Billion dollar development in Madison (Huntsville, Decatur: townhouse, to buy, living in)

[rnc76]

Bridge St, Constellation, Sweetwater, Harris Hills (72 East), and this development. Come to think of it wasn't there an announcement of another lifestyle center development in Madison that was suppose to have a New Orleans feel to it? Providence and Valley Bend are also new and not finished completely. There is no way this area can support all those places, BRAC included. According to the article, "the project will represent more than a 15% increase of the entire metro area office market, and a more than 8% expansion of the metro retail market". That seems crazy.

Why would a developer risk starting a project this big in this economy? I personally believe it is going to get a lot worse nationally because our country has lost all common sense when it comes to finances both in terms of personal finances and business.. Huntsville is not immune despite what everyone here likes to believe. We probably won't be hit as hard, but Huntsville is not an island. I would be very suprised if half of these projects come to fruition anywhere near what they are claiming.

[autobahn]

Glad to see we are getting more retailers to help pay taxes for city services and schools. Certainly all these rooftops are not paying for them. The city loses money everytime a new house is built.

[leavin_florida]

I've walked through Bridge Street a number of times and find it all but crowded. I really don't know how long businesses will be able to survive waiting for BRAC. The Madison Mall and the Decator Mall are probably about 20% vacant. I just don't see the need for more shopping, upscale or other wise.

I am afraid that many BRAC families won't be able to buy in the Huntsville/Madison area because they won't be able to sell their current homes. Sales have seriously slowed in Virginia.

[autobahn]

Yeah, I read in the HSV Times that the deals the people from Virginia were hoping to get are not happening. They won't sell their homes in Virginia (where I used to live many years ago) for big money and come down here and find big homes for a bargain.

I am hoping the development will be a lot like Turkey Creek in Knoxville. A lot of very nice shopping that is easily accessible by car. We could use another Target down this way for example. I think Bridge Streets problem is that it is stores that people can not afford to shop at. We need a nice place to shop with nice stores that we like to shop at and can afford.

P.S. Hoping for a Cheesecake Factory

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by autobahn

I think Bridge Streets problem is that it is stores that people can not afford to shop at. We need a nice place to shop with nice stores that we like to shop at and can afford. P.S. Hoping for a Cheesecake Factory

I have to disagree...most of those stores I've shopped at via catalog and found them fairly reasonable for the quality. I'm afraid our department store chains' quality is badly faltering. I find mostly ugly and poorly made clothing there.
Now...not sure how many people need a $350 Kate Spade clutch! I refuse to pay that kind of money! But then again...look at the multi-million dollar homes on Monte Sano Mountain...those customers are out there.
I've never eaten at Cheesecake Factory but heard it's really good...and pricy! But I've also heard the chain is in some financial trouble.

[flstatenolefan]

I love shopping at many of those stores. But, the fact is that with two small kids, I would rather shop online than in a store right now.

[java85]

At first I thought this was the same development that was announced from early last year off of I-565 and Zierdt Road. I never heard too much about it since infrastructure and annexation was an issue for Madison then. I think this is a very good idea for Madison to have a project like this. I wonder if they are going to come up with the ideas that Bridge Street offers in terms of high end retail shopping It would be nice to see a mix of affordable and sophisticated shopping at this new development. I do like that this project will feature a regional arts center, a theatre, and an amphitheater. I really like how we are getting all of these awesome projects in Huntsville and Madison. It seems like in the next 5 years after Constellation, the Madison town center project, Harris Hills, and the second phase of Bridge Street all being completed with Madison Square Mall and Parkway Place already in the area, Huntsville is going to become the shopping mecca of north Alabama. That Sweetwater project sounds like a lot of fun as well. This area is screaming for a Macy's and Nordstroms right now!

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by Southlander

I have to disagree...most of those stores I've shopped at via catalog and found them fairly reasonable for the quality. I'm afraid our department store chains' quality is badly faltering. I find mostly ugly and poorly made clothing there.
Now...not sure how many people need a $350 Kate Spade clutch! I refuse to pay that kind of money! But then again...look at the multi-million dollar homes on Monte Sano Mountain...those customers are out there.
I've never eaten at Cheesecake Factory but heard it's really good...and pricy! But I've also heard the chain is in some financial trouble.

Cheesecake factory is much more reasonable than the places like Dolce and Ketchup at Bridgestreet plus you get tons more food. You can share a meal with somebody and STILL have plenty to take home. Its probably why they are in financial trouble :-) I've learned how to keep my ticket below $30-40 even when its a ticket of two. These en trees are around 15 dollars or so, its only if u get cheescake and a whole bunch of other stuff that your ticket becomes really expensive. I can't say the same for Dolce or Ketchup, most of the entrees at Ketchup and Dolce are like $25 minimum. Kate Spade looks completely empty every time I walk by despite the multi-million dollar homes on Monte Sano I'm still not convinced Huntsville has a lot fashionable type people that care about that kind of stuff regardless of whether they can afford it or not. Most of the stuff in BridgeStreet is pretty reasonable its just a few really high end stuff that I'm concerned about but maybe they charge enough to make a profit anyway

[Huntsville_secede]

Originally Posted by rnc76

Bridge St, Constellation, Sweetwater, Harris Hills (72 East), and this development. Come to think of it wasn't there an announcement of another lifestyle center development in Madison that was suppose to have a New Orleans feel to it? Providence and Valley Bend are also new and not finished completely. There is no way this area can support all those places, BRAC included. According to the article, "the project will represent more than a 15% increase of the entire metro area office market, and a more than 8% expansion of the metro retail market". That seems crazy.

