Hoover heads into 2026 with big decisions on the table — from regional retail identity to how fast growth should happen and where. These five storylines reflect a city trying to evolve its footprint, reimagine legacy spaces and stay ahead of the curve on infrastructure and investment.
Photo courtesy of Angela Jacks.
Galleria
SUN_GalleriaSigns2.jpg – Around the exterior of the mall, new signs have been placed to point out stores and parking areas.
Galleria reimagining: A consultant’s two-phase, two-site concept would demolish the former Sears and current Macy’s footprints, replacing them with 542 residential units, an 1,100-seat Center for the Arts, 44,000 square feet of new retail and 44,000 square feet of green space. Estimated investment: $241 million. The study cites declining visits since 2019, tempered office/hotel demand and a national template of converting underused retail to dense, walkable mixed-use. The mayor-elect called the scope too narrow, and several council members questioned the residential mix and the sharp reduction in retail square footage.
Aerial map from RBY Retail website
Tattersall Park aerial map
The 75-acre Tattersall Park site is shown in white at the right of this photo, near the northeast intersection of U.S. 280 and Alabama 119, next to Greystone.
Tattersall Park: The city council’s rezoning decision will determine whether the Village Center goes truly mixed-use (condos or age-restricted residential, hotel/retail, potential library space) or remains commercial-first. Active sites will keep filling while developers tune density, traffic mitigations and tenant mix in real time.
Photo by Jon Anderson
This map shows the planned location of a 20-acre, 200-square-foot commercial development with a big-box grocery wholesaler at the corner of Valleydale Road and Inverness Center Drive in Hoover, Alabama (shown here next to the Danberry at Inverness retirement community.
Valleydale280 at Inverness: The 200,000-square-foot center across from Inverness Corners cleared Hoover, Shelby County and ALDOT after dropping a gas station and liquor store and rerouting truck access. Openings are targeted for late 2026. The developer projects about 500 jobs and close to $5.5 million a year in combined city and county revenues. A city-funded traffic study will revisit access on Inverness Center Drive.
Photo by Jon Anderson
Trader Joe's plans to open on Tuesday, May 14, 2025, in a 16,000-square-foot space that formerly was part of Bed Bath & Beyond in the Riverchase Crossing shopping center at 1771 Montgomery Highway in Hoover, Alabama.
Trader Joe’s effect: The May 14 opening (16,000 square feet in Riverchase Crossing, aided by a capped $1.7-million sales-tax rebate) is already catalyzing façade refreshes and second-wave tenants. Watch whether the U.S. 31/Riverchase corridor captures the spillover — including the big-box vacancies across Lorna.
Map courtesy of Nequette Architecture & Design
The 331 homes planned for Collier Valley are expected to include a mixture of single-family detached homes, townhomes and up to 40 multi-family units in a mixed-use area. On this map, the bypass road will go to the left toward South Shades Crest Road. The connector road to Stadium Trace Parkway and Blackridge North is at the top left, and a future connection to Blackridge South is at the top right.
Growth and annexation: With Collier Valley, can Hoover add rooftops and square footage while solving traffic and protecting schools? 2026 brings decisions on the western bypass phasing, the Exit 9 timeline and whether future additions lean mixed-use over subdivisions.
