Huntsville/Madison Development News (Birmingham, Hazel Green: construction, maintenance, dangerous)

[dijkstra]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

just want a new building? put away the conspiracies. If and when the new courthouse is built it will remain downtown. Hopefully they keep the current one for some type of reno if possible.

https://cityblog.huntsvilleal.gov/mo...new-city-hall/

Yes, I would rather them stop with the excuses and blaming the marble. RocketDawg made the points that the way they are mounted are probably failing. Best I remember, they are mechanically attached to the structure. Not adhered with some sort of adhesive or compound. If they are similar to others I have seen removed from other structures, they have mortises in the top and bottom on the back side and they are lifted up into the top and then lowered on and into the bottom so they basically are just hanging there. To remove them, they have to be lifted and then pulled out from the lower mounts and then lowered back out of the tops. Expansion and contraction should not affect them very much since they are free to shift and have room on all sides. I don't doubt that one cracks every now and then as they would if they were still in the ground. It would not be surprising if the mounts fail at some point and require repair or replacement since they are most likely steel.

I would rather them just say, we want a new modern building and we need more room. We are not surprised to hear that considering the growth. Most of us don't care for hearing the silly excuses which are nothing more than things that require building maintenance. They will build a brand new building and it will be full of cheap products made in cheap manners that will start requiring replacement and maintenance within a year or two anyway.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

just want a new building? put away the conspiracies. If and when the new courthouse is built it will remain downtown. Hopefully they keep the current one for some type of reno if possible.

https://cityblog.huntsvilleal.gov/mo...new-city-hall/

Dale Strong was the person I heard who mentioned a new courthouse, but he's no longer the county chairman. Maybe he can score some federal money for the new building , but I don't know how much pull he'll have being a freshman US representative.

I agree and hope they can keep the existing building. I've never thought it was ugly like some.

[AU HSV]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

Yes, I would rather them stop with the excuses and blaming the marble. RocketDawg made the points that the way they are mounted are probably failing. Best I remember, they are mechanically attached to the structure. Not adhered with some sort of adhesive or compound. If they are similar to others I have seen removed from other structures, they have mortises in the top and bottom on the back side and they are lifted up into the top and then lowered on and into the bottom so they basically are just hanging there. To remove them, they have to be lifted and then pulled out from the lower mounts and then lowered back out of the tops. Expansion and contraction should not affect them very much since they are free to shift and have room on all sides. I don't doubt that one cracks every now and then as they would if they were still in the ground. It would not be surprising if the mounts fail at some point and require repair or replacement since they are most likely steel.

I would rather them just say, we want a new modern building and we need more room. We are not surprised to hear that considering the growth. Most of us don't care for hearing the silly excuses which are nothing more than things that require building maintenance. They will build a brand new building and it will be full of cheap products made in cheap manners that will start requiring replacement and maintenance within a year or two anyway.

No one’s blaming the marble or using that as an excuse it’s just one of many issues . The city held numerous public input sessions, budgeted for the new building, and answered any questions anyone has. It’s been a well documented process for anyone that wants to know

https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2...outputType=amp

https://hsvchamber.org/wp-content/up...Site-Study.pdf

https://www.waff.com/2021/12/21/hunt...outputType=amp

[AU HSV]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

Dale Strong was the person I heard who mentioned a new courthouse, but he's no longer the county chairman. Maybe he can score some federal money for the new building , but I don't know how much pull he'll have being a freshman US representative.

I agree and hope they can keep the existing building. I've never thought it was ugly like some.

The interior lobby /staircase is very unique. Plus if they tear down both the courthouse and old city hall we will have even less of a skyline. Having all the buildings 5-7 floors except a couple is pretty bad. It’s sad when the interstate light towers and TVA power transmission towers are the tallest objects.

[TimCity2000]

I'm fond of City Hall and the Courthouse as well, although part of that may simply be nostalgia from my time growing up in Huntsville and taking frequent trips with my family to Big Spring Park from our home in SE Huntsville.

I think part of City Hall's appeal is the contrast to its surroundings (in form, material and color). Its exterior is unique as already mentioned, and those vertical lines seem to increase its actual height. In my opinion, it has the biggest presence of any building when standing within the park itself, and that solid marble wall appears to loom over you.

The Courthouse obviously commands attention being in the center of the square. Maybe it's the stark contrast as well, in this case of a modern building surrounded on all sides by some of Huntsville's oldest buildings. It definitely speaks to a certain era, but that era helped define Huntsville.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

The interior lobby /staircase is very unique. Plus if they tear down both the courthouse and old city hall we will have even less of a skyline. Having all the buildings 5-7 floors except a couple is pretty bad. It’s sad when the interstate light towers and TVA power transmission towers are the tallest objects.

Agree.

The existing city hall is definitely coming down, and Dale Strong is the only person of any stature I've heard mention a new courthouse and removal of the present one.

[FCEddie]

Not Huntsville news.. directly, but In and Out putting their Eastern US headquarters in Nashville. Odds are pretty good we get one fairly soon. Never been, but willing to check it out.

[AU HSV]

Originally Posted by FCEddie

Not Huntsville news.. directly, but In and Out putting their Eastern US headquarters in Nashville. Odds are pretty good we get one fairly soon. Never been, but willing to check it out.

Soon is relative, 2026 is when their HQ will be finished and imagine they will do Tennessee first so it could still be 3-5 years but another option at least when heading north to Franklin/Nashville.

[AU HSV]

After being talked about for nearly 10 years plus or minus 2 or 3 the Mastin Lake overpass on Memorial Parkway will go out for bids in February. Construction may begin by May. Will include mainline and service roads. The city will approve state maintenance agreements tomorrow with ALDOT for signing, lighting and overall maintenance of the new overpass.
Also expected to start this year (they have been saying that each year since 2020) is the misleading named Northern Bypass. These frontage roads (no mainline, no controlled access) will take pressure off of North Parkway and improve residential and commercial development in north Huntsville.

[AU HSV]

Big rocket built in Decatur heading for the Cape. People forget sometimes that we actually build rockets in North Alabama, Decatur.

The first of United Launch Alliance’s big new Vulcan rockets left the factory near the Tennessee River in Decatur Tuesday bound by barge for Cape Canaveral, Fla., and a critical certification test flight this year.

The roughly 200-foot-tall rocket is the centerpiece of ULA’s future launch business with 70 already sold. Vulcan launches are lifted off the ground by two main engines built by Blue Origin’s engine plant in Huntsville.

https://www.al.com/news/2023/01/ulas...canaveral.html