Mobile Development Thread

[Alxx611]

Also, as the news article references, it seems that this developer also owns the surface parking lot and plans to build an Ace Hardware store/liquor store, as well as a mixed use residential/commercial project. I found this image of the latter I think on the developers website:

[dsjj251]

I know this is a long shot but im looking for site plans and renderings of developments that never came into fruition and was wondering if anyone had them.

Blackwater -Planned Community, Eastern Baldwin County along the Blackwater River. Phase 1 was 900 lots on 1000 Acres ,pre-planned downtown layout. Multiple phases after phase one totaling 5,000 Acres.

The Highlands of Spanish Fort - 11,000 acres running from Spanish Fort Bay Minette , estimated 15,000 homes, 60,000 population.

Cypress Point Mixed use - Spanish Fort overlooking Mobile Bay. 100 Condos and first floor shopping district.

North Baldwin Development - Between Bay Minette and Stockton, large multiphase project with over 4,000 lots with shopping downtown district centered on intersection of Highway 31 and I-65

[Alxx611]

Personally, I think this outcome was an absolute disaster and a stupid decision.

The usual concerns about parking and mixed-income housing prevailed yet again, but weirdly enough was that it was the affordable housing advocates that killed this project. They feel that these COVID funds should only go to potential (currently non-existent) affordable housing developments in other parts of the City, where I'm sure they would face even bigger opposition from home owner groups and businesses.

A huge missed opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - bring the largest vacant blighted building downtown back into commerce while addressing the housing affordability issue.

https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2022/...velopment.html

Mobile City Council unanimously votes against allocating money to Gayfers affordable housing development

Published: Jun. 21, 2022, 2:56 p.m.

By Margaret Kates | mkates@al.com

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Mobile City Council voted unanimously against allocating $8 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act to an affordable housing development in the old Gayfers department store building downtown.

The development faced opposition from affordable housing advocates and downtown residents, who said that the plan was not the right fit for the neighborhood and that there are areas in the city of greater need than downtown.

“Mobile is more than downtown,” Sylvia Reed, a Mobile resident, said during the meeting. “Mobile is very diverse, and we need to focus outside of downtown.”

Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, an affordable housing developer based in New Orleans, has proposed developing the department store building into 95 affordable housing units. In addition to the money it would have received from the city of Mobile, GCHP has lined up $24 million in funding for the project, primarily from affordable housing and historic preservation tax credits. The Mobile Housing Authority has committed a $1 million loan to the project.

[Alxx611]

https://www.cityofmobile.org/uploads...ncilReview.pdf

[Alxx611]

So my previous posts shows the two general proposals from Populous Architects for redeveloping the Civic Center.

Sort of separate from that is the Army Corps of Engineers' proposal to build their new office with parking deck on the south end of the Civic Center site (currently surface parking). The first step for this is a zoning request for a subdivision of the entire Civic Center site which just got deferred by the Planning Commission.

The whole thing is very bizarre...I'm not exactly sure why this is happening on an accelerated timeline when the general plan for the entire Civic Center site is still in its earliest steps. Either way, the design is "blah" and I would expect better from the Fed Gov/GSA.


https://www.fox10tv.com/2022/08/12/t...nter-property/