Zack Childress Permanent Sidewalk Market Top Idea For Improving Downtown Huntsville

By Zack Childress | Real Estate

Jul 27

By Steve Doyle, The Huntsville Times

Belk Hudson Lofts rendering 2.jpg

The $11.5 million Belk Hudson Lofts on Washington Street should help with one of the major problems downtown — lack of affordable housing. Construction is expected to start anytime and will take about a year. (Courtesy Schoel Architecture)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Mayor Tommy Battle called Thursday night´s downtown ideas summit a “continuation of a conversation” started by Huntsville´s earliest residents in the 1820s.

But it´s a safe bet that the city´s founders never talked about Wi-Fi accessibility, electric car charging stations and skydiving tunnels.

Those were among the more than 500 downtown improvement ideas submitted by the public over the past month on the city´s website, huntsvilleal.gov, and Facebook page.

A standing-room-only crowd packed the Big Spring Partners building on the courthouse square Thursday to hear Battle reveal the most popular suggestions.

A permanent sidewalk market was the top vote-getter, followed by a unique skyscraper to transform the skyline, SmartCode zoning and a downtown greenway or riverwalk.

The No. 5 idea drew chuckles from the crowd: move Huntsville City Hall, which hogs a chunk of prime real estate overlooking Big Spring International Park.

One voter recommended turning the eight-story building into a boutique hotel.

Many other ideas landed just outside the top five: a late-night diner, better public transit, commuter rail service, a fountain depicting Huntsville´s role in space exploration.

In response to an audience question, Battle said one idea on the list – a new downtown ballpark – has been batted around recently.

He said a developer suggested that the city sell the Joe Davis Stadium site to Walmart, which would like to open a megastore around Airport Road, and use the proceeds to build the Huntsville Stars a new home downtown.

“It´s an interesting thought,” Battle said.

Another idea mentioned Thursday – more affordable downtown housing – may be the closest to reality.

Husband-and-wife developers Charlie and Sasha Sealy held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for their $11.5 million Belk Hudson Lofts project.

The couple is turning the vacant Belk department store building on Washington Street into a 75 loft apartments renting for $850 to $1,3000 per month.

The city is paying them $450,000 over five years to leave the building´s Depression-era outer walls intact – a development incentive known as a facade easement.

Charlie Sealy said Huntsville is teeming with people who hail from bigger cities – Washington, St. Louis, Denver – and crave downtown living. He said he initially thought the lofts would mainly appeal to young professionals, “but we´ve had interest from all age groups.”

The city is also looking at SmartCode zoning, which puts a premium on walkable neighborhoods where homes, schools, shopping and workplaces mix comfortably.

Providence was this area´s first SmartCode development.

Acting Planning Director Marie Bostick said the city has no restrictions on building heights right around the courthouse, making a cloud-skimming skyscraper a future possibility.

However, there´s a three- to five-story limit on streets where downtown meets Twickenham and Old Town.

Battle said whatever happens downtown should not “step on the toes” of people living in the nearby historic neighborhoods.

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Zack Childress is a 10 year real estate investing veteran. He invests in 7 different markets simultaneously and doesn’t need to travel all the time to these 7 markets because he invests virtually. He’s coined a system where he doesn’t put any cash or credit down for his deals and he can buy and sell the property in just 7 days. You can get more details about this no money down strategy here. http://www.co-wholesaling.com