Mobile Area News: (Huntsville, Prichard, Saraland: home, elementary schools, organic)

[evlb401]

Disappointing. Not a good trend...

[InlandWave]

Originally Posted by evlb401

Disappointing. Not a good trend...

Yea Mobile needs to continue making a lot changes. Really need to annex land, especially lands that are being developed to offset the losses in inner city mobile

I also think the City should find a way to incentivize home production in inner city. Whether the city helps produce homes through grants (didn’t the state receive $321 million in block grants from Sally and Zeta that we could potentially use). Your not gonna see many homes built in inner city mobile until builders can make a bigger profit doing so than building subdivisions in West Mobile

[PortCity]

Originally Posted by InlandWave

Yea Mobile needs to continue making a lot changes. Really need to annex land, especially lands that are being developed to offset the losses in inner city mobile

I also think the City should find a way to incentivize home production in inner city. Whether the city helps produce homes through grants (didn’t the state receive $321 million in block grants from Sally and Zeta that we could potentially use). Your not gonna see many homes built in inner city mobile until builders can make a bigger profit doing so than building subdivisions in West Mobile

That's a band aid tbh. Mobile has to focus on why and make a change. One problem that me and my wife continue too see is that. There isn't enough new subdivisions being but in the city limits. 90% of the cities population lost is a transfer to the west Mobile suburban areas tbh. We are currently house shopping and we would rather live in the city but the problem is that there isn't any new subdivisions being built in the city.

[evlb401]

Yeah, Annexation is a band-aid that needs to be applied FAST!

Unfortunately, there is very little usable land that can be developed into subdivisions within the current city limits. Most subdivisions in the city that are being built are small specialty subdivisions that most can not afford. This is why annexation of vacant land is important. Let's face it. Annexation is how the vast majority of Sunbelt cities grow.... we are no different. Annexation will help immediately cover our losses and then slow the bleeding going forward. After annexation, Mobile needs to double down and really continue to work on itself to achieve city wide growth.

Mobile has several big issues..... perception of bad schools (which isn't true), a crime issue, and a very old and aging housing stock. People want new housing. Even our neighborhoods in District 6 are getting old. The growth rate is slowing fast in those areas. West Mobile (unincorporated) used to have a growth rate of 1% to 2% and it is now below 0.5% per year. This is now becoming a county wide issue.

[InlandWave]

Originally Posted by evlb401

Yeah, Annexation is a band-aid that needs to be applied FAST!

Unfortunately, there is very little usable land that can be developed into subdivisions within the current city limits. Most subdivisions in the city that are being built are small specialty subdivisions that most can not afford. This is why annexation of vacant land is important. Let's face it. Annexation is how the vast majority of Sunbelt cities grow.... we are no different. Annexation will help immediately cover our losses and then slow the bleeding going forward. After annexation, Mobile needs to double down and really continue to work on itself to achieve city wide growth.

Mobile has several big issues..... perception of bad schools (which isn't true), a crime issue, and a very old and aging housing stock. People want new housing. Even our neighborhoods in District 6 are getting old. The growth rate is slowing fast in those areas. West Mobile (unincorporated) used to have a growth rate of 1% to 2% and it is now below 0.5% per year. This is now becoming a county wide issue.

Yea the only major subdivision in the works right now (Milkhouse Creek Subdivision, on Cottagehill) is being done on what is basically the last major undeveloped area in the city that is not used for preservation or in a flood zone


I think a big step that the city needs to achieve is allow for higher density builds especially East of I-65. Allow Duplex and Townhomes with R-1 housing. The zoning just needs to be less oppressive in general
Quite Frankly I think Mobile is just gonna need to annex all of Tilmans Corner and West Mobile all the way past Mcfarland and Snow Rd and them some


West Mobile Suburbia is getting too thick, especially without a major highway nearby. I'm hoping that once Highway 198 is finished, we'll start seeing suburbia being built around that corridor and a rise of Wilmer, Georgetown, Mauvalla, and Semmes

[PortCity]

I think there is more land for development than we realize.

[Southsky]

Infill is occurring east of I-65 but the closing of subsidized housing is contributing to a lot of these decreases in the city proper. This is cyclical. The county, on the other hand, should start to see growth again as new subdivisions in the unincorporated areas of the county come online and will be especially so as West Baldwin Co fills up (and becomes as congested as West Mobile! - it is well on its way)

[evlb401]

Originally Posted by PortCity

I think there is more land for development than we realize.

Oh there is land... just it isn't zoned correctly, in a flood zone, or in undesirable areas that makes the project not feasible. When you try to do something big on a piece of property everybody fights it and nothing happens.

[PortCity]

I was just looking at a map of Mobile the Milk House, Canterbury and Crestview areas has a lot of land for development.

[evlb401]

Originally Posted by PortCity

I was just looking at a map of Mobile the Milk House, Canterbury and Crestview areas has a lot of land for development.

Most of that land is encumbered by wetlands, flood plains, topography issues, or is protected. A lot of the land in the Canterbury area is owned by the school system and is operated as the Environmental Center. Good large tracks are hard to come by in the city limits.