Huntsville/Madison Development News (Montgomery, Jacksonville: evictions, elementary schools, property taxes)

[Tennhioland]

If you're a live music fan like me, this would be great news. Combined with a possible amphitheater at the MidCity development, a 1000 capacity standing room music venue is exactly what we need.

Is the Von Braun Center adding a new music venue? | AL.com

They recently announced a 300+ capacity venue opening in the old Lee Ann's spot.

New music venue coming to downtown Huntsville | AL.com

[AU HSV]

Site work has begun at Mid City for Top Golf. Meanwhile the former Madison Square mall is gone except for the JC Penney store and huge piles of debris neatly separated into whatever the material may be ready to be hauled off and in some cases recycled (Steel).
Wonder if they are going to keep the Penneys standing to use as a storage facility while Mid City progresses?
It would be a secure building for sure.
New entrance modifications and additional lanes off of University Drive to Mid City will begin soon as well.

[AznDreamer]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

Site work has begun at Mid City for Top Golf. Meanwhile the former Madison Square mall is gone except for the JC Penney store and huge piles of debris neatly separated into whatever the material may be ready to be hauled off and in some cases recycled (Steel).
Wonder if they are going to keep the Penneys standing to use as a storage facility while Mid City progresses?
It would be a secure building for sure.
New entrance modifications and additional lanes off of University Drive to Mid City will begin soon as well.

Can't wait for Top Golf! It will be really interesting.

[Preston3124]

Originally Posted by Preston3124

Look's like it will be Handel's first Alabama location

Handel's Homemade Ice Cream & Yogurt :: Locations

Handel's is now open in the parking lot area of the Hwy 72 Kroger. Based on the crowd yesterday after lunch they have a chance to do well.

Currently it is walk up only. No inside or outside seating. There is a drive thru window on the building, but no way to get to it in a car.

[Tennhioland]

Arial view of Top Golf being built, picture by SellersPhoto. Can start to get a feel for how it will be laid out.



For comparison, here's a satellite view of Top Golf in Georgia to get an idea of what it'll look like.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/To....3081822?hl=en

[Coogan]

So are the out parcels (specifically the Holiday Inn and the theater) going to be integrated in any way to the development? Like a face-lift to match any overall aesthetic to the rest of MidCity?

[David1502]

Originally Posted by Coogan

So are the out parcels (specifically the Holiday Inn and the theater) going to be integrated in any way to the development? Like a face-lift to match any overall aesthetic to the rest of MidCity?

I seriously doubt it.
1. The Holiday Inn is over 30 years old and I would imagine that they will not look at replacing or painting the brick which matched the brick which was on Madison Square Mall. Can they get any return on that investment?
2. The same is true for Steak and Shake - its brick matches the Holiday Inn and that of the former Madison Square.
3. The Movie theaters are not at all likely to do anything to match the overall aesthetic given the fact that the developers and the City of Huntsville practically forced them to move and essentially give away their property at a reduced price. They had to hire a lawyer to keep their property. They made a tremendous investment to upgrade the theaters (with enhanced seating) and were not going to be compensated for it. So, why should they go out of their way for the developer?


Something else to keep in mind is that Mid City Huntsville will most likely have a variety of architectures as there will be several different areas and it will be developed in phases over several years. This will be a huge contrast to Madison Square Mall which was one large over 900,000 square foot structure for which it made sense for the Holiday Inn to have the same brick.


For example, Top Golf will be its own independent structure which I'm sure will not look anything like the adjacent apartments and retail.

[cooldiver]

Originally Posted by David1502

Something else to keep in mind is that Mid City Huntsville will most likely have a variety of architectures as there will be several different areas and it will be developed in phases over several years. This will be a huge contrast to Madison Square Mall which was one large over 900,000 square foot structure for which it made sense for the Holiday Inn to have the same brick.

Pretty good comments.

I still feel that the Holiday Inn is not long for this world. There are a lot of new hotels in the area, and the Holiday Inn brand (vs. HI Express) seems to be on the way out.

I commend the movie theatre owners for standing up to City Hall and protecting their property rights. Of course the payback will be that access to the theatre is going to be difficult in the interim.

But in the long run, maybe this will help re-energize the commercial in that area. Even Krystal just spent a few bucks renovating their dining room.

[bmrisko]

Originally Posted by cooldiver

Pretty good comments.

I still feel that the Holiday Inn is not long for this world. There are a lot of new hotels in the area, and the Holiday Inn brand (vs. HI Express) seems to be on the way out.

I commend the movie theatre owners for standing up to City Hall and protecting their property rights. Of course the payback will be that access to the theatre is going to be difficult in the interim.

But in the long run, maybe this will help re-energize the commercial in that area. Even Krystal just spent a few bucks renovating their dining room.

FWIW, they are actually building quite a few HI properties around the world right now...I'd venture to say equal to HIE properties.

[cooldiver]

Originally Posted by bmrisko

FWIW, they are actually building quite a few HI properties around the world right now...I'd venture to say equal to HIE properties.

In the rest of the world perhaps, but not so much in the U.S. New properties seem to be mostly Crowne Plazas and HIx. Every Holiday Inn I see in this country is at least 25 years old.

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Meanwhile, Madison continues to experience residential growth that does not generate enough money to build new schools.

Madison City Schools rezoning plans: Here's what we know | AL.com

I guess this is going to lead to proposals for new property taxes down the road.

edit: I read the full presentation, and the school folks know some property taxes expire in the next few years and won't be proposing any new property taxes in the interim. They may push for a sales tax, which the chances of getting the county to pass a sales tax increase are precisely nil with the current commission. They might get the city to pass a sales tax increase, but that would be a stab in the back to the Madison retailers putting them at a disadvantage to Huntsville.

Much of the city is ageing, which is apparent from the enrollment numbers for the elementary schools in the east part of the city (with the exception of Horizon, which is a small school.) I'm not sure how much of this is being taken into account in the projections.