Why would a developer risk starting a project this big in this economy? I personally believe it is going to get a lot worse nationally because our country has lost all common sense when it comes to finances both in terms of personal finances and business.. Huntsville is not immune despite what everyone here likes to believe. We probably won't be hit as hard, but Huntsville is not an island. I would be very suprised if half of these projects come to fruition anywhere near what they are claiming.

The project off of Hughes Road was supposed to be "The French Quarters in Madison" that project was a dream from the start it never had much of a chance of becoming a reality. The Lifestyle center off of Zierdt Road in Madison the developer pulled out from part of the project and it would only have been built on the condition that an interchange would first be built on Zierdt Road and the state seemed hesitant to fund that anytime soon so Madison most likely pursued having a project on county line since that interchange is more likely to be built. Plus there was the whole issue with the developer and property owner wanting the land to be annexed in the Huntsville city limits.

Major retail projects planned for the area (in no particular order) as of now that have a chance are.

1. Constellation in Downtown
2. SweetWater in Decatur
3. Madison mega project on County Line
4. Harris Hills
5. Wal-mart complex off of Balch
6. St James Place Development -Jones Valley

expansions
1. Providence.
2. Valley Bend - Jones Valley
3. BridgeStreet (second phase)

Its a lot I don't think the area can support all of this development. Its nice to have all of these projects but the area has to be able to support it or its bad for everyone involved including Huntsville. Nordstrom isn't even coming to Birmingham until 2012, Nashville in 2010 the area has to have the population base and correct demographics not with just salary but the type of people that are into high end fashion/retail. I'm not so concerned about so many high end restaraunts, eating places in Huntsville seem to do extremely well its the clothing places like Kate Spade/Juicy Couture/Nordstorm if they were seriously even considering Huntsville.

The main competitors seem to be the project in Madison and Sweetwater in Decatur due to close proximity and similar aspects. There is a serious need for retail in NE Madison County so I'm sure some form of Harris Hills will be constructed, plus they spent $5 MILLION on a new road to connect to the project so it better be built. If I had to choose between the project in Madison and Constellation even though they really arent necessarily competing I say Constellation because I would like to see downtown improved and we already have BridgeStreet lets see how upscale retail does in Huntsville with BridgeStreet before we go developing more lifestyle centers.

[java85]

. If I had to choose between the project in Madison and Constellation even though they really arent necessarily competing I say Constellation because I would like to see downtown improved and we already have BridgeStreet lets see how upscale retail does in Huntsville with BridgeStreet before we go developing more lifestyle centers.

You make a very awesome point right on the nail! It's like I said earlier, I work at one of the stores at Bridge Street and the business during the days can be so stubborn but on the weekends we usually catch up with last-minute great sales. IMO, I think summer is going to be the best time for stores at Bridge Street to make some really good profits because the kids are going to be out of school for the summer and a lot more people will be traveling (despite the high gas prices). We will just have to stay tuned for all of that. But I agree with you that Huntsville needs to take it at least one year at time to decide on creating more lifestyle centers in the area. I see more passerbys than shoppers at Bridge Street which does concern me because it would be very embarassing for a city to be so hyped about a lifestyle center that brings in high end retail from California and people make a generalization that it only caters to the wealthy crowd. The only thing that will save Bridge Street from being a retail disaster is if they put stores that teens, college students, and singles can afford. I have experienced more people around my age (18 to 24) who turn away from my store because of the prices. Then when I see families come in then they shop til they drop. That really speaks for itself.

Dolce and Ketchup have only three locations in the country including Huntsville. The nearest restaurants are located in Atlanta. I am not sure that people in the Huntsville area are really accustomed to paying $30 for a meal than going to places like Cantina Laredo, P.F. Changs, and O'Connors where their prices are just as reasonable as Rosie's Cantina and Logans. People have to understand that sophisticated shopping and dining is something new to Huntsville and it will gradually take time for everything to happen in the best way possible. I am not used to paying so much for a meal that I can get for the price of two or shop for a pair of jeans that are close to $200. I can go to Buckle, Abercrombie, or American Eagle and buy stuff that fits my income and shop for a pair of shades or shoes at Bridge Street.

But I really believe that the city needs to see how well Bridge Street is performing in terms of sales and not study so much on the hundreds of people that shows up to make a good impression on the retail atmosphere. Constellation is going to be much different than Bridge Street since it will be more of entertainment and nightspots than hundreds of stores and restaurants lined up on the plaza. It is suppose to have a few retail shops and dining but its primarily a mixed-use project.

We can only hope that these projects will happen for Huntsville's future. Huntsville is no Los Angeles and it is no Atlanta (we're coming close everyday). But it does make our city look good that we have major retailers who would give the Huntsville market a try and people don't have to drive up to Nashville or Birmingham to get the best shopping experience. However, it looks bad when upscale retailers do research on the area and locate here and people are not shopping because they are not accustomed to paying more than $200 on one merchandise. It ruins any chance of us getting more upscale retailers in the market. But I think once people get used to everything it will eventually get better within time.