Huntsville Development News

No, only one question per customer. haha... just kidding.

1) Thirsty Turtle supposedly wasn't "good enough" for the new owners of the shopping center. There was a petition to save it, I think; but it obviously didn't do much. And actually, if you look at an aerial image from >5 years ago, the shopping center looks a whole lot different than it ... See Moredoes today.

2) Nothing has happened since Triad Properties (developers of the infamous Summit mid-rise dtn) got rezoning approval from the city a few years ago. Any redevelopment of the apartments is well off into the future.

This is one project the developers actually delivered the product they promised, (Parkway Place is another).
They brought retail in that was not here before and made this former run down strip center into a destination spot with quality and variety of retail.
Although I would agree that it still has a tacky look to it, parking layout was done by ... See Moresomeone who drank too much at the Turtle it looks like. Not sure what else could be done really. Be nice if Bonefish Grill would relocate to maybe Constellation if that project ever happens.

Fudruckers would depend on someone buying the franchise rights to the area. Dave and Busters generally looks at cities with over a million people. That certainly doesn't include Huntsville.

Dave and Busters would work here even though huntsville does not have a million people and they should consider it. Also I really think a Fudruckers would do great here. Birmingham's was just in a bad location it should have been toward the north side of town.

Trader Joes would be a better option, Dave and Busters nah, wouldn't last a year. Besides the Station 2
at Bridge Street is here, Ha

where is watercress?

72 and Jeff. The Kroger will be in front of the apartments currently under construction.

Only the purchase of right-of-way and utility moving were scheduled for this year, and that has just started or will start soon. Actual construction will start in 2012 at the earliest.

A little tip for newcomers: whatever date ALDOT puts on a road project, always add three years to it.

better yet don't put any date, ALDOT works without a calender

I'm not aware of anything happening there. The surveying may be prospective buyers, or it could be related to one of the residential projects that were proposed immediately adjacent to Madison Commons.

This will add a much needed grocery in that area along with Kroger further west. It will also help keep this area from slipping into vacant city. Actually with Cheddars now open and this, the properties along this stretch will probably be more desirable.

Constellation "broke ground" a long time ago. Check the blog/map for more info on Waterstone-- nothing has changed since the last time I wrote about it.

when are the hotels at Constellation expected to be finished?

Depends on when construction starts. If it started tomorrow, then I would expect a Spring/Summer 2011 opening.

will it be a true microbrewery with beverage service on-site?

From what I can tell, it will be like Olde Towne in that they don't serve their product on-site (supposedly it's next to impossible to do that in AL). They have a Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Huntsville-AL/Straight-To-Ale-Brewing/106235841469

Probably not.

Sorry for the late response, I was hoping the "well received" store would close on the site sooner. I will be driving down there later today to see what's going on.

Funny you ask that. Look above^

I'll assume UO = Urban Outfitters. Nothing has changed since Bridge Street began a petition (see below) to bring them there back in February. UO normally prefers urban locations (hence the name), so I wouldn't be surprised if they're a bit hesitant to locate in suburban Bridge Street.

http://huntsvilledevelopment.blogspot.com/2009/02/bridge-street-creating-urban-outfitters.html

Petition: http://www.wewanturbanoutfitters.com/

They are at The Summit, so I suppose Bridge Street is still a viable option -- assuming retail sales are remotely decent at Bridge Street overall.