Montgomery development news

[brad0022]

A $50 million, government-backed whitewater park and outdoor fun center is about to start construction on the outskirts of downtown Montgomery, and it’s a project that local officials are betting will redefine the area as a young professional and family destination.

The man-made course will wind through restaurants, shops, hotel, beer garden and a concert venue.

The main attraction is a 25-acre central park that will feature rafting and kayaking along a man-made whitewater course that twists through restaurants, shops, a beer garden, an outdoor concert venue and a hotel and conference center. But the wider, 120-acre site will feature a climbing tower, zip lines, mountain biking, rope courses and more.

The Montgomery Zoo draws about 200,000 visitors a year. The whitewater park's backers estimate total annual attendance at almost 300,000, and its projected impact skyrockets if it approaches that level of activity.

The park is modeled after the Charlotte National Whitewater Center.

Construction is expected to start this fall, with a targeted opening of spring 2022.

Local and national swift-water rescue first responders will be able to train at the venue. Also, Maxwell AFB will be able to use it for group training.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

WOAH! Nice! Game changer! This'll be a huge asset for Montgomery when trying to attract talent.

[brad0022]

Originally Posted by SpawnOfVulcan

WOAH! Nice! Game changer! This'll be a huge asset for Montgomery when trying to attract talent.

Yep that's the plan for sure. It was all started with an idea from one mom who got in touch with the right people.

https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com...re/2001127001/

It would be cool to make a sky gondola from the convention center to the water park. This better light a fire for them to finally continue the riverfront trail to Maxwell that was planned from the beginning.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by brad0022

It would be cool to make a sky gondola from the convention center to the water park. This better light a fire for them to finally continue the riverfront trail to Maxwell that was planned from the beginning.

A gondola is a pie in the sky idea, but it would be fantastic to have something like that linking downtown along the river to the whitewater center. Would increase foot traffic and provide amazing views of the city.

I'm just glad that Alabama will finally have more than one great whitewater rafting asset. Being in the foothills, we just don't have the topography whitewater like Tennessee and North Carolina. Well, we do, it's just all impounded behind dams... Phenix City and Columbus did an excellent job removing unnessecary dams to great a great urban whitewater run.

[brad0022]

The new Spring Hill Suites downtown in the former Bishop Parker furniture warehouse opened last Friday. $14 million renovations. It's across from the Riverwalk stadium and from the EJI museum.

Each room will have high ceilings and different layouts.

The attached Murphy House facing Bibb Street is still being renovated to become a luxury, boutique hotel under the Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel brand.

This will bring downtown to nearly 1,000 hotel rooms once two other hotel projects start.

https://www.wsfa.com/2019/09/09/new-...mery-building/

[RedMayn334]

All of the new developments in the city are awesome. I hope the trend continues. I would love to see a rendering of Downtown Montgomery's skyline with multiple high rise buildings.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by RedMayn334

I would love to see a rendering of Downtown Montgomery's skyline with multiple high rise buildings.

Unlikely to happen unless RSA goes on another building spree...

[bystander1]

Originally Posted by SpawnOfVulcan

Unlikely to happen unless RSA goes on another building spree...

Unlikely to happen as long as Republicans control state offices...

[RedMayn334]

Naw, I know it won't happen. That's why I said rendering. I'd like to see someone digitally make a model of what it would look like.

[brad0022]

Originally Posted by SpawnOfVulcan

Unlikely to happen unless RSA goes on another building spree...

Agreed. I know it's been more than 10 years or so but when Chad Emmerson, now at Huntsville afik, was over the economic development division, he stated that the master plan at the time was designed to cap heights to 5-6 stories for new buildings. The reason being is they didn't want to suck up the office/retail space in just one or two buildings. They wanted to spread out the developments all over downtown. Looks like he's meaning there's not a huge demand in class A office or retail to demand high rises. That might change soon hopefully, more so in hotels. It does suck though because this skyline needs updating. However, Bham's has not changed much since the 90s outside of UAB Children's Hosptial which is not in the CBD.

