SAVING THE VIEW: Nature, history groups push for creation of Bluff Park Preserve

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Bluff Park’s history can be traced back to its original Native American inhabitants, when Creek Indians used the springs on Shades Mountain as a stopping point as they traveled between their settlements along the Cahaba and Warrior rivers.

Later, in the 1850s, the area was turned into a resort with 40 log cabins. The Bluff Park Hotel, a 20-room inn often used as a getaway for people in Birmingham, followed in the early 1900s, but it was destroyed by fire in 1925, according to the bluffparkal.org website.

The natural springs on Shades Mountain served as a draw for visitors and settlers alike, but another big attraction is the view off the mountaintop. To this day, people are drawn to certain spots in Bluff Park for a scenic view of Shades Valley and Red Mountain, particularly at sunset.

And now, history buffs and nature lovers are trying to create a roughly 20-acre preserve to save one of the largest remaining open spaces on the bluff side of Shades Mountain from development. Leading the charge is the Friends of Shades Mountain nonprofit.

The idea is to combine five pieces of property and turn them into Bluff Park Preserve, preventing development of the forested area along Shades Crest Road and celebrating several historical sites.

The biggest piece of the puzzle is an 18-acre piece of property known as the Hale Springs property. It is divided into two parcels — a roughly 6-acre narrow parcel parallel to Shades Crest Road and a roughly 12-acre triangle-shaped parcel going down Shades Mountain.

Other parts of the proposed preserve include a .41-acre parcel immediately northeast of the Hale Springs property (owned by the Friends of Shades Mountain), the former Tip Top Grill property and a small parcel known as Sunset Rock, right next to the Tip Top Grill site.

HALE SPRINGS

The Hale Springs property contains at least two historical springs: a freestone spring about 100 feet off Shades Crest Road and a chalybeate spring (meaning the water is full of iron salts) further down the mountain.

“It was the source of water for Native Americans and everybody else up there [on Shades Mountain] until they could build wells,” said Marjorie White, director of the Birmingham Historical Society. After wells were dug and residents tied into the Birmingham water system, the springs were somewhat forgotten, but “from my perspective, it’s an A1 historic site,” White said. “The view there is utterly spectacular.”

The property is very steep and would be difficult to develop, but development probably is not impossible given today’s engineering and construction capabilities, said Larry Rodick, president of the Friends of Shades Mountain. His group would rather see it preserved.

The Friends of Shades Mountain recently asked the Forever Wild Land Trust to consider purchasing the Hale Springs property. The same request had been turned down several years ago. This time, the Hale Springs property made a short list of potential acquisitions, and the Forever Wild board of trustees discussed the idea at its quarterly meeting on May 2.

No decision was made, but the Forever Wild board asked several governmental and private entities interested in the preservation of the property to discuss potential options for the land if Forever Wild were to purchase it.

Board members have questions they want more fully explored before making such a decision, including how much the Hale Springs property is worth, more details about how proposed trails would be built and maintained, and where people who visit the property would park their vehicles, said Hoover City Administrator Ken Grimes, who was there to support Forever Wild’s purchase of the site.

There have been varying reports of previous asking prices for the Hale Springs property. The Friends of Shades Mountain wanted to buy the property several years back but couldn’t afford it. Rodick said the asking price then was about $600,000, but the landowner, Ron Roegner, recalls it being about $500,000. 

Roegner, who lives across the street from the property, said he bought the Hale Springs property in the early to mid-1990s. While he did try to sell it a few years back, he took it off the market a couple of years ago but has allowed the real estate company to keep its sign there, he said.

There were about 25 people with the Friends of Shades Mountain and Birmingham Historical Society at the May 2 Forever Wild board meeting to show support for the purchase, Grimes said. About half a dozen people spoke, including Grimes, Rodick and Hoover City Planner Mac Martin.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Birmingham Council President Darrell O’Quinn, Birmingham Council President Pro Tem Wardine Alexander and Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens all wrote letters in support of the land purchase as well.

