Does Huntsville’s Future Really Depend on One Building?
The site in question is publicly owned land, and it’s not just any land: it’s where Huntsville’s history began. Big Spring Park is home to the iconic natural spring that drew both Native Americans and the first settlers to the area, a beautiful place worth preserving for our children and grandchildren. And, indeed, Huntsville’s taxpayers recently invested over $2 million in Big Spring Park renovations with an eye to serving future generations.
► E-mail Mayor Tommy Battle
Just over a year ago, our city fathers quietly began developing a complicated plan to change the character of Big Spring Park and Huntsville’s downtown. The project begins by demolishing our existing Fountain Circle Garage and building two new garages - a replacement public garage at taxpayer expense alongside a private garage for this project. Next, the plan calls for building a large multi-phase privately owned office/retail development. Then the plan calls for building a new City Hall at taxpayer expense. The last stage of the project demolishes our current City Hall to give rise to obtrusive private residences along Big Spring Park East. Complicated and costly, yes. But is it in Huntsville’s best interest?
On July 27, City officials announced a letter of intent for a complex arrangement that will allow private developers a free hand in this important location. In the announcement, Mayor Tommy Battle cited "transparency" as the reason he sought the resolution (from the City Council for a letter of intent) and said there will be public presentations of the plans as the project advances. The idea of new buildings is alluring, but there are unintended and unspoken consequences to both our city and our tax dollars.
In the plan, we are told the City Hall building is old and dangerous, and therefore must be replaced, but it cannot be replaced in its current location. That raises the first question: Why not? Instead, the publicly-owned land it sits on will be sold for private development, eliminating any future opportunity to expand Big Spring Park as Huntsville’s population grows. The proposed building will loom up to seventeen stories high, casting a permanent shadow on our legacy Park.
Has Huntsville received any other bids or proposals for this redevelopment, or will the property be awarded to a private developer without fair and healthy competition? This developer’s previous foray upon the edges of Big Spring Park (The Summit) left us with many of his promises unfulfilled.
There is much available real estate nearby, yet our Mayor is choosing to put your publicly owned lands at the disposal of private developers. In the letter of intent, the developers insist this deal must be rushed through by December 31, 2017. It is now subject only to the final approval of our City Council.
The overreach for this massive project is a forever sale of the most historic location in all of Huntsville for the price of about four upscale homes.
The generated tax revenue here is the same as if this new private building were built elsewhere nearby, so Huntsville does not stand to gain significant new revenue. However, the proposed development requires the destruction of a fully functional garage, replaced by a new garage funded by property taxes and sales tax dollars from existing businesses.
Mayor Battle has promised us a private, for-profit iconic building. But he conveniently omitted telling us is that this deal will take away a public resource that belongs to all of us to enrich the players that brought him this proposal.
This is neither the right time nor the right place in Huntsville’s future for this particular building.
Simply put, this “done deal” is a bad deal. And it is a sad day when we are so disconnected from one another that we will not or cannot stand up together against such deals when they are promulgated.
This is a call to action before December 31.
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DETAILED COMPENDIUM
Why is Mayor Tommy Battle so anxious to trade away our publicly owned City Hall property
in our name, and include
Big Spring Park East by restrictive covenant?
Why is he quietly making a competition-free sweetheart deal
with Triad Properties and Crunkleton
to turn Big Spring Park East into Bridge Street East?
Why are they rushing this deal through by Christmas of 2017?
Only three Council meetings left - Nov 16, Dec 7, Dec 21.
WE DON'T WANT PRIVATE OFFICES, LOFTS AND A HOTEL THERE.
! EXPAND OUR ICONIC BIG SPRING PARK INSTEAD !
THIS DEAL WILL BE FOREVER.
THE BOXED IN LAND COULD BE USED TO EXPAND OUR LEGACY PARK ▲
AND NOW TOMMY BATTLE IS RAMRODDING A SWEETHEART DEAL WITH THE SAME SELF SERVING DEVELOPER THAT GAVE US THE 2003 PRIVATE BUILDING.
THE DEVELOPER IS TAKING OVER OUR CURRENT CITY HALL PROPERTY
ON THE CHEAP AND WITHOUT ANY BENEFICIAL COMPETITION FOR HUNTSVILLE.
REAL ESTATE MAN TOMMY BATTLE APPEARS TO BE THE BUYERS' AGENT!
STUNNING. ONLY YOUR CITY COUNCIL CAN STOP THIS TRAVESTY NOW.
SPEAK UP TODAY. RIGHT NOW. AND TELL THEM TO STOP IT!
! EXPAND OUR ICONIC BIG SPRING PARK INSTEAD !
TOMMY BATTLE, MAYOR 427-5000 contact@huntsvilleal.gov
DEVYN S KEITH, DISTRICT 1 427-5011 Devyn.Keith@huntsvilleal.gov
MARK RUSSELL, DISTRICT 2 427-5011 Mark.Russell@huntsvilleal.gov
JENNIE ROBINSON, DISTRICT 3 427-5011 Jennie.Robinson@huntsvilleal.gov
BILL KLING, DISTRICT 4 427-5011 Bill.Kling@huntsvilleal.gov
WILL CULVER, DISTRICT 5 427-5011 Will.Culver@huntsvilleal.gov
Hello, my name is Thomas Piff, and I am interested in making sure that the land on which our aging city hall rests will be used to ◄Expand►Big Spring Park; instead of converting it to private offices, a private hotel, private lofts, and yet another overpriced, shortlived coffee shop or restaurant. It’s true! City officials are going along with a single no-compete developer to build themselves an “iconic building” to sell off piecemeal just as soon as it is built.
Complete with our Big Spring Park East and spring run as its central amenity.
Could this be the real reason why Big Spring Park was renovated in the first place?
Complete with our Big Spring Park East and spring run as its central amenity.
Could this be the real reason why Big Spring Park was renovated in the first place?
We pay to renovate the park. $2 million. We have to endure City Hall demolition, and pay to rebuild it in the shadows of this private development scheme. Then we pay to build more parking in the place of existing functional parking! .
Remember, our leaders are selling off our land for us! But that's not the end of our costs.
"LETTER OF INTENT SUMMARY" ARE POSTED HERE.
"TRANSPARENT" LINKS PROVIDED BY
(OR ON BEHALF OF) CITY GOVERNMENT:
(OR ON BEHALF OF) CITY GOVERNMENT:
Developers propose new 'iconic' building for downtown Huntsville - July 30, 2017
"Official" Announcement - Huntsville Times - September 3, 2017
Huntsville may get new tallest building, proposal summary says - August 31, 2017
At the very least, if our city leaders absolutely insist that we need an “iconic building”
at the aging city hall location, then I say
Make it a public building owned by ALL of the citizens of Huntsville!
It should be OUR CROWN JEWEL, not some insatiable developers' crown jewel!
I need help spreading the word, and establishing effective social media campaigns.
If you feel like helping, please contact me at 256.797.7898 or sbsp@thomaspiff.com
Thanks. 2017.10.06
