Business owner eyes Crosshaven land for communal gathering space

The stretch of Crosshaven Drive between Ridgely Drive and Valley Park Drive in Cahaba Heights is currently populated by six houses, but a year from now, that location may look incredibly different.

Jamie Pursell, a Cahaba Heights resident and the owner and operator of the Leaf & Petal garden shop at the back of the Summit, hopes to turn the roughly 2.5-area into a mixed-use development he said he thinks will create a gathering space for the entire community.

Pursell said his goal is to “just create a place where people want to be.”

The development would be comprised of three intertwined components: a new Leaf & Petal garden shop, a bagel shop and a Latin restaurant. The three businesses would be serviced by the same parking lot, and the restaurants would make use of the outdoor space surrounding the garden shop with patios and outdoor seating.

The style will be as natural as possible, Pursell said.

“We don’t want it to feel like a commercial operation at all; we want it to feel the exact opposite of like a Home Depot greenhouse or a cheap, commercial greenhouse,” he said. “We want it to feel like something that’s been there for a long time.”

To accomplish that “patina,” he said, they plan to use a lot of reclaimed wood, gray metals and plant elements like vines in the design.

Pursell said his inspiration came from a 2013 trip to Petersham Nurseries in London, where he and his wife traveled before the birth of their daughter.

The nursery, which Pursell encouraged those interested to look up online, is a mixture of antiques, interesting features and the flora and fauna the nursery sells.

But for Pursell and his wife, one element in particular stood out.

“It was the tea house that was so inspiring,” he said.

The idea of combining a tea or coffee shop with a garden center was one he said stayed with him even after the trip ended.

Pursell said he had already been looking to move his business elsewhere, because its current location at the rear of the Summit shopping center only allows for 13 parking spaces, and the area can get easily congested — not allowing for the community feel he said he aims for.

In contrast, the new development would have 106 proper parking spaces.

At the Sept. 8 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the request to rezone the six lots that make up the proposed development from residential R-1 to mixed use B-1.2 and to allow Pursell’s purchase of the properties to be finalized, was unanimously approved and sent out to the Vestavia Hills City Council for a final vote.

City Engineer Christopher Brady said the proposed design was within the requirements for the city’s codes as far as landscaping buffers, water run-off and drainage requirements, parking and lighting restrictions. With regard to traffic, Brady said, the results of the study showed that there would not be considerable change in traffic flows on Crosshaven Drive.

“There is no change in that level of service,” he said.

Brady also said city officials determined the project is within the scope of the most recent Cahaba Heights master plan.

Not everyone was convinced, however.

The commission received 15 letters requesting for the commission to deny the rezoning request, and 19 people signed an online petition protesting the development.

Their concerns, given at the meeting and posted on the petition page, centered around traffic on Crosshaven Drive, cut-through traffic on Ridgely Drive and an adjacent street, Paige Lane. 

Some were also concerned with the proximity of dumpsters to houses behind the property, as well as the impact of noise and light on nearby homes.

Others stated they didn’t want any commercial development in that block, requesting that the council leave the area as it is currently zoned.

Pursell said he has made every effort to meet with the would-be neighbors of the development, especially those living right behind it.

“I want to get the feedback,” he said. “I want to hear their concerns, and anything that’s reasonable that I can change, I want to do it.”

He said, for example, he heard the concerns about the dumpster and moved it to the side of the property adjacent to Crosshaven Drive, away from the houses. 

He said he was happy to do the full traffic study the city required and that he doesn’t want to “add a single car” to the congestion  residents are already frustrated with in the area. 

The newest design plans also include a steeper curve leaving the property onto Ridgely Drive, as well as “No Left Turn” signs that Pursell said he thinks will deter drivers from using the neighboring roads and push them back out on to Crosshaven.

He said he is also planning to work with the homeowners directly behind the property on the 15-foot landscape buffer, to make sure they are comfortable with the types of plants used.

That buffer, as well as a fence and the fact that the development will be elevated on a plateau, should mitigate any noise or light disturbance to residents.

“We want everybody to know that we’re going to do everything possible to not create any kind of nuisance whatsoever,” he said.

He said he understood their concerns about development in the community.

“I’m like everybody else: I want to make sure it’s done right,” he said. 

Pursell cited his 10 years as a Cahaba Heights resident, saying he only wants to improve the community, and make the type of place people want to frequent.

“I plan to stay here. I love this place. It’s my home, and I care about this place like everybody else does.”