Rendering courtesy of Renta Urban Land Design.
A rendering of a proposed design for a new veterans' memorial at Altadena Valley Park in Vestavia Hills.
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry remembers a quote from Navy veteran and Hoover resident Mark Davis that made an impact on his heart and mind.
“‘A veteran dies two deaths: one in service to his country and the second time when he’s forgotten,’” Curry said. “I just thought that was a touching tribute to our veterans. We should never forget the price these people paid so that we can have the freedoms we enjoy.”
The quote came to Curry’s mind while discussing plans to construct a veterans’ memorial at Altadena Valley Park. Vestavia Hills is the only over-the-mountain city without a veterans’ memorial, and Curry and the Vestavia Hills City Council are seeking to correct this oversight, identifying the 66-acre park on the former site of the Altadena Valley Country Club golf course as the best spot.
As Veterans Day approaches, this dream is on the verge of becoming a reality.
Curry and the City Council recently approved a design concept from Renta Urban Land Design, a landscape architecture and civic planning firm headquartered on Caldwell Mill Road. President Tony Renta said he has been working with the city on concepts for more than 18 months to achieve the city’s vision for a memorial that not only honors America’s veterans but also offers visitors a place for quiet reflection and education.
“The primary goal was that it wasn’t just a sculpture, a wall or a smaller monument that was just a small piece of the park. We wanted it to be more integral to the overall design of the master plan,” Renta said. “That’s why it became a far more substantial structure.”
Renderings of the Vestavia Hills Veterans Memorial show a moment wall, an amphitheater and shaded seating available for special events or everyday use by the general public.
Details in Renta’s renderings also show stone and ceiling materials similar to those used in the shelter structures at Wald Park and Old Town Plaza. The plans call for 2,400 4-by-8-foot pavers and 1,172 8-by-8-foot pavers for the floor of the memorial. The memorial wall, seating areas and amphitheater will be covered by a gable roof structure with the middle left open to the elements, supported by V-shaped decorative beams.
Renta said the response from city leadership has been positive so far.
“The feedback has been phenomenal. It’s been really strong, especially for our mayor,” Renta said. “Everybody knows that he’s very passionate about things like this.”
Renta and his team have been working with the City Council on transforming the golf course into a park for two years, a process that has presented some challenges. Portions of the park are prone to flooding, a problem that could affect the memorial if not planned correctly. Renta’s plan calls for the memorial to be constructed on parkland above the floodplain instead of the old golf course’s fairway, a solution Curry said is somewhat controversial but necessary.
“I get questions all the time, why didn’t you put it in the middle of the park?” Curry said. “Well, it’d be about 3 feet underwater sometime.”
Renta said the design team has taken great care to ensure the overall park and the veterans’ memorial impact the natural environment, especially the Cahaba River, as little as possible. Additionally, the original plans for the park included athletic fields. However, over time, the plan evolved into a passive park, with nature trails, a playground and natural areas, a more fitting environment for a veterans’ memorial, Renta said.
“Long term, the hope is this will look more like a botanical garden than an abandoned golf course when it’s complete,” Renta said. “Our thought is if we can take an abandoned golf course, which is about as unfriendly to the environment as you can get, and turn it into something more educational and environmentally sensitive, everybody can learn from that.”
The primary goal was that it wasn’t just a sculpture, a wall or a smaller monument that was just a small piece of the park. We wanted it to be more integral to the overall design of the master plan. That’s why it became a far more substantial structure.
RENTA URBAN LAND DESIGN
The plan is for education to be a centerpiece of the veterans’ memorial. The memorial is to be in constant use by Vestavia Hills City Schools and surrounding school systems for educational purposes, in addition to veterans’ programs on holidays such as Memorial Day, Independence Day and Memorial Day.
“We made sure that school buses can go out there,” Curry said. “The location, I think, is perfectly suited for a place of reflection.”
On Thursday, Nov. 7, Vestavia Hills will host an event at the Vestavia Hills Civic Center featuring speeches by two 97-year-old World War II veterans — Malcolm Miller and Joe Hicks — that will officially kick off a fundraising effort to pay for the veterans’ memorial.
Curry said the city will announce a plan to sell pavers that can be dedicated to living or deceased veterans of all U.S. wars. The paver plan is expected to raise $100,000 of the memorial’s expected total cost of $300,000 to $400,000.
Councilwoman Kimberly Cook said she looks forward to seeing the renderings turned into reality. “I am excited to see plans developing for our veterans’ memorial because it is important for people to reflect on the many ways veterans have contributed to our country,” she said.
“As the niece of a patriot who lost his life in Vietnam, on Hamburger Hill, I don’t want our veterans’ sacrifices to ever be forgotten or taken for granted,” she said. “It is my hope that this park will grow and develop to provide historical markers to teach people of all ages our city’s rich history of military service.”
Editor's note: This story was updated on Nov. 5 to correct the date and location of the city's Veterans Day celebration this year. The celebration is scheduled for Nov. 7 at the Vestavia Hills Civic Center. An open house and resource fair will be held at 1 p.m., and a program and keynote address will be at 2 p.m.
