Stadium Trace Village roadwork, some landscape to be done in fall
The $3 million worth of traffic improvements being made in conjunction with the Stadium Trace Village shopping center under construction should all be completed this fall, a spokesman for the developer said.
The same is true for more than $600,000 worth of landscaping to be installed on the perimeter of the development along John Hawkins Parkway and Stadium Trace Parkway, spokesman Derick Belden said.
The development has two entrances, one coming from John Hawkins Parkway and one from Emery Drive, which is the first street off Stadium Trace Parkway (coming from John Hawkins Parkway).
Developer Broad Metro LLC is:
► Adding a dual left-turn lane and right-turn lane from John Hawkins Parkway directly into the middle of Stadium Trace Village.
► Adding another westbound through lane on John Hawkins Parkway from Preserve Parkway to I-459.
► Adding a second left-turn lane from John Hawkins Parkway onto Interstate 459 South.
► Adding a new right-turn lane from John Hawkins Parkway onto Stadium Trace Parkway, with that lane continuing all the way to Emery Drive.
► Adding a traffic signal at the intersection of Stadium Trace Parkway and Emery Drive.
► Adding a northbound left-turn lane from Stadium Trace Parkway onto Emery Drive.
► Widening the shopping center exit on Emery Drive to include a left-turn lane, through lane and right-turn lane.
► Widening the westbound section of Emery Drive coming from Hunter Street Baptist Church to include a left-turn/through lane and right-turn lane onto Stadium Trace Parkway.
Those road improvements are designed not only to accommodate Stadium Trace Village but also to solve existing traffic issues and address anticipated new traffic generated by residential growth in the coming decade — traffic completely unrelated to Stadium Trace Village, Belden said.
Broad Metro LLC hired Gonzalez-Strength & Associates to create a landscape plan for Stadium Trace Village and the public rights of way on the perimeter. Gonzalez-Strength & Associates is planning a multi-season landscape with deciduous evergreen and flowering trees, shrubs and native plant material that will be installed once the weather cools.
“Our vision is to create a natural buffer around the project with multi-seasonal interest, so you have something going on year-round,” said Robbin Gregory, director of planning and landscape architecture for Gonzalez-Strength & Associates. “Inside the project, we are lining the streets with various types of street trees and using low-maintenance groundcovers, shrubs and native plants to create a natural urban environment.”
Joseph De Sciose, a resident of Trace Crossings since 2003, said he was extremely concerned about the removal of 30-year-old trees at the entrance to Trace Crossings to make way for the new commercial development.
He understands the development company has a right to take down trees on its own property but hates to see the mature trees taken off the public rights-of-way at the main entry to Trace Crossings.
Trees already have been removed on the side of Stadium Trace Parkway next to Stadium Trace Village, so now he’s concerned about the 30-year-old trees in the median, he said.
“I’m concerned it’s going to be a concrete barrier,” De Sciose said.
Belden said some of the median will have to be removed to accommodate additional turn lanes, but the developer will try to keep as many of the existing trees as possible. The median will be enhanced with new landscaping and a new Trace Crossings entrance sign, he said.
De Sciose said he also wanted to know whether the developer would plant 5-foot-tall trees or 15-foot-tall trees in place of the trees that already have been lost. Belden said new trees being installed should be 12 to 14 feet tall. They will have a greater chance of survival at that size than at larger sizes, he said.
Belden said the plan calls for a double row of street trees of varying heights and species to line Stadium Trace Parkway, transitioning to a denser, more natural landscape as traffic moves toward the neighborhoods.
Sharon Nelson, the city of Hoover’s landscape architect, said she had not yet received the landscape plan for the median on Stadium Trace Parkway, but new trees along the shoulder and slope leading up to Stadium Trace Village would include willow oaks, Princeton elms, red maples, tulip poplars, magnolias, holly trees and some pines.
“The plans are rather extensive to re-landscape those slopes,” she said.
The developer is responsible for the installation of landscaping, and the Trace Crossings Architectural Review Committee has approved all of the plans, Nelson said.
Belden said Broad Metro is taking on the additional responsibility of replacing any plant material that doesn’t initially take.
“We also really would love to thank the citizens of Hoover as they have been incredibly patient,” Belden said. “The wait will be worth it, as we envision a breathtakingly beautiful landscape and substantial improvements to the network of roads around our site.”
The 44-acre Stadium Trace Village so far is slated to include an Aldi grocery store, a 39,000-square-foot UAB medical office building, a Culver’s casual fast food restaurant and a village center called The Shoppes at Stadium Trace Village.
Tenants announced for that village center include Taco Mama, a MELT sandwich shop, O’Henry’s Coffees, MOOYAH Burgers, Frutta Bowls, Sweet Charlie’s rolled ice cream shop, a new Cajun-themed restaurant called Cajun Roux, Wrapsody’s boutique, Jeremy Stephens Salon and ARC Realty office, according to Map Development and Retail Specialists, which are handling leasing for the village center.
There are still several retail sites and outparcels available, including two spots identified as potential hotel sites.
The developer anticipates all buildings and substantial construction to be completed by the end of 2019, Belden said.
Starting in 2020, Stadium Trace Village should provide $1.5 million annually in new tax revenue to the city of Hoover, including sales taxes, lodging taxes and property taxes, Broad Metro said on its website.