Developers are eyeing two parcels of property along Oxmoor Road in the Edgewood area of Homewood to become part of a total transformation of the historic retail strip.
Condos and retail are possible for the two sites, and although details are scarce, merchants are concerned this is only the beginning of a plan that could displace them and irrevocably alter the character of their neighborhood.
One of the properties is a vacant building at the corner of Oxmoor Road and St. Charles Street. The other is located off Palmetto Street, which intersects Oxmoor on the south side; it now houses some small, aging brick apartments. Both are owned by Buddy Wade, who says he, developer Donny Harwell and a Jacksonville, Fla., investor are hammering out redevelopment plans.
The area's many small business owners, some of whom did not want to be quoted, say they've been hearing the buzz for about a year now.
"The rumors have been pretty intense," says Vince Gray, who has leased space for his Homewood Florist on the north side of the 900 block of Oxmoor for the past nine years. Gray says he is concerned that the charm of Edgewood, the oldest part of Homewood, will be endangered by redevelopment and hopes city leaders and developers will take care to preserve the area's quaint character.
Although no plans have been approved, some changes are already happening. For example, a dilapidated building fronting the Palmetto property recently was taken by the city through eminent domain and a parking lot was built there. Some shop owners say it's a harbinger of condos.
"Our original desire was to build a mixed-use condominium retail project back there," Wade says, referring to the site off Palmetto. "We have been working on that for several months.
"We've ended up putting together a bill on that one piece of property, (and) as we began to get inquiries from other landowners in that area, we began talking to them about their properties."
Wade said he has received "some firm commitments from other landowners down there to be part of the project also. Hopefully it will be a total redevelopment of the Edgewood town center."
He says he and his business partners are trying to ride out the current high construction costs, as well as gauge the strength of the condo market before formalizing any plans.
Other than Wade, owners of buildings on the block either could not be reached or did not want to be quoted.
Wade calls the 900 block of Edgewood a place with "tremendous" redevelopment potential.
"Those Edgewood properties are doing extremely well, and it's a prime spot for a little village type of atmosphere," he says.
Part of the buzz business owners have been hearing is that they will be bought, or even forced, out. But Wade says there's no reason for them to worry: "Not in the least," he says. "The project that Donny's talking about will take two to three years to get to the bottom of, do all the agreements, buyouts, participations and so forth. It would be done in phases."
So far, no plans have been presented to the city of Homewood, says Greg Cobb, director of engineering, planning and zoning for the city.
Gray notes that one plan several years ago to redevelop the corner building failed because it proposed a seven-story building.
Height is a particular sticking point with respect to any potential redevelopment of Edgewood, and a proposal to limit it to 35 feet is scheduled to be heard by the Homewood City Council on Monday, July 17, says Cobb, adding that even though the planning commission has heard no formal plans, the talk of development has been loud and clear for the past year.
"Some of them have grand plans, some small plans, but none of the property has changed hands, so right now it's kind of a guessing game," Cobb says.
Homewood City Council President Ginger Busby says the building restrictions could end up going further than height, restricting things such as how many stories can be contained within 35 feet.
"I think in Edgewood, just because of the street and how close the property is to the street, you have to be real careful about developing that into mixed use so it doesn't overpower the quaintness of the area."
Cobb adds that any redevelopment of Edgewood will also hinge on parking. There isn't very much today, aside from the recently built city lot and a lot across St. Charles from the corner building which Wade says adds to that particular site's appeal considerably.
kwilkinson@bizjournals.com (205) 443-5637