Year in Preview: Altadena Ridge, new entrance to park in works

The earth will begin to move in Altadena Park in early 2016.

 Work on Altadena Ridge, a 60-home, gated community, is scheduled to begin in the first months of this year, said developer Brooks Harris, CEO of Harris Doyle Homes. Home construction should begin mid-to-late summer with the first residences completed in mid-fall, he said.

 The new subdivision is adjacent to 60 acres donated to the City of Vestavia Hills last year and designated for a public recreational area that will include athletic fields, canoe launches, fishing ponds and trails.

Jeff Downes, Vestavia Hills city manager, said the primary goal in 2016 is to improve access to the future site of the recreational area — currently only reached via Lakeland Trail — a project that logistically can begin only after the Altadena Ridge site work is complete. 

 “Creating an additional entrance off Acton Road will involve purchase of two land parcels and significant land moving,” Downes said.

According to Harris, Altadena Ridge homes will be higher end with a unique look but consistent with the market in Vestavia Hills.

 “Our residents will have immediate access to the city’s new recreational area in a prime location centrally located in the city,” Harris said.

 According to Downes, the goal for completion of the city park is 2-3 years.

 “Once the entrance and the homes are built, we will begin an incremental build out of the Old Altadena Country Club recreational area based on the master plan,” he said.