T-town is moving on up

[demopolite]

Tuesday night, the City of Tuscaloosa unveiled its plans for the Downtown Tuscaloosa Redevelopment Project. The project area includes over 15 blocks of downtown, from Greensboro Avenue to 21st Street and from University Boulevard to Bryant Drive.

The project is aimed at taking out the visual blights and non-conforming uses in the area, which will mean bye-bye to all of the garages, warehouses, and dilapidated buildings. All historic buildings will likely be kept and renovated.

In place of the blights, Tuscaloosa's downtown will soon have new parks, shops, bars, restaurants, a new federal government facility, upper-end condominiums and apartments and .... (drum-roll)....at least one parking deck (those of you who have visited downtown T-town lately know what a nightmare parking can be).

The aquisition phase of the project will start in the spring of next year and will likely take a few years to complete.

Tuscaloosa got most of the money for the redevelopment from federal grants directed toward downtown revitalization in smaller communities (thank you Mr. Shelby of the Senate appropriations committee). If T-town can do it, could Demopolis???

[demopolite]

Take a look for yourself at the Tuscaloosa Downtown Renewal plans.

[stickman]

I'm quite sure if Tuscaloosa can do it, Demopolis can, too. Question is....would such a grant be tied into ongoing things like the recent downtown sign ordinance, the Demopolis Historical Committee dictating what downtown businesses can and can't do, so on and so forth?