New retail ventures taking region to next economic level
Story by Carol Pappas Photos by Graham Hadley
It was kind of like dominos falling – only in a good way. One by one, ribbons were cut, doors opened, and shoppers rushed in. Pell City Square – 147,900 square feet of retail stores – had finally arrived.
Actually, it’s still arriving. The final openings – Hobby Lobby, Ulta and Pet Smart – were all expected to open by Oct. 9. The early birds signaling a new era for retail development for Pell City and St. Clair County were Ross Dress For Less, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, America’s Best Eye Care and Five Below, which opened in August and September.
Those brand-name retailers are expected to provide more than just a bonanza for shoppers here at home. The dollars they generate are expected to pump more than $25 million in gross taxable sales into the local economy in the first year. When the outparcels are developed, that $25 million is expected to turn into $30 million. And that’s “conservative,” said Pell City Manager Brian Muenger.
“It will have a very material impact,” Muenger said. “It takes our tax base to another level.” The city had been growing incrementally within its retail footprint in recent years, but Pell City Square enables the city to “capture dollars leaving as opposed to moving dollars around.”
OLD NAVY is stocked with merchandise and open for business
The property fronting Interstate 20 has four outparcels in addition to the outdoor mall. On the west side of the property are parcels controlled by the developer, Noon, and City of Pell City. The city-controlled parcel was “earmarked” for a national sit-down restaurant and the other for a fast casual restaurant. Both have tenants committed with announcements coming soon, and construction and completion are expected in 2024.
The parcels on the east side are controlled by the original developer, Bill Ellison, president of I-20 Development. “I’m really excited about the future development potential of the property,” he said in September. “I am waiting to market it until all the stores in the center are open.”
The Pell City Square represents the completion of a 10-year effort to redevelop the old county hospital site. “A large retail center with major brands missing from our community was always the vision for that site,” said St. Clair Economic Development Executive Director Don Smith. “But removing the old hospital, obtaining a purchase option on surrounding property, and finding a development team with the experience and resources to build it took time and patience.”
Because of Pell City’s size compared to other markets where these retailers locate, Smith described the years long efforts as a “bit of a challenge. Bill Ellison and Noon Development did a great job in showing that Pell City is much larger than just its population with the visitors to the lake and others living in the surrounding area.”
Officials say the project was one of the most complicated in the county’s history and required all involved to work in the same direction. But the dividends of teamwork are evident. “It has already started to attract the attention of other major retail brands that had turned down the market in the past,” Smith said.
Making progress on Hobby Lobby construction
Muenger agreed, saying, businesses recruited in 2015-2017 that declined to approve Pell City as a location are now approving sites quickly. “It demonstrates the growth in our market. People are seeing that we’re a natural hub of commerce between Anniston and Birmingham.”
“One of the things that set the leaders in St. Clair County above others is our ability to work together strategically on economic development projects,” Smith added. “The new retail center at Pell City Square and the QT travel center at the Eden exit are just another example.” The City of Pell City worked closely with the St. Clair County Commission and the developer from beginning to the end of the project to overcome infrastructure upgrades and other challenges. “It was a collaborative effort the entire time.”
Despite the challenges, Muenger noted, “It has been enjoyable to watch this project progress. It’s fun to see the reception the center is getting and bringing that space to life.”
For years, even decades, the Eden interchange of Interstate 20 has been like a blank canvas – a perfect place for commercial development but lacking in the infrastructure to make the picture complete.
There were many suitors over the years, but without sewer service, they turned away. But three years ago, Quik Trip, a Georgia-based travel center, eyed the property and secured an option.
There was still the hurdle of sewer service, but eventually a partnership among QT, City of Pell City and St. Clair County swung a deal that not only paved the way for the travel center but future development in that entire area.
The city joined with the county to leverage the investment by QT that would be scalable to other properties near the interchange – close to 200 acres. They built a lift station and made infrastructure improvements worth $1 million.
The investment should be well worth it, according to Pell City Manager Brian Muenger and St. Clair Economic Development Council Executive Director Don Smith.
“The Eden exit has always been an area of potential, but it lacked sewer service at that interstate interchange,” Smith said. “The executives at QT understood this and were willing to partner with the city and county to extend a sewer line over 1,000 feet and large enough to handle fully developing the interchange for the future.”
St. Clair EDC Executive Director Don Smith addresses the positive impact the development will have on future
So, what does that investment and partnership mean? “This opens up hundreds of acres for development in the future. QT’s motto, ‘More than a gas station,’ is exactly what this project means to that interchange.”
