Plans on way for 1,519-acre Blackridge development in southwest Hoover

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The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission tonight approved preliminary plans for the first phase of a new 499-home subdivision called Lake Wilborn, but questions remain about a bigger proposed development that could be on the way soon.

Developer and homebuilder Jonathan Belcher and a company called Riverwood Holdings are working on plans for a 1,519-acre development called Blackridge that would extend south of Lake Wilborn, which is at the current end of Stadium Trace Parkway.

A rezoning request for that 1,519-acre property originally was scheduled to be heard tonight but was postponed until May 9 as the property owners make revisions to their plans.

City planning consultant Bob House said he is expecting the developers to request about 1,100 houses in Blackridge, but Belcher said he and the other property owner are still working on plans and haven’t come up with a final number of houses they will request.

House said 1,100 houses may sound like a lot, but it’s about 2,000 fewer houses than were originally proposed for the Blackridge property.

Belcher said an annexation agreement for the Blackridge property in the mid-1990s would have allowed 2.25 houses per acre, which could have meant 3,418 houses on this 1,519-acre property.

Belcher said his company, Blackridge Partners, owns about 690 acres of the Blackridge property, while Riverwoods Holdings LLC owns more than 820 acres. Part of the property now is zoned for agricultural use, while another section is zoned for single-family residential use and a third piece is unzoned. Blackridge Partners and Riverwoods Holdings are seeking to have the land zoned as a Planned Unit Development, or a PUD, which gives developers more discretion in development of the property.

A big topic of discussion at tonight’s planning commission meeting was the extension of Stadium Trace Parkway.

Signature Homes plans to extend the parkway another 4,400 feet from its current ending to the CSX railroad tracks, city engineers told the commission.

However, the plan is for the road to become a two-lane street instead of the four-lane parkway that goes past Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.

Riverchase resident Arnold Singer said he thinks the road ought to continue as a four-lane parkway, but City Engineer Rodney Long said a two-lane road should be capable of handling the 500 homes expected from Lake Wilborn and at least another 600 homes from Blackridge pretty easily. The general rule of thumb is that a typical residence will produce 10 trips per day, Long said.

However, Long told the commission that enough right of way is being left for the two-lane road to be expanded to a four-lane parkway if it is later determined that a four-lane road is needed. Taxpayers likely would have to pick up the cost of expansion to a four-lane, Long said.

Belcher said the traffic study he had done for Lake Wilborn indicated a two-lane road would be sufficient, but another traffic study will be done for the Blackridge property.

Belcher said he doesn’t know if Stadium Trace Parkway will ever be connected to Shelby County 52, also known as Morgan Road. He doesn’t own the property that connects with Morgan Road, he said.

Timetable for development

Belcher said he hopes to start land development for Lake Wilborn in about a month, and it should take eight to 10 months. “We’d like to start building houses by next spring,” he said.

The first phase approved for Lake Wilborn is 57 lots instead of the 93 lots proposed in December. The lots will be roughly 8,000 to 10,000 square feet, said Bob Easley, an engineer working for Belcher’s company.

Preliminary drawings submitted to the city of Hoover show 37 of the lots being about 65 feet wide, while the other 20 would be 85 to 100 feet wide. Lots in the first phase would be anywhere from 100 to 120 feet deep, according to the drawings.

House plans still must be drawn up, but they likely will be 2,000 to 3,000 square feet and in the $300,000 to $500,000 range, Belcher said.

If the Planning and Zoning Commission approves the zoning request for Blackridge on May 9, it will go to the City Council for final consideration. If the City Council approves it, Belcher said he will move forward immediately with preliminary plans for the first sector of Blackridge. If everything goes smoothly, it likely would be 2017 before home construction could begin in Blackridge, he said.

In other business tonight, the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission:

  • Approved final plans for a six-lot residential subdivision on the southeast side of Al Seier Road at its intersection with Sulphur Springs Road, to be called Highland Corners Block 2. The property is owned by Sulphur Springs Land Partners and New Castle Construction.
  • Approved final plans for a two-lot subdivision at the northwest corner of the intersection of Stadium Trace Parkway and Brock’s Gap Parkway. The parcel, called the Village at Brock’s Gap, is zoned for planned light industrial use and is owned by Hoover Family Festival LLC.
  • Approved final plans for a resurvey of six residential lots in Phase IB of the Sawyer Trail community in Ross Bridge.
  • Approved a request from the Park Crest Event Facility at 2034 Little Valley Road to have live entertainment and sell alcoholic beverages ats its facility, which hosts weddings, corporate events and similar functions, as long as the live outdoor music stops at midnight.