VillageLivingOnline.com
April 2014
Village Living Volume 5 | Issue 1 | April 2014
Art party
• A1
Celebrating five years of neighborly news
Lane Parke retail taking shape Developers report several restaurants and retailers have signed leases By MADOLINE MARKHAM
Mountain Brook Art Association’s annual show returns to Crestline this month. Find details inside.
Community page B2
WHO’S WHO o f M O U N TA I N B R O O K
Results page B9
Return of the trucks
Lynn Ritchie envisions a true gathering space. The streets will be filled with pedestrians. There might be farmers markets on the weekends and live music at night. And her Mountain Brook store, A’mano, will be in the heart of it. Ritchie has finalized a lease to move her store to the first phase of retail development for Lane Parke. Construction on the phase is scheduled to begin this summer. “The more we learned about what the ultimate [Lane Parke] development was going to be like, it seemed really appealing,” Ritchie said. “We are looking forward to a fresh new space.” For now, Ritchie is working on ideas for her new store’s 2,500-square-foot interior, a process she said she finds very exciting. Retail Specialists President Robert Jolly said more than 80 percent of this first retail phase has been leased or is in lease negotiations.
See LANE PARKE | page A19
Lynn Ritchie plans to move her Mountain Brook Village store, A’mano, to the new Lane Parke retail development, which is scheduled to begin construction this summer. Photo by Madoline Markham.
‘Not one more’
Take the Aware survey Support PreSchool Partners at its annual Food Truck Round Up. Read more about this and other April festivals in this issue.
Community page B3
INSIDE Sponsors ...... A4 City ................ A6 Business ....... A8 Home ............ A15 Celebrations A19
Community .... B3 School House. B5 Sports ............ B15 Faith ............... B17 Calendar ........ B19
A runner crosses the Hollywood Boulevard Bridge over U.S. 280 in early morning traffic. Photo by Dan Starnes.
New options for pedestrian bridge By JEFF THOMPSON
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VillageLivingOnline.com
The scope of the pedestrian bridge project on Hollywood Boulevard could be expanding. The project is a joint venture to create a walking path connecting Homewood and Mountain Brook. The bridge, as initially planned, would travel along the north side of the Hollywood Boulevard bridge across U.S. 280 and connect a trail system that circles the Birmingham Zoo. During the Mountain Brook City Council’s regular pre-meeting in March, Council member
Jesse Vogtle said some factors uncovered during the project’s development require more consideration. Namely, expenses for both communities have increased beyond what was allocated in their 2014 budgets. In addition, the two communities are concerned about congestion on the bridge following the Alabama Department of Transportation’s (ALDOT’s) U.S. 280 Intersection Improvement Project. “Changes to Highway 280 have created a
See BRIDGE | page A19
Aware started in February as a Facebook group dedicated to parents in the community who wanted to openly discuss issues including depression, drug abuse, addiction and suicide. The closed group quickly grew to more than 600 members seeking that “not one in our community be lost to substance abuse, depression, struggles, despair or suicide.” The grassroots effort brought a suicide awareness speaker to the Mountain Brook City Council Chambers last month and now is seeking community feedback as it looks to take its next steps.
Visit villagelivingonline.com/aware to share your feeback and ideas with Aware. Read more page A7