Groundbreaking held for new Liberty Park gas station, On Tap sports bar
Development in Liberty Park’s 700 Acres is officially underway.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site of a future On Tap Sports Café and gas station and convenience center the afternoon of Oct. 12.
“We’re starting development today, and as you can see, we’re already in there,” said Shawn Arterburn, Liberty Park Joint Venture’s vice president of development, as he gestured toward an excavator and cleared land on the parcel. “We’re hoping to deliver building pads by January or February, and then hopefully the businesses will open next summer, of 2018.”
Representatives from CS Beatty Construction, Moore Oil Company and the City of Vestavia Hills were present at the ground breaking. Representatives from On Tap were unable to attend.
“This has been three years in the making,” Arterburn said. “This is really exciting, somewhat emotional for me, because we planned so hard, worked so hard.”
The On Tap sports bar and the gas station and convenience store developments are the start of the 700-acre Town Village at Liberty Park, which is set to include a town green, grocery store, office space and mixed-used retail as well as 1,100 homes, including townhomes, condominiums, single-family homes and estate-size homes.
“This is really an endeavor and an embarkment on our first steps into what we’re calling the 700 acres. The 700 acres is everything we’ve been talking about,” Arterburn said. “This is our future vision of Liberty Park, this is our next chapter and our final chapter.”
Mayor Ashley Curry said he is excited about the new chapter for Liberty Park.
“I’m excited about this, I’m excited about the residents out here,” he said. “It is in keeping with the vision we have for Liberty Park. Thank you, Moore Oil Company and On Tap. … This is just a start for what we hope to see.”
City Manager Jeff Downes echoed the mayor’s sentiments, adding that he believes this will be “the envy of everybody in the greater Birmingham region.” Continuing partnerships and quality of place are two things important to the future of Vestavia Hills, he said, and the 700-acre development is an example of continued partnership between the city and Liberty Park Joint Venture.
“This is going to be something that people are going to gravitate to, and we in Vestavia Hills are extremely proud of that,” Downes said.