Mobile Area News: (housing projects, rated, dental)

[InlandWave]

Best I’ve found so far is from Downtown Mobile Today

https://www.facebook.com/10090878591...7DL37Fm3viRfl/

[verve57]

Originally Posted by InlandWave

Hell yea, I’m glad Populus gets it, they pointed out that with the new I-10 overpass with the reconstruction, the overpass can become a new park like what Birmingham did (they specifically pointed out Birmingham)

Edit: Populous wants to see residential uses on the west side of the property, which I approve

Man why is Carroll getting upset over parking, literally the number of parking spots doesn’t change, if he had a problem with not enough parking, he should have been working to get more parking downtown instead of complaining about it now

I, too, agree with a most of what Populus presented. It seems Carroll is hung up on trying to make the arena be something that it was long, long ago in the past. He should listen to the experts who are familiar with the size and types of events that the facility should be suited for to make it sustainable. We're not going to get those 10K events very often, if at all. Another one of the presenters mentioned we need to focus on events that will occur on a more regular basis to keep revenue flowing in.

In addition to his hangup about the parking, I also got frustrated with Carroll's comments about the housing along Lawrence Street. What Populus conceptualized is exactly what is needed to transition from the existing residential to other retail, hotel and office structures that may occur on the remaining portions of the property. If you have high end housing, I would think that it would complement what is already there in East Church Street.

The bottom line for me is that the city leaders need to be more forward thinking and advocate development that will make people want to live, work, shop, attend and visit the various components of the development. It has to be things that is different, cutting edge and comparable to what people seek in an urban environment.

[PortCity]

Originally Posted by verve57

The bottom line for me is that the city leaders need to be more forward thinking and advocate development that will make people want to live, work, shop, attend and visit the various components of the development. It has to be things that is different, cutting edge and comparable to what people seek in an urban environment.

Some one give this man an offering!!!

[natedoggbry]

It was beyond annoying to listen to him go on about parking. The only reasonable complaint that should be addressed is if overflow parking goes straight into the church street east neighborhood. He was definitely going on and on with these questions. I was cracking up when he said he saw a boyz to men concert that would fill it up. That’s like a 70 year old saying they saw Elvis once and therefore we need a 20,000 seat arena just in case.

But I think there are pros and cons to each idea. The shift idea lets the theatre remain and allows for more development of housing on the site. A con would be that they’re gonna slap a fat glassy facade between the theatre and arena and make it look “modern” which I think will look poorly with the previous mid century design on those two buildings. It also costs 30 million to renovate the theatre which is a ton of money to spend on something that even if it’s full all the time, it won’t generate that money back in a generation.

The embrace pros are that it’s a lot less money, it has the potential to look really eye catching, and it has the potential to capture the essence of Spanish plaza and continue that park like setting into the civic center property(which I think would be elite if it were to match the current Spanish plaza style instead of just open grass space). I also do think it looks cool to have those buildings be pushed to the street and curve with the street like that. And with a ton of open land around it, you could have different festivals be put there, which might feel constrained in one of the downtown squares, but this would give significantly more outside space to use for stuff like the festival of flowers, chili cook off, etc. Not sure if one of those buildings built onto Claiborne street would be a new theatre or not, but I’m in favor of waiting until fort conde village is expanded, once those off ramps come down, and building a theatre there. I think it would help develop the area and the theatre could be built with a classical design in mind to match the surroundings and brick streets. Cons are that it would have less housing on the site. It would end up just wasting a ton of space if they do nothing with all that “green space” created there, and a built out new facade could look disastrous if done wrong.

[evlb401]

I don't know what is up with Carroll. It feels like he is trying to block any growth in the city. Some of his questions are legitimate that will need to be answered. However, the project needs the housing competent near Church Street to break up the neighborhood from the heavy commercial uses. I know Richardson (when he was on the council) said he wouldn't support any residential uses on the site as it may increase the white population in District 2. I hope this isn't that again. As for parking, the city could also enact an ordinance preventing non-resident parking on the street during event hours. They could even issue a permit. The city could request another floor in the parking garage (That will increase the cost... but not that much in the overall picture). There are creative ways to solve these issues. These are not new issues and there are lots of models in other cities that could serve as an example.

Remember this is what Populus does for a living. They know their stuff. Any issues should get sorted out during the public comment phase.

[PortCity]

Is this a population shift or growth ? Either way I look at it as retention which is also good.

https://mynbc15.com/news/local/west-...f-rapid-growth

[InlandWave]

Originally Posted by PortCity

Is this a population shift or growth ? Either way I look at it as retention which is also good.

https://mynbc15.com/news/local/west-...f-rapid-growth

Probably a mix of both, but with 1,200 lots approved in unincorporated MC and 1,300 housing units approved/pending within city limits so far this year, I imagine it’s quickly becoming growth, I’ve also been noticing some infilling happening within city limited

I also remember finding a website that does population predictions. And they predicted a minor increase in population for Mobile proper in 2022 estimates (where all the previous years have been negative growth fitting with census)

https://www.populationu.com/cities/mobile-al-population

[InlandWave]

Well MLFB manages to hang on and survive. They are still banking on a Spring 2023 Season, we might get some football after all

[InlandWave]

Mobile County is getting 2 more schools: a new high school and middle school. It’s been long overdue for West Mobile and could lead to greater population gains

https://mynbc15.com/news/local/nbc-1..._Y-Y9ciE5-83z0

Jesus they are building that sucker wayyy out there, that’s almost in Tanner Williams. It’s about 4 miles past Baker

[PortCity]

Originally Posted by InlandWave

Mobile County is getting 2 more schools: a new high school and middle school. It’s been long overdue for West Mobile and could lead to greater population gains

https://mynbc15.com/news/local/nbc-1..._Y-Y9ciE5-83z0

Jesus they are building that sucker wayyy out there, that’s almost in Tanner Williams. It’s about 4 miles past Baker

Soooo maybe it's not a population shift and is actually growth.