Thursday, March 7, 2013 • 13
NEWS
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
◆ MOUNTAIN BROOK
New $18 Million City Hall Set to Open in April offices at 3928 Montclair Road. The police and fire administration moved to Office Park Circle off U.S. 280. The new complex will have about 52,000 square feet of space compared to 28,000 square feet in the previous municipal complex. It will also have a second story and will have attaching sections for the police and fire departments. The new building will also con-
Finishing touches are being made on the new Mountain Brook City Hall. Officials say it could be move-in ready by the end of next month. Journal photo by Maury Wald
BY WILLIAM C. SINGLETON III JOURNAL CONTRIBUTOR
The new $18 million Mountain Brook City Hall is scheduled to open next month. “We’re proposing to move back in the last part of April,” said City
Manager Sam Gaston. Finishing touches are being applied to the interior of the new building, and painting and roofing work is being done, Gaston said. City governmental functions have been split between two locations since December 2010 when
city, police and fire officials moved from Crestline Village to make way for construction for the new municipal complex. The city’s administrative offices as well as the offices of the city planner, building inspector and finance department relocated to
◆ VESTAVIA HILLS
Former Library Site Sold After Two Years
BY WILLIAM C. SINGLETON III JOURNAL CONTRIBUTOR
The city of Vestavia Hills has found a buyer for its old library building. The City Council recently agreed to sell the old library site at 1112 Montgomery Highway to HES Investments LLC for $750,000. The 1.6 acre property contains a 22,000 square-foot, three-story building. The site has been for sale since December 2010 when the library moved to its new location at 1221 Montgomery Highway less than a mile away. The city had asked for $1.5 million for the property, but City Manager Randy Robertson said that amount was based on earlier appraisals and the property likely was not worth that much now. Mayor Alberto “Butch” Zaragoza said HES Investment is trying to lure a retail establishment to the site. “They’re negotiating with some firms to bring some retail business there,” he said. Vestavia officials have been particularly picky about a buyer for the property. Officials have wanted to direct the type of businesses that locate along U.S. 31, which has been the subject of a major redevelopment study.
The city last year released the U.S. 31 Corridor Redevelopment Plan, a comprehensive guideline to transform U.S. 31 through boulevards, green spaces and retail, office and residential developments. City officials have been mindful
how to use its property along U.S. 31 in conjunction with that study, Robertson said. The city has held several public involvement meetings on the plan and hopes to work on various aspects of the plan through the coming years.❖
tain a parking deck below city hall to accommodate about 60 vehicles, Gaston said. “We’ll be looking forward to moving back to Crestline because we miss being in Crestline,” Gaston said. “It will be good having the police, fire and city hall employees back together again.” Construction of the new city hall was done by Brasfield and Gorrie.❖