Muenger agreed. The entire area around it – 200 acres – is now ripe for development in both commercial and residential. As an example, Muenger called nearby Roberts Mill Pond Road area “ideal for higher density residential subdivision. It’s commutable. You can get to any company headquarters in Birmingham in 30 minutes. We continue to get looks as an exurb,” an area beyond suburbs where people can live and work.
“When you plant the seeds of future growth in infrastructure investments,” Muenger continued, short and long term goals of the city are all within reach. With the $10 million total investment already made, which includes QT, Eden is quickly moving up on the priority list for future development projects. Case in point: This is only the third or fourth QT venture into Alabama for this national brand travel center. And business tends to breed business.
While the U.S. 231 interchange is a major thoroughfare with massive development, having an appropriate travel stop at the Eden exit is “value added” for Pell city, Muenger said. “It’s consistent, it’s immaculate. They have great food and great coffee.” In addition to the hefty return from gasoline tax for a center that size that caters to trucks and passenger vehicles, “we’ll be capturing our share of that revenue.”
While it has been a few years in the making, Muenger said, “we are proud to have QT in Pell City. We knew it was a great fit for us.”
While much of the attention of late has centered on Pell City Square, the 100,000+ square foot retail center, officials see it not as an end to the story, but a new beginning.
It seems there is more good economic news on the horizon already. Mariott has broken ground on a $14 million hotel project just across I-20 next to Home Depot on Vaughan Lane. The 89-room venture is a higher end, medium stay hotel that can cater to business travelers.
It is a high-quality hotel with pool and other amenities, giving the city more capacity to market accommodations for events all around the region, not just in Pell City. Event venues like Talladega SuperSpeedway, Barber Motorsports, Lincoln’s Landing, Civilian Marksmanship Park and Top Trails will benefit from the increased capacity the hotel provides for travelers. And the lodging tax it generates only serves to strengthen Pell City coffers, enabling the city to reinvest in infrastructure, services and quality of life, according to Pell City Manager Brian Muenger.
None of the current economic shots in the arm happened overnight, officials are quick to say. Plenty of needs identification, planning and goal setting preceded the series of announcements made in recent months.
The city identified the “biggest gaps” in its retail and restaurant landscape and set out to fill them, Muenger said. Because of the comprehensive planning effort, “All the things we said we wanted, we’re on track to do.”
Crawford-Skinner Agency retains its Best Practices status, once again becoming a part of an elite group of independent insurance agencies around the United States. This status comes by participating in the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) Best Practices Study group. The annual survey and Study of leading independent insurance agencies documents the business practices of the “best” agencies and urges others to adopt similar practices.
“Crawford-Skinner Agency is proud to be recognized again as one of the best agencies in the business,” says Brian Skinner, Crawford-Skinner Agency president. “Since my grandfather founded the agency in 1944, we have consistently provided the best possible service to our clients. We look forward to continuing our legacy of service for years to come.”
The Crawford-Skinner Agency was founded in 1944 and can offer insurance products from a number of different companies including Auto Owners, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, and many more.
Since 1993, the Big “I” and Reagan Consulting, an Atlanta-based management consulting firm, have joined forces to study the country’s leading agencies in six revenue categories. The agencies comprising the study groups are selected every third year through a comprehensive nomination and qualifying process and awarded a “Best Practices Agency” designation.
The agency was nominated by either an IIABA affiliated state association or an insurance company and qualified based on its operational excellence.
The selected Best Practices agencies retain their status during the three-year cycle by submitting extensive financial and operational data for review each year. This is the second year of the current three-year study cycle, where over 2,600 independent agencies throughout the U.S. were nominated to take part in the annual study in 2022, but only 287 agencies qualified for the honor.
To be chosen, the agency had to be among the 35-45 top-performing agencies in one of six revenue categories.
Editor’s Note: Founded in 1896, the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing more than 25,000 agency locations united under the Trusted Choice brand. Trusted Choice independent agents offer consumers all types of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products—from a variety of insurance companies.
Take a look around Pell City, and chances are the good works you see in just about every corner result from people serving others for a greater good. In these parts, they call them Rotarians, where the principle, “service above self,” guides their actions.
See for yourself.
A nurse, a doctor and staff now tend to patients at a community clinic, a scene unaffordable for so many and non-existent just a few years ago.
A food pantry is well-stocked, giving those in need an opportunity to feed their families during hard times.
