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Huntsville may narrow Williams Avenue in front of new downtown apartments, hotel

A planned $70 million redevelopment of the former downtown Holiday Inn site has Huntsville leaders contemplating major changes to Williams Avenue.

The developers of CityCentre at Big Spring — a new mixed-use project featuring a hotel, apartments, dining and office space — have asked the city to make the surrounding area more pedestrian friendly.

Huntsville Director of Urban Development Shane Davis said the city would like to narrow the five-lane portion of Williams Avenue bordering CityCentre down to two lanes. An existing left-turn lane from Williams onto Monroe Street would likely remain.

The section of Williams Avenue highlighted in red could be narrowed from five lanes to two lanes. With the former downtown Holiday Inn property set to be redeveloped as 230 apartments, a 150-room hotel, restaurants and offices, the city wants to make the surrounding area safer for pedestrians. (Google Maps)
The section of Williams Avenue highlighted in red could be narrowed from five lanes to two lanes. With the former downtown Holiday Inn property set to be redeveloped as 230 apartments, a 150-room hotel, restaurants and offices, the city wants to make the surrounding area safer for pedestrians. (Google Maps)

Davis said narrowing Williams Avenue would make for a much safer pedestrian connection between CityCentre and Big Spring International Park across the street.

The city recently launched a traffic study to see if Williams could be reduced to two lanes without causing problems for drivers going to and from the nearby Von Braun Center.

“If the traffic study doesn’t recommend narrowing, we would look at maybe changing the surface of Williams into a cobblestone or stamped concrete feel that helps slow traffic down,” Davis told AL.com.

CityCentre is expected to create significantly more pedestrian activity downtown than the old Holiday Inn that it is replacing.

The developers plan to pack 230 apartments, a 150-room hotel, multiple restaurants and shops, 30,000 square feet of professional office space and a six-level parking deck onto the roughly six-acre property.

People who live, work and shop at CityCentre will be a short stroll from Big Spring Park, the VBC and Huntsville Museum of Art. But to reach those places, they will have to cross Williams Avenue or Monroe Street.

“We want to make that area safer for pedestrians,” said Davis. “We also want to ensure that during large events like concerts and graduations, people can get in and out of the VBC.

“We don’t want to create a logjam in front of the VBC,” he said, “because that’s also a pedestrian hazard.”

$70 Million Mixed Use Development Announced for Downtown Huntsville

(Huntsville, AL) – The City of Huntsville is pleased to announce a new $70 million mixed use development on Williams Avenue on the six-acre site formerly occupied by the Holiday Inn. The project has been awarded to the CRS Big Spring development team, which includes Central Realty Holdings of Greenville, SC, RCP Companies of Huntsville, and Strand Development Company of Myrtle Beach, SC.

“This project hits the mark on all of our desires and expectations for an urban lifestyle development that will include a hotel, restaurants, retail, residential and office space,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “The project will add to the growing vitality of our central business district, and it will generate millions of dollars for our tax base.”

CRS Big Spring was one of four project teams that responded to a Huntsville Request for Proposal (RFP) in May. Urban Development Director Shane Davis said all of the proposals were outstanding and indicate the strength of the downtown market. Demolition on the old Holiday Inn building is expected to begin in November with full construction under way by April 2015.