Will Mobile ever become something to talk about!!! (Birmingham, Montgomery: sales, city hall)

[port25]

I am a native of Mobile and I love it because of its charm, rich culture and the laid back feel of the city....but we need more things to do!!! Will we ever get a retail district in downtown, or at least 2 or 3 upscale nightclubs, comedy club, a Dave and Busters ( or something like it), summer jams or more music festivals? I have so many friends that love the city but are considering to move to places such as Dallas, Atlanta or even Bham, due to the lack of entertainment!! I hope that Mobile does not become a ghost town due to these things!!! Any input from Mobilians or others, who have actually visited the city....would be great!!!

[dailysounds]

The answer is no. Not as long as sales tax is ten percent. Not as long as crime is rising. Not as long as education is poor.

[PortCity]

I’ve visited cities that have high taxes as well and they still had more to offer,lol. The crime rate is actually low compared to the past and education oh yeah big improvements in deed but that isn’t a factor as well look at( New Orleans) or (Memphis).Huntville is the most progressive city in the state and it doesn`t even have close to what Mobile has. The problem is that over time Mobilians have forgotten about downtown, and allowed the core of the city to go rotten for a long time and the city is slowly recovering from such mishap.

Downtown is the heart of anny city,though downtown is recovering from the past but the process is slow due to the economy.Back in 2005 downtown development was very fast,forward,and progressive,no it`s kind of just forward.The good news is that I`ve seen more condos ,lofts,and aprartments down there than ever before. Developers only want to develop in areas that are growing and not decling which was one of the main problems of the core( population decline).The other problem is that several downtown residents wen`t uncounted for the census for years so to developers there was no need to build(info came from the Mobile Downtown Alliance).The Alliance have a strong feeling that the downtown popultaion has grown( I agree) and with this growth along with good demographics the developers will look into bringing small retail downtown.

In my opinion the St.Louis Street downtown is one of the major artiries downtown that have not beeen looked at by developers and I think that area should be where the restail district needs to be.I recommend light retail like Old Navy,Foot Locker,Buckle,and locally owned boutiqes.But we need the population numbers downtown.Royal street has come a long ways and love what the city has done with it over time(clapping hands).

Mobile has several clubs but we do lack upscale clubs/lounges and the only upscale spots that I know of are.Skyview, The Crooked Martini(west Mobile) and Met Groove(west Mobile).Mobile also needs out of the box thinking, all of the club and bar owners are opening up the same typr of clubs and bars.We need someone with another type of club approach.We need a bowling alley down town and club mix.

[PortCity]

One last thing,We need more high paying jobs the more jbs we have the more people will move in and the train of thought.It`s time fro a younger crowed to run the city basicly,lol.


FYI,out of the four most populated counties in Alabama which are Jefferson,Madison,Mobile,and Montgomery.The only two who have experinced the most population gain in is Mobile and Madison counties.

[port25]

@ Portcity..I am glad to hear that we are growing!!! But we do need a revival of downtown mobile without losing it origianlity. In the near future hopefully we will see Mobile as a vibrant and hip city....but I dont want to be overun like Bham!!

[Keeper]

The problem is that most ppl live far away from Downtown. I doubt shopping is going to bring ppl into the city but restaurants and clubs might. It is indeed sad to see downtown now.

I remember when the only place to shop was downtown and it was a wonderful place to go. We rode the bus too. Gayfers and Hammels were the main stores.

If they can build condos and lofts and get ppl to live in them then downtown will come alive

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by Keeper

The problem is that most ppl live far away from Downtown. I doubt shopping is going to bring ppl into the city but restaurants and clubs might. It is indeed sad to see downtown now.

And with the new shopping center in Malbis many people in Baldwin County no longer have a need to shop in Mobile.

[dailysounds]

Portcity, only you and Sam Jones think crime is down. I don't care what kind of numbers city hall throws out, crime is not down. Keeper is right, the growth has mostly been in west Mobile, partly through the annexation of areas there. And it takes at least thirty minutes to get downtown from there. Maybe an expressway to downtown would help, or an expressway to connect to I-10 from the Airport and Schillinger area.

[ashpelham]

I've travelled to Mobile extensively and have very little positive to say about it. But, the reason why I post at all, is so that I can temper that negativity I have toward Mobile with some good: I think that it could become a real growth place by virtue of it's transportation and shipping industries. It's ideally located on I-10, it has the Bay and large rivers for transport, and it has the basic amenities already in place to grow from. Infrastructure is there. It's not ready for fast growth, but steady growth it could handle.

We, and this is for all of Alabama, not just Mobile, still need to address the divide between the uneducated, near-poverty people of our state, and the more fortunate residents. Business and society in general cater to the more well-off, and everyone else is cast off. We have too many forgotten people in this state who do not know how to pull themselves up and make something of themselves. Mobile has a lot of people like this. So does Birmingham, and Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery, as well as Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, so on and so forth.

Different parts of the world, same problems. Mobile needs to address this. Alabama needs to address this.

[PortCity]

@ ashpelham I agree.The key to growth is education and jobs in general,and like you said the state is lacking in support of education. I read an article about Houston and how the city fought hard to make sure public schools were on par with private schools.


@dailysounds ,I`m going by statistics and the numbers could be off I don`t know but statistically Mobile had a higher murder rate then it does now. I heard that the county wanted to build an expressway but West Mobile Residents protested and complained( don`t know if its true or not).The express way to connect downtown is a no go because of (mid town) but we do need an Airport/Schillenger connecter to I-10.


To be honest we( the state as a whole) have a long ways to go before we can become something to talk about !!! The said thing, is that there is so much potential.