Why is land now so expensive in NE Madison County? (Birmingham: homes, construction)

[cwglover]

Thanks Boomer for the reply.

At MDA HQ, folks are worried about the "BRAC Brain-drain", where they are speculating that it may take over five years to bring MDA to current levels, and it may take close to ten years before it reaches its current level of experienced people.

It is clear that Huntsville developers and realitors have not factored this into their pricing and speculation. I believe that you're right -- housing in Huntsville will have a huge correction, downward, due to developers carrying too much inventory and strapped for cash.

We in Washington are waiting and watching. There's no hurry.

[dbkeel1]

You're right about speculation. There's a lot of that. And a lot of land options and a lot of first right of refusals out there, too.

Eventually the real growth push will hit the NE; right now the traffic is a moderate challenge at certain times of day but the work to come at 72 and Moore's Mill and Shields will result in no traffic lights between Scottsboro and Decatur (eventually) and the land prices on the E/NA side will be higher still.

[Reactionary]

cwglover - having worked at MDA (back then BMDO) in Crystal City, IMO some of those 'brains' needed draining But the BRAC may not weed out the bad ones...

Fair concern...

[ionlife]

I also worked for BMDOfrom Crystal City.

[Reactionary]

I worked NMD Source Selection around the turn of the century, plus other stuff prior...

[ionlife]

I am/was a POET (FFDRC) -- I'll bet you remeber Les Pierre?

[kypeep]

Any idea what the timeframe is for eliminating Hwy 72 lights at Moore's Mill? Shields Rd? Can't wait to see those 2 go.

And for building the overpass to Ryland Pike? I had heard something like 10 years for this part of it. Of course, I'm not holding my breath, I've lived in Huntsville long enough to know what's planned and what occurs in the way of road-building are two very different scenarios. Never enough money, either at the city, county, or state level to fund what's needed.

CWGlover, you've confirmed what I have thought for a long time, but it's frowned upon in Huntsville to admit that the BRACS folks probably won't come in droves and those that do move aren't stupid about real estate speculation here. Best I can tell, most of the BRAC folks are thought of as "sitting ducks" so used to high housing costs that they will swoon at the idea of more square footage and acreage. I am not sure many local businesses recognize that they are dealing with a sophisticated clientele in terms of what is expected in the form of amenities (restaurants, groceries, etc.) and home upgrades (counters, molding etc.). I had someone in the housing biz tell me recently that there are homes priced at $1M here, and these homes were finished out with far less than quality features when compared to similarly-priced houses in Birmingham. I am not sure how DC and Birmingham would cmpare these days in terms of quality of housing - it's been many years since I lived in Virginia - but I would venture to guess that those moving here will expect at least the same quality for the money as you would find in any major city, whether it be the DC/NoVa/MD area or Birmingham.

[kypeep]

One other thought for the BRAC folks. The housing/land speculation is not limited to the western areas (Madison, etc.). Speculation is rife in the NE part of Madison county - Brownsboro, Maysville, Gurley, virtually anywhere from Moore's Mill Rd east - with escalating prices ever since the BRAC annoucement. I haven't seen many of the over-priced properties sell, although I do think realistically-priced properties sell fine. It's just a bit difficult to find those realistically-priced properties in NE Madison county these days.

[Reactionary]

cglover - Pierre, not really - worked for Cosumano, sometimes Englander and Snyder; even a little with Proffitt here.

[boomer]

It looks like the city of Huntsville and the BRAC is pushing hard to fill all those new jobs by 2012. They are not just looking at D.C.

By MICHAEL E. KANELL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/25/08

Huntsville is hanging out the "Help Wanted" sign — in Atlanta.

A job expo in Midtown on Tuesday is aimed at luring talent to the northeast corner of Alabama to fill thousands of openings in an economy bolstered by government spending on aeronautics, the military and space.
• More business and development coverage

About 30 businesses will be in recruiting mode at the Atlanta Marriott Suites Midtown between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., part of the "Huntsville on the Road 2008 Career Expo."

Among the companies looking to hire in Atlanta are Boeing, Westar Aerospace & Defense Group and Dynetics, Inc., as well as NASA, according to the Chamber of Commerce for Huntsville and Madison County

About 10,000 new jobs must be filled by 2012, the chamber said.

From just over 200 miles away, Huntsville recruiters view Atlanta as a large and deep pool for talent, spawning engineers and techies by the thousands each year.

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