An adult learns to read for the first time through a literacy program, and high school students are learning to help one another cope with depression and suicide through creative, powerful podcasts.
Meals are delivered to first responders on the job as a thank you for jobs well done.
A museum opens, capturing the oral histories of the city’s citizens before their voices are lost to subsequent generations.
The list is long. The needs are longer. That’s why Pell City Rotary Club dedicates its efforts to serving the community year after year, acts that have been ongoing since 1974 when a group of business leaders founded the club with only 25 members.
Today, membership has more than tripled, and the growth continues. So does their service.
Tennis tournament a fun event for all ages
In many instances, Rotarians roll up their sleeves and go to work, volunteering for a variety of causes – building a playground, stocking the shelves at the food pantry, helping with local festivals or donating a pint of blood.
They also serve by raising funds for thousands of dollars in grants designed to make the community a better place. Those grants are funded by three major fundraisers and an endowment begun by a Rotarian who envisioned the club’s potential impact.
The Father-Daughter Dance headed by Rotarians of the Year, Blair Goodgame and Meg Clements, is a source of tremendous pride and anticipation throughout the city. Little girls spend quality time with their ‘dates’ – their daddies – for a magical evening. And the smiles seen throughout are memories that last a lifetime.
The Pell City Rotary Charity Golf Tournament Ray Cox Memorial, now in its 43rd year, is a coming together of golfers, sponsors and Rotarians to raise much needed funds for worthwhile causes throughout the city.
And the tennis tournament each October operates much the same way – bringing players, sponsors and Rotarians together to provide strong foundations upon which worthy projects are built across Pell City’s landscape.
Rotary’s newest community effort to promote Rotary and to involve the entire family to prepare the Christmas season is the Pell City Rotary Club Family Fun 5K Run fundraiser to benefit the newly reopened Sherrif’s Boys Ranch. The run will be held at Lakeside Park in December 2023.
The run event is yet another example of seeing a need and finding a way to fill it.
While Rotary Club of Pell City is like a melting pot of men and women who hail from different backgrounds, careers and cultures, they make good things happen throughout the city because of their common desire to serve others.
“We cannot say enough about the financial support our community lends to our efforts,” said Rotary President Serge Brazzolotto. “Because they give, we can give. And when we invest in projects throughout our city, whether it’s volunteering or providing funding, the quality of life is enhanced and our community becomes a better place to live, work and raise a family.”
Just take a look around, and you’ll see just how Rotary, working together with the community it serves, fulfills that guiding principle year after year.
Ashville Library celebrating five decades of service
Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Richard Rybka
When you consider what a public library has to offer residents, the most obvious answer is books.
If, however, you ask Paula Ballard and Gail Walker what the library in Ashville offers their community, they give a completely different answer. The most vital gift it provides, they say, is connection.
The McCain Memorial Public Library in Ashville, formerly known as the Ashville Public Library, turned 50 last month, and Ballard and Walker were among the many who celebrated its five decades of connecting patrons to information, book lovers to adventure and people to people.
“The town of Ashville is surrounded by rural communities, and people do come here to make connections,” said Walker, who lives in Shoal Creek Valley and is on the library’s board of directors.
Children’s reading area
Ballard, who has served as the library’s director for nine years and is only the ninth librarian in its 50-year history, said it’s not unusual for older residents to spend time in the library visiting with each other. “For some, it may be the only time they see other people that day,” she said. Ballard loves watching young mothers connect with each other while their children become friends during story time and other activities.
The library, one of seven in St. Clair County, moved to a new and larger location last year and offers nearly 18,000 items for circulation. In addition to books, there are DVDs, magazines, audiobooks, board games and learning tablets for children. They offer programming for adults as well as children, and many residents who don’t have access to a computer or who have spotty Internet service make use of the facility’s computer stations.
“We fill a lot of needs, so we’re more than just books,” Ballard said, adding that she provides computer assistance every day. “You can’t walk in and apply for a job on paper anymore; you’ve got to do it online. We scan, make copies and fax so people don’t have to drive to Gadsden or Birmingham. We have DVDs because not everyone has reliable streaming. We have people who sit in the parking lot to use Wi-Fi even when we’re closed.”
The first chapter
Although those who worked so hard to make the town’s library a reality in 1973 couldn’t have known the many ways the library would change lives in 2023, chances are good they would be pleased with the impact it makes. After all, their goal from the very beginning was to “improve the environment of our town.”
