Neighborhood spotlight: The Preserve

Since the end of World War II, the American suburban design paradigm has been that of the sprawl, with towns and cities ending up split into commercial, residential and recreational areas and leading to residents spending more time behind their steering wheels than anywhere else.

But to Steve Mouzon, town architect of The Preserve, there was much to be said about a different kind of development, where residents felt more at ease walking to restaurants and shops and didn’t need to drive to have a high quality of life.

The Preserve was built by USS Real Estate, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel Corporation, which at its height held an immense amount of land in and around Birmingham.

Mouzon said the idea was to create a traditional neighborhood out of the 300-acre development, rather than a sprawling subdivision, with amenities and green spaces never more than a five-minute walk from each home.

“The walkable community is an important part,” said landscape architect Nimrod Long III.

Long said even though The Preserve is in the middle of the action in Hoover, he thinks it’s a quiet spot.

The Preserve is also directly adjacent to the 250-acre Moss Rock Preserve, which both Long and Mouzon said also draws people to the community.

“It’s the only one of its kind in Hoover,” Mouzon said. But he hopes future neighborhoods will adopt the idea, he said.

“I don’t want The Preserve to be the only neighborhood in Hoover like this in the future.”