Image courtesy of city of Vestav
This map shows the southern gateway improvement area along U.S. 31 in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.
The Vestavia Hills City Council on Monday night voted 4-0 to award a nearly $1.2 million contract for a southern gateway project along U.S. 31.
The project, awarded to Gillespie Construction, includes a15-foot-tall, 130-foot-long wall with “Vestavia Hills” written on it running parallel with U.S. 31 near Interstate 65. It also includes a second sign bearing the city’s name across the street by the Chevron gasoline station that would be visible to people exiting Interstate 65 North.
The project also includes additional landscaping on both sides of U.S. 31 and in the median and stormwater drainage improvements, City Manager Jeff Downes said. The 130-foot-long wall sign also would serve as a retaining wall for future commercial development behind it.
The main thrust behind the project is to improve the appearance of that section of U.S. 31 and give a better first impression of the city.
Image courtesy of city of Vestav
This 15-foot-tall, 130-foot-long wall sign is proposed as a new sign to welcome people into Vestavia Hills, Alabama, along U.S. 31 near the city's border with Hoover, Alabama.
Some residents have criticized spending $1.2 million on the gateway project, saying the money would be better spent on what they consider more pressing needs, such as stormwater flooding in other parts of the city or air conditioning updates for Vestavia Hills City Schools.
Councilman Paul Head said he supported the expenditure because the lower section of U.S. 31 near Hoover has long been in need of an overhaul. An economic development study from 15 years ago projected it would take billions of dollars to redevelop that corridor, and he believes the gateway project is just “the first domino to fall” to bring about transformation there, he said.
The goal is for that project to help stimulate development on and around the site of the Days Inn the city bought and tore down just a few blocks to the north, and eventually to spur redevelopment of other sites in the corridor, he said.
Downes said the southern gateway project was included in the city’s fiscal 2026 budget and in the long term will be paid for with money from the sale of the Days Inn site to a developer who is working to attract a new more upscale hotel and retail developments there.
The budget for the southern gateway project was $1.3 million based on cost estimates, and the low bidder actually came in a little under that at $1,175,886, Downes said.
Some residents have expressed concerns about whether the new sign will blend with the current Sybil Temple replica on that site. Downes said the temple replica will remain but have some lettering and landscaping changes to make it better blend with the new sign. Some community members who were responsible for the temple replica were adamant about wanting it to remain, he said.
See more about the southern gateway project here.
In other business Monday night, the Vestavia Hills City Council:
- Completed the annexation of 1.6 acres at 2560 Rocky Ridge Road and rezoned the property from a Jefferson County preferred commercial district to a Vestavia Hills R-9 planned residential district to accommodate the construction of eight single-family homes with 2,200 to 2,400 square feet each on a total of 1.6 acres. The developer, Hartbrook Development, initially wanted to build 11 townhomes, but city officials persuaded the company to build eight single-family homes instead.
- Hired Williams Blackstock Architects to design an expansion and renovation of the Vestavia Hills Alberto C. Zaragoza Fire Station No. 4 in Liberty Park and a pool heater addition for the pool at the Vestavia Hills Aquatic Complex at Wald Park.
- Accepted a $1.6 million federal grant to help the pay part of the salaries and benefits of 12 new firefighters for Fire Station No. 4. The grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover 75% of the cost of the salaries and benefits for 12 firefighters for two years and then 35% of their salaries and benefits for year three. The city will be responsible for all salaries and benefits beyond that.
