Hunstville to enter concrete business (Huntsville, Theodore: sales, real estate, lawyers)

[JuanHunt]

At least the concrete plant owning business.
The CoH is going to purchase the plant near the corner of Pratt and Church and shut down the plant and help develop the property. There really is no shortage of money as they are paying top dollar to shut down an existing operating business. This is similar to the CoH buying the old Reid Hardware building on North Parkway for full market price, just to then try and sell the land to a developer at no profit or even a loss.
Remember just a few months ago when the Mayor was crying on TV about the city needing to raise the sales tax to 9% because the city was desperate for money and could continue to offer basic services? Yeah, me neither.
Just Davis and Hettinger, Battle will leave office having made millions of dollars in personal income off real estate deals he in part facilitated.

[AU HSV]

sounds like a good plan for downtown development and moves a dusty , congested plant , that has outgrown or needs another location, this was reported back in May
from al.com

Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said the Sherman Industries land is needed to complete a new northern access road for downtown.

Part of that project is already finished: a five-lane road between Oakwood and Pratt avenues that opened earlier this year. On Thursday, the City Council changed the name from New Church Street to Hundley Drive as a memorial to Oscar Hundley.

A prominent local attorney in the late 1800s, Hundley served in both the Alabama House and Senate and was also nominated for a federal judgeship by President Theodore Roosevelt.

The city plans to continue Hundley Drive south of Pratt Avenue; it will cross the eastern half of the Sherman Industries tract before meeting up with Church Street.

Davis said the Alabama Department of Transportation has agreed to pay 80 percent of the cost of acquiring the concrete plant, or $1.64 million. Huntsville is responsible for the other 20 percent, or about $409,000.

[BMW Dave]

Yeah, 9% is pretty standard.

Glad that plant will be moved.

Progress costs money.

[JuanHunt]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

sounds like a good plan for downtown development and moves a dusty , congested plant , that has outgrown or needs another location, this was reported back in May
from al.com

Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said the Sherman Industries land is needed to complete a new northern access road for downtown.

Part of that project is already finished: a five-lane road between Oakwood and Pratt avenues that opened earlier this year. On Thursday, the City Council changed the name from New Church Street to Hundley Drive as a memorial to Oscar Hundley.

A prominent local attorney in the late 1800s, Hundley served in both the Alabama House and Senate and was also nominated for a federal judgeship by President Theodore Roosevelt.

The city plans to continue Hundley Drive south of Pratt Avenue; it will cross the eastern half of the Sherman Industries tract before meeting up with Church Street.

Davis said the Alabama Department of Transportation has agreed to pay 80 percent of the cost of acquiring the concrete plant, or $1.64 million. Huntsville is responsible for the other 20 percent, or about $409,000.

Thereby disproving the notion that AL has a budget problem. Paying $2mil to shut down a successful business is vanity not necessity.
The Church street project would have crossed part of the Sherman property but would not have impacted the plant facilities. If this is needed improvement, the city could have easily take the land by imminent domain.
The business that really needs to be removed from downtown?....Lawyers. They are easily the most offensive businesses that citizens and tourists have to see when in the downtown entertainment corridor. Move all the lawyers to north Parkway.

[RatSnake]

Or they can do what the EPA / Obama-minions do ---- pass some obscure (hard to figure out) environmental regulation that will then force the concrete plant to shut down ...

[JakeWilliams]

Originally Posted by JuanHunt

Thereby disproving the notion that AL has a budget problem. Paying $2mil to shut down a successful business is vanity not necessity.
The Church street project would have crossed part of the Sherman property but would not have impacted the plant facilities. If this is needed improvement, the city could have easily take the land by imminent domain.
The business that really needs to be removed from downtown?....Lawyers. They are easily the most offensive businesses that citizens and tourists have to see when in the downtown entertainment corridor. Move all the lawyers to north Parkway.

EMINENT domain, not imminent domain.

If the gov't does that they still have to pay. Obviously the company chose to sell and move, the city did not make them.

We will have to see what happens with the rest of the land to see if it was good for the city or not to make the payment.

[JuanHunt]

Originally Posted by JakeWilliams

EMINENT domain, not imminent domain.

If the gov't does that they still have to pay. Obviously the company chose to sell and move, the city did not make them.

We will have to see what happens with the rest of the land to see if it was good for the city or not to make the payment.

Thanks for pointing that out, spell check are made me more stupid.

The City has been doing alot of theses type deals, the purchase of the rescue mission for far more than market value, the various school deals involving the mayor and his staff, the convoluted Cabelas deal, etc. Further north on Hundley in association with this same project, the city has purchased and sold multiple properties to private entities essentially acting as a real estate flipper but losing money on every deal, and doing these deals in secret.