Members of the Ashville Garden Club got the ball rolling in the summer of 1972, according to a narrative written by Mattie Lou Teague Crow, who served as the Garden Club’s Environmental Improvement Program chair at the time and later became the first librarian. Ballard discovered the narrative in an old scrapbook during last year’s move.
Until then, the “library” consisted of several shelves of books provided by the Alabama Public Library Services, and they were housed in the Town Hall. One employee worked one afternoon a week, checking out books and writing overdue notices. The town clerk was responsible for the books the rest of the time.
“The collection had grown and was crowding the town’s office space,” Crow wrote. “The Garden Club had enjoyed a rewarding experience with our House Pilgrimage in 1972. Our bank account reached an all time high, and we were searching for a worthwhile activity.”
After meeting with the mayor and Town Council, it was eventually determined that the library could be housed in the previous Town Hall building, which had been empty for several years. Before it was over with, members of the community joined forces to make the project a success, and in a bit of foreshadowing, they built connections while they worked together.
According to Crow’s narrative, the town purchased two library tables, a desk, typewriter and filing cabinet, and the Garden Club members “reworked an old desk and chairs given by one of the schools.” They also provided new shelving, magazine racks and a card catalog cabinet. Local civic clubs bought sets of encyclopedias, and the mother of a soldier (James Robert Heard, Jr.) who was killed in Vietnam, donated the flag that was draped on his casket. In addition, local artists displayed their works at the library.
“By the time we were ready for our Open House, the entire town had become involved in our project,” Crow wrote.
Move-in day was Sept. 1, 1973. “The place had been made lovely with soft green walls, wall to wall carpet, new lighting and year-round air conditioning,” Crow added. “In a few days, all was in apple-pie order and the public began using the new library.”
Happily ever after
While that first library served Ashville well for decades, history has a way of repeating itself. In recent years, the library had begun to outgrow its space, parking was limited on the downtown square, and the city owned a building on US 231 that had been empty for a few years.
In addition to city funding, a generous donation from David and Louisa McCain, made in honor of the four generations of McCains who have called Ashville home since 1878, helped bring the project to fruition. The McCain Memorial Public Library opened in April 2022.
In addition to an ever-growing collection of books for adults, teens and children, there are study rooms and a computer lab. A grant from the Alabama Public Library Service, made possible by the Library Services and Technology Act, will allow the library to soon have six new computers for public use, a new staff computer, catalog station, and an iPad station for the children’s area.
Programming has grown, as well, with the library’s multi-purpose room. Larger events, like the annual Father-Daughter Dance fundraiser, are held offsite but having a dedicated space for programs has opened up a world of possibilities, Ballard said.
For adults, there’s a Book Club and weekly exercise classes. A group meets to crochet together twice a month, and adults and teens have enjoyed events like Harry Potter Trivia Night, ceramics classes, a beekeeping program, henna tattoo class and a hair tinsel tutorial.
In addition to weekly story time on Tuesdays at 10:30, children enjoy the summer reading program, which continues to grow in popularity. During the summer, kids enjoyed a variety of activities, including science demonstrations offered by the McWane Center, a visit from a llama, a rock painting activity and reading to dogs as part of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society’s Reading Buddies program. A monthly Lego Club is a big hit, and students’ creations are displayed each month between meetings.
“We’re proud of our new facility and what it enables us to do,” Ballard said. “We wanted this space to be inviting and cozy but look new and fresh. You want people to leave happy and wanting to come back.
Walker and Ballard, both avid readers, hope that children visiting the library today develop the same love for books they’ve enjoyed.
“I’ve always loved books,” Walker said. “My sister and I would each check out the maximum number of books, and then we’d share. It always opened up our imaginations. I think a love of reading is the single most important thing a child can have to be successful. If you can read, you can do anything.”
Ballard’s mother, Susan Kell, was the librarian at Ashville Elementary School for years, so reading has always been a part of her life. “I remember coming to the library all the time in the summers,” she said, adding that she feels fortunate that reading a wide variety of genres is now part of her job. “I read everything from young adult fantasy to psychological thrillers to romantic comedies.”
Knowing that Ballard is now guiding a new generation of readers would likely make Crow – Ballard’s great-aunt – proud. In fact, the words Crow wrote in 1973 still reflect the impact the library continues to have on the community she loved so much.
“Without a doubt, the library has improved the environment of this whole community,” Crow penned. “First it has furnished reading materials for inspiration and information and entertainment to people in every walk of life. It has brought civic groups together in greater harmony and cooperation. It has become one of the leading institutions for our small town, and our citizens are appreciative of the services.”