The Hale Springs property is in the Birmingham city limits, located right next to property that is in the Hoover city limits as well as 472 acres owned by Jefferson County. The Freshwater Land Trust has 248 acres not far away, Rodick said.

NEXT STEPS

Grimes is now tasked with bringing together representatives from Hoover, Birmingham, Jefferson County, the Freshwater Land Trust and the state lands director for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to discuss options for the Hale Springs land.

Rodick said he didn’t expect the Forever Wild board to go ahead and vote in favor of purchase of the property on May 2 but was encouraged that the project is still in consideration.

The top priority seems to be finding parking for people who want to visit the property, Rodick said.

One option might be to work out a parking agreement with the owner of the former Tip Top Grill property and/or the small shopping center across the street from the Tip Top Grill site, Rodick said. A few parking spaces could be carved out along certain spots along Shades Crest Road, he added. “All of this is up in the air.”

Regarding trail development and maintenance, the Friends of Shades Mountain already has secured agreements from a Scouting group in Bluff Park, the Southeastern Climbers Coalition and the Friends of the Moss Rock Preserve to help build and maintain trails on the Hale Springs property, Rodick said.

Grimes said Hoover is very supportive of efforts to preserve the Hale Springs property, even though it’s not in Hoover. It’s right next to historic areas in Hoover that include the former Tip Top Grill property, which is now a vacant building and parking lot, and the Lover’s Leap and Sunset Rock historic landmarks.

The Hale Springs property also ties really well into the city of Hoover’s new Parks and Public Spaces plan, which calls for expanding trail networks in that area, Grimes said. The city of Hoover would like to see it available for public access, he said.

“It has such a unique history with the springs,” Grimes said. “And even with the golf course in the distance, it’s still a beautiful view. … I hope they look at the property for its uniqueness and the value of what it could provide long term — keep it pristine so the public can always enjoy it.”

Grimes said Hoover would even be willing to explore a potential partnership with Birmingham in relation to the Hale Springs property.

“I definitely think it’s all kind of intertwined and has a lot of potential in the future,” he said. “To me there’s definitely an opportunity. We just have to figure out what that looks like.”

Hoover Councilman Casey Middlebrooks said he hiked down to the springs six or seven years ago to see if they were still active and found a trickle of water still seeping through the rocks then. He’s supportive of the idea of preserving Hale Springs, but right now he doesn’t see much investment coming from Hoover since the property is in Birmingham.

TIP TOP GRILL/LOVER’S LEAP

Some preservationists say they would love for the city of Hoover to purchase the former Tip Top Grill property, but Rodick said the owner of that property has not been willing to sell it, instead desiring to open another restaurant there. However, the owner of the Tip Top site was interested in being a part of a preserve, Rodick said.

The Hoover Sun’s efforts to contact the owner of the former Tip Top Grill property were unsuccessful.

Middlebrooks said if that site were to become available, city officials would have to evaluate it and see if such a purchase made financial sense. “We’re definitely willing to have that conversation,” he said.

The Tip Top Grill site supposedly has the actual Lover’s Leap historic site, named after a rock where legend says a Creek Indian man jumped to his death after accidentally killing his prospective bride in a dispute about their arranged marriage. The Lover’s Leap historic marker is on property next door, which also holds Sunset Rock — a group of limestone rocks with a scenic view of Shades Valley.

The Sunset Rock property is owned by the Battle Miller Construction Co., which has an office along Shades Crest Road. However, the owners have indicated a willingness to subdivide their property and donate the historic portion of it, said Jim Langley, a board member with the Hoover Historical Society, which also supports the idea of a Bluff Park Preserve.

Rodick said he hasn’t heard of anyone opposing the idea for the Bluff Park Preserve, but getting the Hale Springs site is the lynchpin of the plan. If Forever Wild can’t buy it, he doesn’t think the Friends of Shades Mountain has the money.

“We’re not a rich organization,” he said. “That would be a mountain to climb.”