HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A long-awaited construction project in downtown Huntsville is now underway. Developers of the project say they are excited to see “dirt finally being moved.”
Front Row is a multi-million dollar mixed-use development being built on the former site of the Coca-Cola Bottling plant at the intersection of Clinton Avenue and Monroe Street. The site is directly across from the Von Braun Center.
The site has sat as an empty lot since the former bottling plant was closed in 2012 and then demolished in 2014. The closure of the bottling operation was truly the end of an era for downtown Huntsville as that plant operated at that site since the 1930’s.
News 19 spoke with the financiers of the project Essex Capital and Ascend Property Group. It was announced in January of this year that the two companies closed on $115 million in construction financing, provided by Banco Inbursa.
“What we’re doing is creating a true live, work, play environment,” said Mitchell Rutter, CEO of Essex Capital.
Rutter said the goal is to transform downtown Huntsville with the project.
According to Rutter, phase one of the project will bring a total of 545 residential units split between two 6-story buildings.
The 11-acre mixed-use development will also have 36,000 square feet of Class-A office space and 47,000 square feet of retail space included in phase one.
“We’ve received a lot of, you know, incoming interest,” Dan Shields, with Ascend Property Group said. “When’s it going to be available? What’s the size? The configuration? Where is it going to be on the site? So we’re excited that that will lease fairly quickly.”
The full cost of phase one is anticipated to be $220 million. While the cost is about as big as the undertaking, the out-of-state developers say they are banking on Huntsville’s growth and say they’re ready to deliver a project geared towards advancing the downtown area.
Rutter said the growing tech and engineering industry around Huntsville has contributed to it being a hot spot for young professionals and people moving to the area.
“It’s one of the top five [cities] of new people coming in to reside,” Rutter said. “These are people coming from a bigger cities, and they have expectations based on where they’re transplanting from and they like being in a downtown of a city.”
“They’re young, they’re vibrant, they want to walk they want to have a lot of options to go to” he added.
The developers say while there will be a lot of residential space as part of the development, that it won’t be limited to just residents.
“We want to provide something that’s not just for people that live or work at Front Row, this is what we hope to be part of the social epicenter of Huntsville,” Shields said.
As of this week, initial site work is now underway. Heavy machinery and materials could be seen on the job site.
The work that’s happening now will set the stage for phase one. Developers say they expect retail space to be complete by the end of 2025, and the first apartments available by the start of 2026. They told News 19 that they expect the entirety of phase one to be complete by the “end of 2026.”
They say the planning for phase two is still in the works.
“We’re trying to listen to what the market needs, demands, and anticipates before finalizing our plans,” Shields said about phase two.
However, there is an idea about what it could include.
“We believe that phase two will include a large office component, more significant office tower, really sort of becoming the hallmark of Huntsville skyline,” Shields said.
The funding for the project is coming from the developers and their partners. However, a spokesperson for the City of Huntsville tells News 19 that the city is contributing “$18 million for infrastructure.”
A development project on the former Coca-Cola Bottling site has been on the radar for the City of Huntsville for about a decade. The property has previously been listed as a “key site” under the City’s master plan, and the Huntsville City Council voted to approve initial plans back in 2021.
With the news of construction officially starting, News 19 reached out to the City of Huntsville for a statement.
A spokesperson provided the following statement:
“Downtown Huntsville has benefited from a host of projects in recent years, and we’re fortunate to see continued interest in our central core. What’s exciting about the Front Row project is that it provides new quality-of-life opportunities through a true mixed-use development with office, retail, residential and hospitality. It’s a significant capital investment on the largest opportunity site in Downtown Huntsville and we look forward to its completion and contribution to the vitality of our community.” – City of Huntsville
After a decade of the lot sitting empty, developers say they are thrilled to see progress.
“It’s really exciting, it’s really seeing a dream come true,” Shields said.
Throughout the duration of the construction, people who live and travel to downtown Huntsville can expect to see the 11-acre lot change quite a bit. The developers also say that the section of Pollard Street that runs between Clinton Avenue and Holmes Avenue, will be taken out. They say a new road will be added that will run through the new development.