Photo by Loyd McIntosh.
Kathryn Gentle’s law firm, Crawford Gentle Law, PC, at 4533 Pine Ridge Circle in the Blue Lake Drive area has been rezoned from a residential district to a professional office district.
Formerly a residential community in the shadow of the Colonnade shopping development, the Blue Lake Drive area is transforming into a dynamic business district on the edge of the southwest corner of Vestavia Hills.
The area is experiencing rapid growth in new construction as well as seeing many of the dilapidated older homes — many abandoned or used as short-term rentals — either demolished or renovated to house financial, medical and law offices.
Vestavia Hills City Manager Jeff Downes said the transition is the result of meticulous planning, oversight and strategic ordinances to ensure the area transforms into the village-style community that the city is pursuing in other areas.
For instance, in December 2023, the Vestavia Hills City Council banned short-term rentals within the city, defined as any rental of a period of 90 days or less. Additionally, the Vestavia Hills Planning & Zoning Commission has put into place strict design guidelines aimed at ensuring any new and renovated structure is aesthetically pleasing and in keeping with the master plan for the area.
“It’s changing the complexity of the entire area,” Downes said. “One by one, those lots are being repurposed, and they’re seeking rezoning from the city. They’re going before the city’s Design Review Board, and every one of them is facing the same level of evaluation. Is it the right scale, and does it have the village look that is consistent throughout the emerging area?”
Downes added that every project is focused on low-impact businesses that don’t require large parking lots and, in many cases, have gravel parking. Additionally, Downes said such features as pitched roofs and unique building materials have added to the area’s attractiveness for new business investment.
“Even though it’s incremental, it looks to be a planned area, and it is planned from the standpoint that every one of those, as they evolved from a residential property to a commercial property, has a certain look and feel,” Downes said.
The city acquired the area off of Blue Lake Drive and Patchwork Farms as part of the Cahaba Heights annexation in 2002. Over the last 22 years, the Blue Lake Drive area has evolved into its own community, thanks largely to its location at the intersection of Interstate 459 and U.S. 280, according to Downes.
“I always call this intersection Main and Main of Birmingham, because you have The Summit on the north end, you have the Colonnade on the south end, and our little trade area, this Blue Lake area, is very close to Main and Main. And so, with that comes great opportunity,” Downes said.
The redevelopment was spurred by a public-private partnership with Slice Pizza to establish the business’s second Birmingham-area location on Timberlake Drive. Downes said the city was also intentional in its planning of Lifetime Fitness, Publix, the Patchwork Farms shopping center and the Aspire Physical Recovery Center at Cahaba River to ensure consistent design throughout the area.
The success of these businesses has bled over into the Blue Lake area with businesses springing up in new construction, such as Agile Physical Therapy and Slate Barganier Building Co., as well as in the older, mostly abandoned homes in the community. A drive through the community shows bulldozers preparing lots for construction, rezoning notice signs in front of abandoned homes and for-sale signs in vacant lots.
Downes believes it’s only a matter of time before the area, including Pine Tree Circle and Timberlake Drive, completely turns from residential rental properties to commercial use.
Trisha Cagle Rushing, a commercial broker with Red Rock Realty Group with property listed along Blue Lake Drive, said the area’s transformation reminds her of other recent communities that have transitioned over the years, such as Cahaba Heights and West Homewood. She also said that the community’s access to U.S. 280 and I-459 make it an ideal location for an upscale service business to consider.
“Blue Lake’s strategic location, with easy access to major highways, makes it prime for retail and business development, spurred by luxury multi-family projects in good school systems and large retailers like Publix leading the way and driving more daily traffic to the area,” Rushing said. “I look forward to continuing to watch the area evolve.”
While there is plenty of new construction completed or in progress, many older homes are also being rezoned and renovated for business purposes. For instance, the Planning & Zoning Commission approved a request to rezone a house at 4529 Pine Tree Circle from residential to commercial on April 11. If the City Council approves the plan, the house will soon be the new home of Maria Claire Designs Drapery Studio, currently located in the Shops at the Colonnade.
On April 8, the City Council approved a similar recommendation, rezoning a house at 4533 Pine Tree Circle from residential district to professional office district. Owned by Kathryn Gentle, the house is already in use by her law firm, Crawford Gentle Law, PC.
A Mountain Brook native, Gentle purchased the house after it was vacant for more than five years. She had many renovations made to the house, including removing the worn-out carpeting in favor of the hardwood floors underneath.
“I painted the outside, removed a lot of junk, painted the inside and put the ramp on the outside,” she said.
Gentle said the location is ideal for her and her clients and she is excited to see new activity in the Blue Lake community.
“I live in Mountain Brook, and I work [in] downtown [Birmingham], and I work in Shelby County as well, so it’s kind of an in-the-middle spot for me, where I don’t have to fight all the traffic. It’s just a good location,” she said. “And it’s nice and quiet as well, maybe not so much anymore. It’s blowing up.”