[brad0022]

https://www.wsfa.com/2019/10/09/litt...-set-upgrades/

The current downtown dog park sponsored by the Rotary Club near city hall on Bibb Street and Coosa Street will be upgraded to offer more outdoor shaded seating, replacing pavers, spaces for food trucks, streetscaping and more trees. They will also give it more identity with signage and closing a slip lane.

The most recent upgrades to the park were donated dog agility amenities.

"Officials said there are 18 residential buildings and six hotels within a five-minute walk of the park. When asking downtown residents in a survey what they thought of Rotary Park, many said they’d never heard of it."

More residential and hotels on the way so this is a great asset for better a quality of life.

[brad0022]

The three-story former City Federal Savings & Loan built in 1925 at 36 Commerce St will soon be the City Fed. It will house a new Italian restaurant called Ravello, events space, an open-air alleyway and more. The co-owner of Vintage Year in Old Cloverdale is opening Revello. Expected to open next year.

The work has been slow so they can be as meticulous as possible in restoring the original ornate plaster work.



https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com...ry/3947280002/

[brad0022]

The new EJI building near the Riverwalk Stadium is progressing nicely. It will house the cafe, ticket box office, gift shop and a new restaurant. Also, shuttle service will operate out of the building to the museum and memorial.


https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com...ms/3542053002/

[brad0022]

Hyundai will make a $410 million expansion to build the new Santa Cruz light truck in 2021.

https://www.wsfa.com/2019/11/13/hyun...lt-montgomery/

[brad0022]

The outdoor classroom will be built on Grady Street, near the intersection of Mobile Street, near the 5-points area of downtown Montgomery. It’s part of the college of Agriculture’s signature Urban Outreach and Extension program.

The idea for this new project is for it to evolve into a place for innovation, entrepreneurship, and education for Urban Food Systems. It also plans to work in this area to help with food security and community development as it partners with other organizations and residents to create a synergy with agriculture and art, design and faith.


https://www.wsfa.com/2020/02/18/tusk...ing-community/

[JMKeynes]

The Heart of Dixie is thriving!

[chesney]

Is anyone still active here?

[Capital Heights]

Doesn't seem so.

[floc34]

City Federal building renovation nears completion

The historic property in downtown Montgomery will become a fine dining restaurant

After considerable pandemic-related delays, Montgomery’s newest fine dining restaurant is getting close to completion. Ravello is one of the most-anticipated new projects downtown. It’s the impetus behind a multi-million dollar renovation of a historic property. It will be housed in the old City Federal Savings and Loan building -- City Fed for short.

“We know downtown needed a new fine dining establishment and we’re really passionate about growing the downtown area,” he said.

Rivera says he chose the name Ravello after visiting the Italian town along the Amalfi coast. His menu will feature a modern take on a traditional Italian favorites.

“We will have a lot of fresh pasta. It will be made here in house.”

The restaurant will also feature a rooftop bar and chef’s table, along with an adjacent ballroom and meeting space.

But getting to this point was no easy feat. Historic preservation projects present plenty of challenges. And when you add in pandemic-related shortages of labor and supplies, the project has been delayed by more than six months.

“For example, you might not have access to a specific type of nail that you need, or mortar, or cement, or wood,” Rivera explained. “You just kind of have to wait and get what you can when you can. And that has hindered us a lot.”

Vintage Hospitality Group is behind the development. This will be its third restaurant in Montgomery. (It also owns Vintage Year and Vintage Café, both located in Old Cloverdale.) And soon, it will open a fourth venue as well.

Developers purchased the Sand Bar along Montgomery’s riverfront. The plan is to draw visitors to the area, not just with food and drinks, but live entertainment as well.

“We’ll bring that whole bar back to life, have some small bites, nice pub food. And hopefully we’ll bring a lot more music to the riverfront,” Rivera said.

The hope is to open both the Sand Bar and Ravello in about a month.

https://www.wsfa.com/2022/03/22/old-...rs-completion/

[bystander1]

Glad to see the former Sand Bar will become a year round restaurant.