Map courtesy of city of Hoover.
A 30,000-square-foot community center has been proposed for this 7.5-acre tract on Concourse Parkway, off River-chase Parkway East in the Riverchase Office Park.
A proposal for a new 30,000-square-foot community center in the Riverchase Office Park is running into snags.
A group called the Alabama Merchants Association is proposing to put the community center on 7.5 acres at 900 Concourse Parkway, off Riverchase Parkway East, between the ABC 33/40 television station and Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel.
However, the city of Hoover staff is not recommending approval of the “conditional use” request because the property is zoned for office use and the city’s comprehensive plan calls for that space to be used for office and light industrial purposes, City Planner Mac Martin said.
In the view of city staff, a community center would not be the highest and best use of the property, Martin said.
The site is currently owned by Harbert Properties Corp., but the group interested in buying the site is the Alabama Merchants Association. That is a group that represents owners of numerous gasoline stations and convenience stores, but the group also is connected to a religious community, Martin said.
The organization has not been completely clear about its intended uses of the property but has indicated it is contemplating multiple uses that include a recreational center, office space and a place of worship, Martin said.
The original traffic study submitted by Skipper Consultants based its expected traffic counts on traffic that would be generated for a recreational community center that is similar to a YMCA facility.
A map submitted with the conditional use application shows about 350 parking spaces planned for the community center. The center is expected to generate 865 trips on an average weekday, according to the traffic study.
But that traffic study did not contemplate traffic that might accompany all the uses being contemplated, Martin said. So the case was continued by the Planning and Zoning Commission both in August and September to allow time for a more comprehensive traffic study to be conducted.
However, Martin noted at the September meeting that the Alabama Merchants Association also continues to look at alternative locations for its community center and could bring forward a new conditional use application at a different site. That is to be determined.
In the meantime, the application for the site at 900 Concourse Parkway is scheduled to come back to the zoning board on Oct. 5.
In other business in September, the zoning board also postponed a decision on final plans for four lots zoned as “planned industrial” in Trace Crossings at the corner of Stadium Trace Parkway and Flemming Parkway due to a disagreement between city staff and the developer over the timing of needed stormwater improvements.
Developer Jonathan Belcher of Signature Homes is proposing to make off-site stormwater improvements downstream to fix a flooding problem at that intersection, but city staff members don’t want to approve building permits until that work is completed because of the risk of further flooding problems.
Belcher is seeking permission to get building permits before that work is completed, saying he doesn’t want to be working on the fix while school is in session because students walk to and from school in that area. He won’t be able to complete the stormwater fix over fall break, so it likely would be the winter break before the work could be completed, he said. His potential buyers of land are ready to get started on their development, which will be an economic boost for the city, he said.
That case also is scheduled to come back to the zoning board on Oct. 5.
