Design Review Committee disapproves replacement "Sign"
Preserve Jazz Festival announces sabbatical for 2015
Something that seems to escape the minds of many of the people from all sides of the continuing debate about a future use of the former Carraway Hospital complex is the significance of 24th St. It may mean nothing to those who don’t normally find themselves exploring the Magic City during business hours, but it should.
See, 24th Street is one of the few that connects the area near the entertainment complex with points east. Specifically, you can drive 24th Street from the back side of the Carraway property and eventually you’d end up on Montclair Road (formerly U.S. 78) and eventually Crestwood Boulevard (the current U.S. 78). This also means it’s one of the only non-Interstate routes out to The Shops at Grand River (though that’s the topic of another post…).
A city that has a love/hate relationship with highways may not see the immediate impact of this situation. The same cannot be said for a city working to become a 21st century hub for the southeastern United States. If you don’t believe there are folks working towards that end, I’d invite you to check out the progress of the Birmingham International Airport modernization and expansion as well as the continued planning underway for a transportation hub downtown.
It’s a fun view for that split second – the one that you get to enjoy as you reach the crest of the road right after Montclair becomes Country Club (which is before it becomes Pawnee and then Niazuma) as it brings folks into the city of Birmingham. The nighttime approach into the city center has become even more colorful with the recent addition of Children’s Hospital‘s newest building.
The street immediately turns into 26th Street South as you pull alongside Caldwell Park and the Virginia Samford Theatre. The fork in the road ahead has you follow what is now 24th Street South through Southtown and towards points north.
Those who frequent this route have noticed that the Citgo gas station on the southwest corner of 24th Street and 6th Avenue South has recently re-opened, complete with a grocery. Folks who follow the happenings of the city’s Design Review Committee are probably waiting with intense anticipation as WorkPlay finally opens itself out onto 23rd Street with its new patio.
Once you cross the bridge into what’s long been known as the “loft district” you meet an opportunity to convert Jeremy Erdreich‘s architecture firm into anything right now, including perhaps another restaurant to take advantage of the success that’s been enjoyed by the likes of Urban Standard, Rogue Tavern and (already) El Barrio.
As you pass the always full parking lot of the city’s main U.S. Postal Service branch on your east, Fife’s is serving food on your left while the Stonewall Building waits for a proper tenant. The shell of the former Powell School waits too – and it is getting cleaned out in anticipation of its next act.
Phillips Academy sits on your left as you drive through the with Jones Valley Urban Farm just a couple of blocks over to the east. As you come out from under the Interstate you notice the entertainment district and its Westin Hotel centerpiece rising to the west. If you continue up the road you eventually run into the back end of the former Carraway Hospital property (after passing by a pharmacy and medical office that serves the surrounding community).
I’ve written before about the significance of the Carraway property as it relates to I-22 and I-65. The fact that it’s a terminus for one of the few eastern corridors for the region should probably be an even more important argument made. Especially since I didn’t necessarily point out everything that’s currently going on.
Depending on which piece of property you look at, the traffic count for the Montclair portion of the passage ranges from 11,000 to 17,000 a day.
It’s easy to understand why that’s the case, especially when you realize that even when (or if) Trinity makes the move to Highway 280, there will be continued traffic thanks to the folks living in Crestwood South, and folks frequenting businesses in Crestline Village and the area surrounding Eastwood Village.
Those trips are already commonplace, including ones into the city center for work. If people are in the mood to avoid the Interstate to get to the Marketplace, or if one of those proposed $22 million developments get built, the number of cars will no doubt only increase.
The eastern edge of this development was once considered important – the glow of the signs and lights along Crestwood Boulevard as I approached Birmingham from the east for my first visit back in the late 90s was a clear message to all those that questioned the city’s potential.
For the Carraway terminus of this stretch of road, I’m now left wondering what folks driving to and around the entertainment district will see as a result of wanting to do some exploring (read: searching for a parking spot).
Time will tell if others are thinking about this too.
