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Introduction The Bright Ideas: Downtown Huntsville project was undertaken by the city of Huntsville following the success of the retail Ideas Map project completed in early 2011. These ideas were collected from two main forums: an Ideas Map hosted on the city’s website and a community Facebook Page. The Ideas Map was hosted by SeeClickFix, a website that allows citizens to report issues at a specific location, with a border outlining the official downtown region overlaid on a map of Huntsville. After an idea was submitted to the SeeClickFix map, other citizens could view the idea and “vote to fix” the submission. Citizens could also submit ideas through comments on the community Facebook page. Comments submitted to the Facebook page were tallied along with the number of “likes” that an idea received.
The map was opened on June 24th and ideas were collected until July 13th. During that time, over 350 ideas were submitted with over 2800 votes. Following this description is a summary of the most popular ideas in several categories.
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Top Ideas Overall Top 5 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Permanent Sidewalk Marketplace Signature Tower SmartCode Zoning System Greenway/River Walk Move the Municipal Complex
Top Ideas by Category Business & Retail 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Permanent Sidewalk Marketplace Signature Tower Affordable Apartments Skydiving Wind Tunnel More Local Stores
Infrastructure 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
SmartCode Zoning System Move the Municipal Complex Ground Floor Retail Space in Parking Garages Wi-Fi Accessibility Build a Roundabout at Church & Monroe
Parks & Recreation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Interactive Park Space Public Fountain Depicting Huntsville’s Role in Space Exploration Greenway Trails River Walk with Museum Move the Stars Stadium Downtown
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Permanent Sidewalk Marketplace
Category: Business & Retail Time Frame: 0-3 Years Potential Barriers: Zoning Regulations, Choosing Vendors, Location Comments: An open-air sidewalk market that sells organic food. There is a large desire throughout the community for this type of marketplace. It would encourage consumers to buy local. However, zoning regulations and finding location could hold the project back.
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Signature Tower
Category: Business & Retail Time Frame: 5+ Years Potential Barriers: Potential Demand, Building Cost Comments: A skyscraper built in the downtown area. Without the building height limit in the core downtown area, the building could house many small/mid-cap businesses or one large corporation. If more companies can be brought downtown, there would be more demand for downtown housing, grocery stores, shops, etc. Currently, the potential demand for such a project is low because no companies have stepped forward with a proposal for such a building. Without a strong demand for this space, there is the potential danger that such a tower could pull many downtown businesses into it while leaving the remaining downtown buildings empty.
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Affordable Apartments
Category: Business & Retail Time Frame: 0-3 Years Potential Barriers: Zoning Regulations, Cost of Land, Unknown Demand Comments: Affordable apartments would bring many more people to downtown and make the area livelier. Building costs in Downtown areas are always higher; therefore some of these costs must be passed on to consumers. There is also a concern about the lack of stores within the Downtown area, but these types of stores generally follow apartment buildings once they’ve been filled. Projects like the Belk-Hudson Lofts and the Councill Court Redevelopment indicate that Huntsville is headed toward more Downtown Housing.
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Skydiving Wind Tunnel
Category: Business & Retail Time Frame: 3-5 Years Potential Barriers: Unknown Demand, Location Comments: A skydiving wind tunnel would be a novel attraction to the Downtown Area, and the Tunnel would certainly have a “cool� factor attached to it. However, finding the space for such a facility could be an issue. Also, the issue of demand must be raised. If only a few niche consumers would use the Skydiving facility then it is likely that the venture would not be profitable for the business owner.
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More Local Stores
Category: Business & Retail Time Frame: 0-3 Years Potential Barriers: Economic Risk Comments: This general idea is simply asking for more locally-owned stores. These stores could range from locally-owned restaurants to specialty shops or an old-fashioned ice cream fountain. The citizens of Huntsville would like the character that these types of local stores bring. However, there is always more risk involved when a locally-owned store opens a niche business. These stores would have to comply with all the proper zoning and business regulations.
