‘Historic Opportunity for

Improvement’

Redevelopment Talks for Old Days Inn Property Promise

New Gateway to Vestavia Hills

By AnA Good

The southernmost gateway into the city of Vestavia Hills is on its way to receiving a major facelift.

Vestavia Hills residents, elected officials and prospective developers gathered at the Civic Center last Thursday for a recap of a multiday planning session centered on the redevelopment of the former Days Inn property at 1485

Montgomery Highway.

For now, official redevelopment plans include only about 3.5 acres of city-owned land. Enthusiasm for the potential of the area along U.S. 31, however, helped spur larger discussions. What began as discussions about proposed changes to the Days Inn property grew over the course of the week to encompass a much larger area, Assistant City Manager Cinnamon McCulley said.

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Murphy’s Law

Ihave not been rafting on the Amazon. I have not been on a photo safari, and certainly not the other kind. I imagine the guides on these trips prep for the day by loading the weapons (defensive), making sure the water canisters are filled and reminding everyone to slather on the mosquito repellant.

The tour guides I have encountered needed other skills. They had to be part historian and part actor, and they had to have a knowledge of and access to a reliable stream of acceptable restrooms.

The more pedestrian walking tour guide must know how to troubleshoot their group’s tangle of headsets. They will be walking confidently forward, finishing up a brilliant, well-rehearsed monologue about the exploits of Andrew Jackson, when one of their troop will holler out, “Ken, are we supposed to be on channel 6 or 7?”