Photo Courtesy of Daniel Communi
This map shows the proposed Bray development in Liberty Park.
The Vestavia Hills City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve two agreements that pave the way for The Bray Town Center commercial development and approved more than 600 additional homes in Liberty Park to be built over the next 25 years.
The Bray Town Center is a 102,000 square-foot commercial development that will include a luxury hotel, restaurants, specialty retail and general business, and possibly a top-grade medical office. Vice President of Daniel Communities John Bonanno said residents can expect a mix of businesses at the development.
The roughly $860 million project is expected to lead to $307 million in city and county revenues over the course of 25 years. Of that amount, about $236 million will stay in the city with $121 million directly supporting Vestavia Hills City Schools. The rest of the money will go to Jefferson County.
As part of the now-approved development agreement, Liberty Park Joint Venture is also donating 15 acres of land to be used by the Vestavia Hills City School system for future use. Superintendent Todd Freeman previously said at a board meeting that there is no anticipated need for a new high school in Liberty Park, even with more homes coming on board. However, the school system will need a new elementary school in Liberty Park, regardless of whether the council approved The Bray development or not.
Councilor Kimberly Cook said she felt the proposed plan provided the best plan for funding that new school, which will add about $1.5 million in debt service annually to the school system. Cook added the city has told the school system in case there is a shortage of tax revenues, the city can serve as a backstop financially to make sure the elementary school comes on board when the time is needed.
Cook recommended placing some Community Spaces funds in reserves starting in fiscal 2023 to prepare for that, though both Cook and Councilor Rusty Weaver indicated there is little reason to believe the city will have to contribute to the school system’s debt service.
The revenue-sharing agreement stipulates the city will provide $12 million in a rebate of city taxes -- not including property tax -- and fees over a 20-year period, funded by new money from building permit fees and a percentage of tax revenues. If the development does not progress or perform as planned, the city does not pay, as set out in the development agreement.
Liberty Park Joint Venture will also build new infrastructure, including sidewalks and sanitary sewer, as well as extending South Liberty Parkway to Sicard Hollow Road. The city will pay up to $11 million in two equal installments as benchmarks are met and work is completed.
The amendment to the annexation agreement allows Liberty Park Joint Venture, through Daniel Communities, to build an additional 664 single-family homes on top of their current entitlements, which already allowed for 662 more single-family homes to be built. The total number of single-family homes LPJV is entitled to build, including the 1,674 already built, now stands at 3,000.
Daniel Communities will also build no more than 270 luxury apartments at the site, along with roughly 300 units for active adults, which will be age restricted. Liberty Park Joint Venture was already entitled to build their desired number of multi-family units, and had already constructed some townhomes and condominiums, but in the amendment approved Monday night, they decreased the total number of multi-family units from 590 to 570 units.
Editor's Note: For more information on these plans, visit vestaviavoice.com and read our prior coverage. We’ll also have an in-depth feature story on these plans as part of our April print edition.
Other Business
The council approved the installation of a new cell tower that will support small cell technology in the right of way at 2727 Briarberry Circle.
Small cell towers are intended to cover gaps in existing network coverage while also supporting the new 5G network.
The council also opened up the application process for two boards: the Vestavia Hills Board of Education and the city’s spot on the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, with current members Steve Bendall and Donald Harwell rolling off of those boards, respectively.
Applications for both positions are due April 11 by 5 p.m., with public interviews to follow. The City Council is expected to vote on the new Board of Education member at its April 25 meeting.
Applications for the Board of Education vacancy can be found here.
City Manager Jeff Downes, in his report to the council, said crews are paving Crosshaven Drive between the Milo’s entrance and Sherwin-Williams, but are doing so at night so as to cause as little disruption to businesses as possible.
