3rdGenHuntsvillian

The one thing that seems to be a real magnet for drawing people is a movie theater. I think building a Rave-type theater downtown would be the thing that would actually spur all the downtown entertainment that we would all like. Ideally, it would be located close to the Civic Center (to get the attention of convention goers) and to the rest of downtown (to be within walking distance of bars and resturants before and after the movie). Of course that land is already occupied, so a bank or Channel 19 would have to be convinced to find a new location. I can't remember if Constellation is supposed to have a theater. In my opinion, it would be too far away from the rest of downtown to spin-off any other growth.

I wonder if this will go in the BRAC enticement info package?

Not as exciting as I would have liked, but better than a huge empty lot...

I noticed a construction trailer and maybe some site prep at the large empty lot that used to be a driving range on Governors Drive next to Inergy (Not sure on the spelling of that). Does anybody know what they are building there?

Saturn V to be named one of ABC's 7 Wonders of America Posted by [url=http://blog.al.com/spotnews/about.html]Kent Faulk

We bought our Christmas tree this year from the governors drive tree lot. They said they wouldn't be there next year because the land had been sold. Does anybody have any info on development plans for that property?

French Quarter in Madison With the success of Providence, I think we will start seeing more and more of these popping up... http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/ind....xml&coll=1

I think another limiting factor on these condos is parking. If your parking footprint is only as big as your building footprint, then you probably can't have too many residents living in the building.

This will probably sound like a smartalek answer, but I guess it just doesn't make good business sense right now. I think the design and construction costs of new condo buildings, like the really nice one proposed on Randolph, preclude affordable units. The city would probably have to provide some incentives to bring the profit margin up for the developers. Renovating existing older buildings are a different story though. I think the building behind 301 East is low income, right? That building could probably be renovated into affordable units. Same with the old hotel downtown (name escapes me). I think there is just a general lack of desirable, affordable residential real estate in the Huntsville metro area period.

I think the best hope for affordable housing downtown will be in Dallas Ave and Cleveland Ave area where there is quite a bit of land. But even that land may be too expensive. With building costs and downtown real estate prices being what they are, I don't think 150-200K living is in the cards. Just think how far from downtown you have to drive to be able to buy anything for 150K... Mississippi maybe.

I hope they don't have to do too much blasting to set the foundation. Those old Twickenham houses may not survive!

Anybody have any info on the land that is being cleared on University between Mama Fu's and (ahem) Visions? Let me guess. Another hotel? It's not a corner so probably not a drug store...

Tuscumbia made it into this months Budget Traveller magazine in an article about cool small towns. http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content...7080600873.html

I was just thinking the city might consider offering a tax break (maybe for a limited time) to a property owner downtown if they are leasing a certain amount of square footage to any college or university. It seems like it would be a great way to get people downtown on weeknights. Any thoughts?

At the very least they need to put some sort of signage on the building that can be seen from 565 and the Parkway for people coming in from out of town. I also think some sort of Upcoming Events sign that is visable to those high traffic roads would be good too.

There is a large lot on Bailey Cove near Four Mile Post between Dominos and some townhouses. For years, it has had a sign up saying "For Sale: Hotel/Restuarant Site." A couple of months ago that sign came down and a construction company sign went up. A small pile of steel work and other building supplies is sitting in the lot now and maybe some "PODS" containers too. Has anybody heard of any developments/plans for that site?

Well that would certainly help get me back into that mall. Can't remember the last time I went there...

Has anybody heard any news about Jason's Deli coming to town? Last I heard was Parkway Place trying to lure them in with a sign on the front of the mall, which didn't work. We are listed on their site though. Jason's Deli