André Natta is the stationmaster for bhamterminal.com.
A network to build a future of Birmingham on
UPDATE: The plan and its name – The Red Rock Ridge & Valley Trail System – was announced this evening – along with a website that allows you to see the entire plan.
It’s safe to assume that this evening (Tuesday) a large crowd will be gathered in the Steiner Auditorium at the Birmingham Museum of Art. They’ll be there to witness the unveiling of the Freshwater Land Trust’s “Our One Mile” plan. They’ll also be among the first to learn the name of the system – the result of a contest held at the end of last year. The level of excitement filling the space will undoubtedly be insane.
Well, this is where I bring up one more thing to keep in your mind as we get started – the under-construction Greenwood Park. Folks that normally travel along I-20/59 westbound that have wondered why all those bulldozers have been active just after you pass Tallapoosa St., here’s your reminder. This new green space could be viewed as a trail head for the 26-mile Village Creek Greenway, a project viewed by many as an integral part of the Our One Mile initiative.
You’re starting to connect the dots, aren’t you? These first two have been brought up before, courtesy of the Norwood Plan developed by Auburn University’s Urban Studio back in 2006.
The park would connect with the greenway, which could hypothetically have another touch point along Vanderbilt Road. That connection would just happen to be about ¼ of a mile from the easternmost edge of Norwood Blvd – and be right about where that photo I told you to pay attention to at the beginning of this piece was taken.
Assuming there’s access to the greenway at Vanderbilt, it’d only be a little over ½ a mile along the creek to get to the edge of Greenwood Park that touches Coosa Street. I’m not even focusing on the fact that this could potentially bring a whole new group of users over to Patton Park on the other side of the Interstate.
What does all of this mean?
It means more once you include the recent donation by Red Diamond – their former headquarters on Vanderbilt Road (valued at approximately $2 million in an online listing) to the Birmingham YMCA.
The distance from the edge of Norwood Blvd. to 1701 Vanderbilt Road is approximately half a mile. If you’re running, this means you’re probably no more than 5-7 minutes away.
It could be the jump start needed to encourage potential investors to take a look at the section of Norwood referred to by some in the neighborhood as “the bottoms” as an option for renovation projects. It’s safe to say there would be several young professionals that aren’t looking for a mortgage but instead for an inexpensive place that’s relatively close to downtown and some of those intangible quality of life benefits.
It might also lead to some changes in traffic flow in the area surrounding all of these things – changes that could influence whether or not we see significant development along 12th Avenue North, particularly the eastern end of the street. The western edge may already see some influence from a entertainment district that will soon go from dream to reality in the coming months.
It’s just an example of what happens when the dreams of a community are thought through and given the potential to be realized. It’s all out there – including pieces like Ruffner Mountain, Red Mountain Park, and the (soon-to-be-added-onto) Shades Creek Greenway. Now it’s simply time to see if folks want to connect those dots all the way.
Many of these thoughts about the northside are assuming that the YMCA decides that it can move ahead and make the additional improvements to their newest piece of property – suddenly the largest of the properties held by the organization. It also depends on how empowered and motivated the citizens of metro Birmingham get to make this greenway plan presented this evening a reality.
That last sentence is probably the most important one. As Wendy Jackson said in this morning’s Birmingham News piece by Thomas Spencer,
The days of people waiting for someone to take the lead need to end soon. As former UAB president Dr. Joseph Volker once stated, “We would do Birmingham a great disservice if we dreamed too-little dreams.”
This greenway – and many projects like it currently in the pipeline – are probably what Volker may have been thinking of as he spoke. It’s now up to the general public to lead the leaders to the city they want, rather than have a disjointed one given to them instead.
Maybe coming out to the event tonight’s a good first step.
André Natta is the stationmaster of bhamterminal.com.
Leave a comment
Posted in development
Tagged Birmingham, Commentary, editorial, greenway, Jefferson County, Our One Mile, Red Rock Ridge & Valley Trail System