New hall for the Hills

The city of Vestavia Hills is touting itself as “a life above,” and it’s starting with the new City Hall. When finished, the building’s elevation will give its offices commanding views of the growing city around it and Double Oak Mountain in the distance.

Construction on the municipal complex is proceeding right on schedule, City Manager Jeff Downes said. Steel beams, roofing and some of the walls have appeared at the City Hall, and the neighboring police department building’s progress is not far behind. Downes said the city is expecting to move into the new complex at 1105 Mayland Lane in September 2015.

The city will have more than 50,000 square feet to create larger meeting rooms, update holding cells and reorganize department offices. Downes said the city’s computers and servers, currently located in the basement, will be moved to a more secure location in the new building. The municipal courtroom will have its own room distinct from the City Council chambers, and Downes said the courtroom will be equipped with technology and furniture to serve as an emergency operations center. Residents will also have the space to sit in on city work sessions, which is impossible in the current building.

“It’s functional but it limits us as far as our ability to provide better services,” Downes said of the current City Hall, located at 513 Montgomery Highway.

Moving to a new place is also a chance to try out new technology. While the City Hall will not be LEED-certified for energy efficiency, Downes said the heating and air conditioning will be more energy-efficient and part of a new control system that will be the “nerve center” for HVAC systems in the library and other city buildings. A 70-inch TV with interactive map and planning programs currently sits in the city’s work session chambers and is being tested as a way to improve city meetings.

Since the Mayland Lane property formerly housed a Food World, Downes said the city and Williams Blackstock Architects have taken pains to make sure the City Hall will not look like it was dropped on top of a grocery parking lot. The driveway will be tree-lined and lead up a hill to the circular grand lawn with landscaping and amphitheater seating. The police department building will be connected to the City Hall by a second-story walkway. Mayland Lane will receive upgrades to its curbs and gutters. Downes said he has heard positive reactions from area residents, especially for the road improvements.

On the other hand, Highfield Drive resident Jenni Mote said she has “mixed feelings for sure” about the City Hall. While the construction work has not been disruptive so far, she worries about the new view from her home’s windows and how the City Hall will affect her property value.

“It definitely won’t be as private here,” Mote said.

Downes said that the city’s $22 million project “will do nothing but help” property values because the complex will replace vacant buildings and unkempt lots with landscaping and a building that will be steadily occupied.

“The vacant buildings that were there before were value detractors,” Downes said. “The previous site was not ideal. The new site will be stellar.” 

When the city began planning the new buildings, Downes said they were betting on the project spurring new retail along Montgomery Highway. That bet paid off. Construction will begin early this year on the new Sprouts location, which will span 28,000 square feet and include 6,000 square feet of neighboring retail space. GBT Realty spokesperson Jennifer Weyand said the $10 million project will be complete in spring 2016. The retail space will be filled with both local and large chains offering clothes, services and “fast casual dining,” Weyand said.

Down the street, America’s First Federal Credit Union purchased the former city library site. As soon as City Hall relocates, Chick-fil-A will be tearing down the current building to create its highly anticipated new location.

“The people of Vestavia Hills want their own Chick-fil-A. It’s very clear,” Downes said.

These new retail options are part of the city’s larger redevelopment plan for the Highway 31 corridor, which it first introduced in 2012. The redevelopment plan includes new retail, community-oriented developments and more walkability along the highway in the coming decades.

“In the next eight to 12 months, you’re going to see the central portion of Highway 31 totally revamped and redeveloped,” Downes said.

Downes expects Chick-fil-A and America’s First to open by the end of the first quarter of 2016. He described them as great examples of local government and private industry working together. Vestavia Hills took the proceeds of the $850,000 library property sale to help fund their $1.4 million incentive package for Sprouts, and Downes expects the relocation of City Hall to bring other new retail to the area in addition to Chick-fil-A. He compared it to the famous line from Field of Dreams — “If you build it, they will come.”

“Sometimes it does take government and the public sector to facilitate private sector growth. And that’s what we’re about as a city — growth,” Downes said.

The new City Hall will also provide a community gathering space unlike anything the city currently has. The grand lawn’s amphitheater seating and the patio and kitchen on the second floor are well-suited, Downes said, to holding large city events and meetings of any size. Though no final decisions have been made, Downes anticipates that several events such as I Love America Day and the Wing Ding festival will be held there in the future.

“To be able to really have a place, a keystone place, for our community to gather is something that was extremely important to our elected officials,” Downes said.

The public will get its first glimpse of their new gathering space at the October 2015 grand opening. Downes said the event, called High Notes, will feature a concert by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra to celebrate what he called a “legacy project” for the city’s future.

“You want to make this something that, 50 years from now, people will say, ‘Man, this is special.’ And I think that the leadership of Vestavia Hills has created that,” Downes said. “It’s going to be something the residents of the city can rally around and be proud to say they’re part of Vestavia Hills.”