Courtesy of Oldacre McDonald.
Proposed new sign for the Wildwood shopping center.
A Nashville-based developer has purchased part of the Wildwood shopping center and plans a major redesign of the buildings and parking lots.
Bill Oldacre of Oldacre McDonald approached the city council finance committee at its Aug. 8 meeting to ask for incentives to offset the cost of the work planned for the shopping center on the south side of Lakeshore Drive.
The plans Oldacre presented include the construction of two roundabouts, one between Chick-fil-A and Wal-Mart and the other at the Hobby Lobby entrance to the property, and the creation of a road within the parking lot to connect the roundabouts and improve traffic flow. The western entrance will also be redesigned.
“This is too nice a property. It’s got real good bones ... There’s no reason it can’t be significantly improved,” Oldacre said.
Oldacre said the development firm also plans to construct several new retail spaces: 150,000 square feet of anchor retail space on the west end of the property, located in the city of Birmingham; three smaller buildings constructed on existing parking spaces; and a retail site replacing the vacant Outback Steakhouse location. The firm is in talks with national retailers for these new spaces, Oldacre said, as well as existing vacant spots and the OfficeMax, which is planned to close.
Other changes include new monument signs, additional lighting, new paint, landscaping and metal awnings to replace the current fabric ones. Oldacre said he watched the property for many years and felt that its location gave it a lot of potential, but access problems and appearances made it less successful than he feels if could be. He pointed out that thousands of cars pass by the shopping center every day on Lakeshore Parkway and I-65.
The incentive Oldacre McDonald is asking for is to split additional sales tax revenue (defined as any increase beyond current sales tax levels) for up to 10 years or $5 million in total.
If the council agrees to the proposed incentives, Oldacre said construction would begin before the end of 2016 and the first of the retailers in the new spots could open up by summer 2017, with the larger anchor spots to follow.
Mayor Scott McBrayer and several council members expressed their support of the development plans. The finance committee will review the proposal and discuss it further at their next meeting.
At the council meeting later on Aug. 8, the council also:
► Changed its next meeting from Aug. 22 to Aug. 29.
► Decided to ask for public comment at their Aug. 29 meeting about proposed changes to the Neighborhood Preservation District zoning ordinance about roof heights. The city has already held an official public hearing, but decided to set a time for additional comments due to homeowner concerns.
► Approved funding $54,000 to conduct a citywide master plan.
► Approved funding $1,000 to purchase an ad in the Annual Birmingham Bowl official fan guide.
► Amended the ordinance appointing municipal election poll workers due to changes in the list of workers.
► Approved road closures at Brookwood Village from 1 to 10 p.m. on Sept 22 and 29 for the Brookwood Live Concert Series.
► Approved the acceptance of the Champions ADECA Grant for the Homewood Board of Education.
► Carried over discussion of a $353,000 FEMA SAFER grant to fund the creation of three new firefighter positions for two years. Fire Chief John Bresnan said the grant does not come with obligations to maintain the positions after those two years, but will allow the department to have 17 people on duty for each shift instead of 16. Along with the recent construction of a training center, Bresnan said it’s possible the department could be evaluated for a better ISO rating, decreasing home insurance rates. The council voted to further discuss some questions about the grant at its next meeting before accepting it.
► Set a Sept. 12 public hearing for a rezoning application at 822 Columbiana Road, where the owner wants to construct four residential townhomes.
► Set a bid opening date for Sept. 19 for citywide paving projects.
