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Hopes Run High for $20M Phenix City Development By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT
Construction crews in Phenix City, Ala., are making progress on a more than $20 million undertaking known as The Village at Crosswinds. When complete, the mixed-use project will offer medical, service-related businesses and retail options in what planners hope will be a regional destination. “Phenix City is a very underserved market, with Columbus, Ga., immediately across the river,” said edsAmerica President and CEO Patrick Denney. “This is a particularly excellent location, because the fast-growing communities of Fort Mitchell, Seale, Pittsview and the area surrounding The Village at Crosswinds are cut off from basic services. There are two colleges across the street from the development, in Troy University’s Phenix City’s Campus and Chattahoochee Valley Community College. “The most surprising bonus for the site is the 35,000-plus vehicles per day traveling along Highway 431 South/North. It’s the beach artery from the East Coast to 30-A/Fort Walton Beach. There are a number of dynamics in play that will contribute to the success of this development.” Denney said his team’s mission is clear. “We are focused on delivering what will be the best product in Phenix City, with it being a total tilt-wall package that will allow us to do many things. This will be new to the retail sector in this area. We build only institutional-quality developments. The mixed use of the development will be appealing to the market and serve as a destination development for the many travelers headed to the beach, as well. “We believe local concepts are preferred in local communities these days. They often offer better quality goods and services, with a real focus on customer service. Plus, they tend to be more owner/operator-driven, which translates into more stability for the business. We do like new concepts to the market, and those that feel like they blend into the local
Eddie Campbell – Crossland Construction photo
A motorgrader works the land in the initial stages of a $50 million development in Phenix City, Ala.
market well, and don’t seem so national franchise driven.” Renfroe’s Market, a Montgomery, Ala.-based grocery store operator, will anchor the development in a 40,000-sq.ft. building. “We identified several grocers for the development, and met with many,” Denney said. “As we got to know the Renfroes more and their desire to grow, we realized they were a perfect fit. It also fit nicely into their distribution pattern with grocery stores in Montgomery, Dadeville and now Phenix City. They are looking at more locations, but this will be their first true build-to-suit, thus giving them a prototype to development in other markets.” A groundbreaking ceremony was held in July 2018 to for-
mally unveil the project, which will benefit from a rear entrance to Fort Benning. “It was one of the biggest turnouts we’ve had,” said Denney. “We heard time and again how important this project was for this part of Phenix City, which has often felt ignored and often times forgotten, even though in our opinion this area has the greatest potential for real growth. The more the city can offer its residents, the more successful it will be in recruiting new residents that would otherwise live in Columbus.” Denney said it’s rewarding to see construction finally under way. see PHENIX page 10
ALDOT Selects First Transit Projects Under Rebuild Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey recently announced two major transportation projects in the Limestone and Madison county area were selected by the Alabama Department of Transportation for the Rebuild Alabama Act First Year Plan 2020. The first project includes resurfacing and
revising lanes on Interstate 565 from Interstate 65 to County Line Road to provide an additional lane in each direction through the partial use of shoulders, making it a sixlane interstate. The second project will allow for the expansion of the interchange on I-65 at Tanner and widening Browns Ferry Road
to be extended westward across to U.S. Highway 31. “While the Huntsville and surrounding areas are booming with continual economic growth, it was imperative we make enhancements to their infrastructure system for the nearly 60,000 vehicles traveling on I-565
daily. Both improvement projects will be significant strides for this area,” Ivey said. “This will improve the daily commute for several thousand drivers and provide access to the new Mazda-Toyota joint assembly plant. When we began on the road to see REBUILD page 8