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SmartCode Zoning System
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 3-5 Years Potential Barriers: Cost of Consultant, Resistance from Property Owners/Public Comments: SmartCode is a form-based zoning system. In this type of system, land use is regulated with an emphasis on the form a building takes rather than the use of the building. This allows developers to use buildings for different purposes as long as they adhere to standards like building heights, setbacks from street, location of parking lots, etc. This system is generally used to avoid the problems of sprawl in which buildings are regulated by use but follow no consistent building pattern or aesthetic. In order to effectively implement this strategy, an outside consultant would be needed. More research on the subject can be found here: http://www.huntsvilleal.gov/Planning/Huntsville-SCandDowntownRevitalization3-4-2010.pdf.
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Move the Municipal Complex
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 5+ Years Potential Barriers: Finding New Location, Cost of Building/Moving, Public Opposition Comments: The current site of the municipal complex along Big Spring Park, though somewhat outdated, sits on a valuable piece of land. Before moving locations, the city would have to balance the cost of a new complex with the convenience of a new building/location while considering the potential revenue raised from selling the old municipal complex property. A central location is an important feature of the municipal complex and the cost of a new site must also be considered before moving.
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Retail Space in Parking Garages
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 3-5 Years Potential Barriers: Limit Parking Space, Building Costs, Finding Tenants Comments: Ground floor retail space is generally used to cater to pedestrian foot traffic. While this idea would create small spaces for local businesses, it would also limit the amount of parking available in downtown which is a common concern among those coming to the area. Finding the demand for businesses looking to occupy these spaces must also be considered before beginning any projects of this type.
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Wi-Fi Accessibility
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 0-3 Years Potential Barriers: Cost, Security Comments: The idea suggested is to expand the Wi-Fi currently available for free in Big Spring Park throughout the entire Downtown area. This would increase the cost of this project considerably but could possibly be achieved through corporate sponsorships or advertising fees to raise the necessary funding for this service.
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Roundabout at Church & Monroe
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 5+ Years Potential Barriers: Cost, Resistance from Public Comments: Roundabouts are known to prevent accidents and reduce emissions while easing traffic flow in low-speed areas. This could help traffic flow throughout downtown. Although most Americans are generally resistant to roundabouts upon initial construction, they are usually accepted after several weeks of use. A roundabout would not necessarily boost pedestrian traffic, but retail businesses could be placed here.
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Interactive Park Space
Category: Parks & Recreation Time Frame: 3-5 Years Potential Barriers: Installation, Maintenance, and Land Costs Comments: Current park space in the downtown area contains many areas for activity including open fields for sports (Big Spring Park East), stages for concerts (Art Museum), playgrounds (Bud Cramer Park), a kids’ splash park (Bicentennial Park), and skate and dog parks. More interactive spaces such as public art pieces and small kiosks can be set up through our park systems to create more involvement with the public. Additional parks can be created to include recreational services for the public.
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Fountain Depicting Huntsville’s Role in Space Exploration
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 0-3 Years Potential Barriers: Initial Commissioning and Construction Cost, Maintenance Comments: Huntsville's rich history in space exploration can be seen throughout the community. The incorporation of a space-themed fountain would further honor our past and could be used to promote a local artist. The fountain could be built at a new central location or create a new centerpiece for Big Spring Park.
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Greenway Trails
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 5+ Years Potential Barriers: Land Acquisition, Cost, Difficulty Connecting to Existing Greenways Comments: Huntsville has started work on proposed greenway trails creating 22 miles throughout the city. The proposed 2006 greenway plan includes many through the Downtown core. The Gateway trail from Pratt Avenue to Washington Street has started the process for Downtown. More information on the greenways can be found here: http://www.hsvcity.com/Planning/GreenwaysPlan2006.pdf.
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River Walk with Museum
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 5+ Years Potential Barriers: Cost, Environmental Study, Comments: Reverting the creek to a more natural state would create a more appealing park system through the west side of downtown. Incorporating a walking history trail into the river walk with the greenway system would help to make the area more educational and meaningful. The new trail could positively impact possible developments along the site.
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Move Stars Stadium Downtown
Category: Infrastructure Time Frame: 3-5 Years Potential Barriers: Cost, Gaining Support of all Parties Comments: The creation of downtown ball parks have spurred growth in many peer cities' downtowns (Chatanooga, Montgomery). A baseball park brings a steady supply of people downtown looking for entertainment options throughout the year. A new park could spur new retail and restaurants surrounding it while adding a new venue for special events. The support of several parties (The Stars, Huntsville City, developer, citizens) would need to come together for the project to become a reality.
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