A New Year in the Hills

As a new year begins, the City of Vestavia Hills is making a triumphant step in revitalizing its main thoroughfare U.S. 31.

In late November, the City purchased the former Food World site at the Vestavia Hills Plaza Shopping Center and the former Joe’s Ranch House on Mayland Lane for use of the new City Hall. The City acquired the former Food World site for $1.15 million and the former Joe’s Ranch House site on Mayland Lane for $825,000. Williams Blackstock Architects was chosen to design the facility, and B.L. Harbert will serve as construction manager.

“The construction of a new City Hall accomplishes many goals for the City beyond meeting organizational space needs,” Mayor Butch Zaragoza said. “It will serve as a catalyst for new development along the Highway 31 corridor.”

The U.S. 31 Redevelopment Plan began in 2011 with a study by Market Street, a firm from Atlanta. The company launched a survey of Vestavia Hills residents and businesses about their city in order to create an economic development plan, said Phillip Amthor, a planner with the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPCGB). The 100-page, 15-year plan is highlighted by dense, mixed-use development featuring retail, restaurants and housing on U.S. 31 from Interstate 65 north to Vestavia Plaza. 

The plan states that the Vestavia Plaza Shopping Center, which sits on five acres, is not being used to its full potential due to lack of visibility from the highway and vehicle circulation confined to the parking lot. The plan’s official recommendation reads: “to redevelop the site into a mixed use, walkable and community oriented development.”

The City Hall’s new location could also help renew interest in the former Pizza Hut and Ruby Tuesday locations directly across the street, which were also targeted as ample spaces for redevelopment. In addition, Chick-fil-A has expressed strong interest in purchasing the current municipal property.

“The City’s attorneys are working on the purchase and sale agreement with Chick-fil-A,” Downes said. “It is anticipated that the agreement will be completed soon. Chick-fil-A would not begin construction until after completion of the new City Hall.”

A construction schedule is underway that could result in the completion of the new facility by August 2015. The project is slated to begin by March of this year with design plans being completed as early as February.

The multi-story facility will be approximately 50,000 to 60,000 square feet and rest on 3.6 acres of land at the back end of the Plaza. It will primarily include a Council Chamber that seats 120 people, a courtroom also seating 120 and departmental offices for the city, police and fire administrations, as well as the clerk, finance, public services, building safety and IT offices.

In addition, Zaragoza and his administration have hopes that the larger, more functional City Hall will serve as a central community gathering place for city-sponsored events such as the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

“The goal is that the new facility will serve as the home of many civic events and be a source of pride for all residents,” Zaragoza said. “That vision will be a focus of the design team as well as principles expressed in the U.S. 31 Corridor Redevelopment Plan.”