

Hey I was wrong about the sculpture

It looks like it is going to the UAH campus instead.
Oh well it was a 50/50 chance.

marvingardns · #**2034** Posted **Feb 15, 2008, 5:17 PM**

Quote:

A business owner who leases property on Triana Boulevard has said that a developer expressed interest on his Triana/Governor's property and the adjacent properties behind and beside. At this point it is only interest and fact-finding. Anyone else heard about this? I'd love to see a revival of West Huntsville go full swing with new commercial development.

To revisit this prior post, the business owner said that surveyors were working on Triana Boulevard between 6th and 7th Streets. The scope of the project, timeline or any other details are unknown.

gkcooper · #**2035** Posted **Feb 18, 2008, 3:14 PM**

There was a small, stand-alone building under construction in front of the new Publix at Harvest Square. I noticed a few days ago that the building is now totally gone. The walls were already up and now it's been demo'd? Does anyone know why?

Greg K. Cooper

HSVTiger · #**2036** Posted **Feb 19, 2008, 7:06 PM**

Downtown apartment /garage moves forward

Architectural renderings shared Monday night show a 75-foot-tall parking garage and 68-foot-high apartment stretching from Lincoln to Green streets. A narrow alley lined with fencing would shield the Dumpsters and a service area from property to the south. The garage exit and entrance would be off Green Street, and the Holmes and Lincoln sides would have additional diagonal parking slots facing the building.

Construction on the proposed $9 million garage project could begin in the summer.

HSVTiger · #**2037** Posted **Feb 19, 2008, 7:11 PM**

Plus we learn of a possible project in the works
Mayor Spencer revealed Monday night that a North Carolina developer was interested in a downtown site and the city asked for a formal proposal. She refused to identify the location but said the project would be a similar "mixed-use" development in conjunction with a city-built parking garage.

It seems we are hearing more and more of these type of proposals so hopefully something will break open. When you hear that a 20 story hotel almost happened then you have to think other projects will and soon.
Somebody is spending time on these things.

HSVTiger · #**2038** Posted **Feb 20, 2008, 9:23 PM**

Passenger traffic up 12.2% over January 2007 numbers at Huntsville International. 95,136 passengers enplaned/deplaned for January 2008.

HSVTiger · #**2039** Posted **Feb 21, 2008, 9:15 PM**

Go Green
New York Times article and photo

Robin Elmslie Osler, a New York architect, completed one of the largest green-wall installations in North America last month, for an Anthropologie store in Huntsville, Ala., above — a 2,000-square-foot vertical garden across the south and southeast facades. Although the wall “acts as an insulator,” Ms. Osler said, the appearance was just as important as the energy savings.

Anthropologie’s green wall, manufactured by Green Living Technologies (agreenroof.com, 800-631-8001), is made up of a collection of two-by-two-foot panels that are three inches deep. Each one has numerous rectangular cells packed with special soil that retains moisture. Drip irrigation lines run between the rows of panels to deliver water during dry spells.

Because of the modular nature of the system, it could easily be adapted for use in a home. “It’s totally low maintenance,” Ms. Osler said. “What makes green walls so interesting is that you can have different kinds of plants — you can have different colors, things that change over the seasons, things that smell wonderful, and things that flower.”

Before installing the panels, Green Living Technologies normally grows plants in them in a nursery. For the Anthropologie store, it raised a dozen different varieties of sedum for six months to give the wall a look of immediate lushness. Prices for that kind of installation start at about $65 a square foot, and can run up to $110 a square foot, depending on the type of plants used.

HSVTiger · #**2040** Posted **Feb 22, 2008, 1:33 PM**

Discussion about protecting Big Spring park downtown revealed a few possible projects.
The measure would:

Prohibit any building or structure from being constructed, erected or placed within the boundaries of Big Spring International Park.

Stipulate that the Holiday Inn hotel site (formerly the Hilton) revert to park property if the hotel ceases operation and is demolished. The city bought the hotel property several years ago. Big Spring Partners downtown development group operates it.

Mayor Loretta Spencer said the hotel reversion provision would hamper an interest by Embassy Suites executive John Q. Hammonds to put a new hotel on the Holiday Inn site. She also questioned the impact the ordinance could have on a planned federal building at or near the site of the former mental health center.

Spencer said security setback limits for the federal courthouse could push an accompanying parking deck to the Holiday Inn site.