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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Construction and renovations are underway at the former Brookwood Outpatient Therapy and Wellness Center in Vestavia Hills as the building is converted into a new community center Nov. 23.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
One of the new improvements at Wald Park will be an amphitheater as work continues at the site Nov. 23.
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Photo by Erin Nelson.
Construction on the New Merkel House senior center is underway near Cahaba Heights Park on Nov. 9.
A new year in Vestavia Hills will see the completion of the Community Spaces Plan, major sidewalk work and the possible completion of the pedestrian bridge, a long-awaited priority for city leadership.
2021 will also see many new businesses already planning to join the city and will see the hiring of a new high school football coach, as longtime coach Buddy Anderson retired after more than 40 years of leading the Rebels on Friday nights.
All of these plans will also continue to be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has not shown signs of slowing down entering the new year.
This “Year in Preview” section takes a look at the Community Spaces Plan, city projects, economic development and Vestavia Hills City Schools.
COMMUNITY SPACES PLAN
About five years after the plans were first introduced, the Community Spaces project should be substantially complete by the end of 2021, City Manager Jeff Downes said.
The plan, first introduced in 2016, discussed at numerous town halls in 2017 and funded and begun in 2018, called for roughly $60 million worth of infrastructure and parks and recreation improvements in the city of Vestavia Hills, and has already led to a new athletic complex in Cahaba Heights, major renovations, including a new aquatic complex and ballfields at Wald Park, and other projects across the city.
At Wald Park, the grand lawn, large play area, multiple pavilions and the small amphitheater should be completed this spring, and during the first quarter of 2021, phase three of Wald Park renovations should be bid out, Downes said. That includes tennis courts and a dog park. Those additions should also be completed by the end of the year.
Nearby, the new community center, which is in the building formerly owned by Gold’s Gym near City Hall, is also currently under construction. By late fall, that building should be completed, which will “open up a whole world of opportunity” for events and parks and recreation activities, Downes said. The building will connect to City Hall.
“We are excited to see that come to fruition,” Downes said.
In Cahaba Heights, next to the newly named and renovated Cahaba Heights Athletic Complex, the new New Merkel House should open by the end of January, offering a new and improved space for senior residents in the city. That will wrap up most of the Community Spaces work in Cahaba Heights, which has also seen the addition of a dog park.
There are also plans to add a dog park in Liberty Park, using a grant to create that space next to the splash pad, Downes said.
The only projects that might not be finished by year’s end include the possible addition of a maintenance building at Wald Park for city staff and some sidewalk work on Cahaba Heights Road and other roads set to receive sidewalks in the future, Downes said.
So, with the largest capital improvement plan in city history completed, what might the future hold after Community Spaces?
“The council will have to determine in their strategic focus, ‘What’s next?’” Downes said.
Downes mentioned the possibility of adding trail systems, working with the school system on any of its future needs, and improving certain intersections in the city, but he reiterated that it will ultimately be the City Council that decides those priorities.
CITY PROJECTS
In addition to the Community Spaces Plan, there are many other city projects during 2021, including the pedestrian bridge, which will connect Wald Park and the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest, Downes said.
The pedestrian bridge project has been in the works for more than a decade and is on the Alabama Department of Transportation’s schedule to be bid during the first quarter of the year, Downes said. ALDOT must approve all plans since it crosses U.S. 31, a federal highway. If it can be successfully bid during the first quarter, Downes said the bridge will most likely be built this year. Other than having to iron out some issues with utility relocation, the design work is complete, and all that’s left is for ALDOT to approve that last bit of work before bids are sought, Downes said.
In Cahaba Heights, Crosshaven Drive will undergo significant improvement, becoming a three-way road, which Downes said would be “welcome relief” for travelers in that area.
In addition to regular resurfacing and drainage work, work also will continue to install sidewalks around the city to increase connectivity. Sidewalks should be built on Mountain View Drive, which will see about 3,000 feet of sidewalk constructed from Vestavia Hills Elementary East to the intersection of Vesclub Way and Lexington Road. Sidewalks will also connect Rocky Ridge Road to Dolly Ridge Road, and they also will be installed on Crosshaven Drive.
The city also in 2021 plans to acquire right of way to widen lanes and improve Massey Road. The completion of that project depends on how quickly the city can acquire the property, Downes said.
The new year will also see improvements in emergency services. The city plans to add several new employees to the police and fire departments, along with a new fire truck, all of which should improve response times, Downes said.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
In addition to recent news of a plethora of businesses coming to the Vestavia Hills City Center and the new Bray Town Center in Liberty Park, Downes said 2021 will see the addition of several other businesses throughout the city.
A new Chick-fil-A should be open in Cahaba Heights by summer, Downes said. In other restaurant news, a new Waffle House may soon come to the south end of U.S. 31 at the site of the old Motor Lodge.
Depending on the impact of COVID-19, the south end of U.S. 31 should see other economic improvements, too, such as the reopening of a Serra Nissan dealership and more small-scale retail.
In Liberty Park, outside of The Bray Town Center development, a new Community Bank will soon open, and the Cahaba Station development will continue to grow, with Downes saying a seafood restaurant would soon come to the development, which can accommodate up to 11 businesses.
Downes said the luxury hotel and condominiums in Patchwork Farms being built by Chris Reebals are making progress, and medical offices and a pharmacy should also come on board in 2021.
IMPACT OF COVID-19
The pandemic has already begun to affect municipalities all across the globe, and Vestavia is no exception. Downes said the virus has interrupted the supply chain of labor and work, which does affect some timing of projects.
However, the city has tried to plan for those interruptions and built them into their expectations for ongoing projects to where it should not have a significant impact on ongoing work. Any significant impact would be on long-term projects, but much of that is unknown at this point, he said.
VESTAVIA HILLS CITY SCHOOLS
The COVID-19 pandemic will also continue to impact Vestavia Hills City Schools, but barring any change in state-issued guidance, the current 2020-21 school year will continue to look like it does now, Superintendent Todd Freeman said.
Freeman said the school system would operate much in the same way from an operational standpoint, but he hopes school can look like it did before March 2020 for the 2021-22 school year.
“We hope there’s a return to what we called normal a year ago in fall 2021,” Freeman said.
After the last few years saw the addition of Vestavia Hills Elementary Dolly Ridge, the new Pizitz Middle School campus and the reconfiguration of school zones and the transforming of the former Pizitz campus into a freshman campus for the high school, 2021 will be more of a planning year, Freeman said.
The school system will be trying to decide how to best renovate and update its current facilities and develop long-range plans.
The one major change to Vestavia schools this year will be the hiring of a new football coach to replace Anderson.
At the Nov. 30 board meeting, Assistant Superintendent Patrick Martin and Athletic Director Jeff Segars said they were looking for a candidate who would not only be a good football coach, but a great example for student-athletes. A committee including Freeman, Martin, Segars and VHHS Principal Tonya Rozell will interview candidates for the position.