Emphasis on ‘good growth’
Story by Linda Long
Photos by Graham Hadley
“Growing like gangbusters!” That’s how Springville Mayor Dave Thomas describes what’s going on in his town.
To those who think of Springville as the quintessential small, quaint, Southern town with sidewalks and antique shops lining Main Street, that might seem a contradictory remark. But to quote Bob Dylan, “the times, they are a-changin.”
“The antiques have given way to boutiques,” said Thomas. “A portion of our population wants Springville to never change, but I’m afraid that’s not reality. We’re going to continue to grow. So, the best we can do is to properly plan and manage the growth. We just need to do what it is we want to do and can do with our community, and what we don’t want to do is just as important,” he said.
“It’s quite a juggling act. Sometimes, it feels like your juggling chain saws,” Thomas said with a laugh.
Don Smith, executive director of the St. Clair County Economic Development Council, understands the mayor’s challenge. “Springville is not the largest city in St. Clair County, but that’s not their goal. Springville is focused on quality over quantity. It may mean they grow slower, but the growth they have brings tremendous value to the community.”
While Springville is not the largest of all the municipalities in St. Clair County, it does have the highest median household income in the county of almost $84,000, and the homes are probably among the most expensive.
“Their median household income is the same as Homewood even though Homewood is about five times larger,” Smith noted.
Calling it Springville’s vision for its community, Smith said, “they have always put their money and their efforts toward supporting small business and focusing on quality of life, safety and supporting their schools. Folks that live there in Springville take tremendous pride in making their community the best it can be,” Smith asserted, “and they are well on their way.”
“Personally, I think Springville is a hidden jewel in the region,” said Nikkie Posey, president of the Springville Chamber of Commerce. “As a community, it is very welcoming, and there are affordable options for shopping, living and visiting here. There is a great vibe in the city right now for small business with a lot of community following, which is one reason I opened my business downtown in Springville and got so involved with the Chamber.”
Posey, owner of Pinkhill Organics said she named her shop for the town’s original name, Pinkhill. “Nobody knows where the name came from,” said Posey. Because of many other businesses already using the word spring in their names, she opted for something different.
“So, I did some research and discovered Pinkhill and just ran with it,” she said. “Springville is becoming a place to come to stay, shop, to live,” said Posey. “People want that small-town feel that, as a community, we feel we have. As a community, that is something we want to maintain. We want to have good growth – controlled growth – without losing that small, hometown feel.”
According to Smith, in looking at new businesses or projects for Springville, “we always want a good fit. Many times, projects by residential developers have been turned away because they didn’t want to build the quality development that city officials wanted.”
The mayor remembers one such proposed development. “This young man, actually homegrown, wanted to do something in his community. He wanted to build, in his words, ‘high density, affordable housing.’ These would be on tiny lots just packed. I told him your business is not mine. My business is what’s good in Springville.”
Continuing, Thomas said, “I like to see opportunities available to locals, not just corporate chains, big box stores, and developers who are interested in nothing more than making their money and moving on to the next project.”
One project it seems almost everyone can agree is good for Springville is the Forever Wild Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve set to open just north of town. According to Smith, the preserve “checks all the boxes on what is a good fit for Springville. It will have walking trails, biking trails, horseback riding, kayaking and canoeing in Big Canoe Creek and will allow people in Springville and outside the area to come and enjoy outdoor activities.
According to Thomas, a lot of folks in Springville are concerned at how neighboring Trussville has, in his words, “continued to explode” in growth over the years with strip malls and more and more subdivisions.
“Now, I’m not knocking Trussville,” he said, “but we don’t want to be them. We want to continue to be Springville. Of course, we’d like to get more storefronts filled, and we’re working on that. Things are happening in that regard.”
He points with pride to a new restaurant similar to Vestavia’s successful Backyard Market that will be opening, as well as a new bottling operation. “It’s from the same folks who bottled the water at Blount Springs. Now they’ll be doing the same thing with Springville water,” said Thomas.
He said the group already has a contract with Publix to develop local label products to put on their shelves. “They’ll be using Springville’s finest bottled water as a marketing hook.”
Promoting small business throughout St. Clair County falls to EDC Retail and Marketing Specialist Candice Hill. Toward that goal, Hill is working with chambers of commerce with what she calls Relevant Roundtables.
“We hold these every quarter as a way to touch small businesses and provide educational opportunities,” she explained. The meetings cover topics like social media and accounting practices among others. Hill said the resource is for all small business whether they are continuing to grow or just starting up.
Remembering back to when he first moved to Springville some 30 years ago, Thomas said, “Springville was lined with antique stores. The town had a Norman Rockwell-esque feel to it. Well, the antique stores are mostly gone, but what makes downtown appealing hasn’t changed. It hasn’t gone anywhere. The essence is still here. Everybody shares the same sentiment. Springville really is exceptional.”
The Depot construction begins
Another sign of Springville growth
Story by Linda Long
Photos by Graham Hadley and submitted
There’s yet another sign of ‘good growth’ in Springville these days. The Depot, a facility now under construction in Springville, gives new meaning to the term multi-use. The first two phases of the 60,000-square-foot project on 20.43 acres on U.S. 11 will open next fall. The complex is planning space for just about everything – from physical fitness and education to arts and worship.
Mike Ennis, pastor at Faith Community Fellowship Springville Campus, says the project has been under way for the past four years. “It started with the opening of our church campus here in Springville and realizing the community was very centered around athletics. It was birthed out of some of the challenges facing Alabama.”
Because Alabama ranks low nationally in economics and health, “We felt like rather than building a church, we’d rather build a community center. Something the entire community could use. Something that would hopefully improve both the economics and health of our community and provide athletic opportunities.
Explaining that the center is “not just for young people and not just people who are a part of our church, we really wanted to build something that would serve the community at large. That’s been the driving factor behind it from the beginning.”
The Depot includes a community café and catering kitchen, multipurpose areas, conference rooms, coworking spaces, a teen center and independent living.
The center also includes an auditorium which the church will use, Ennis says, but his church won’t own the building. It will be a tenant. “We realized to make a decent impact and provide the most opportunity, we needed to hand it off to a property management group,” he said.
Surgance, Inc., 501(c)(3) nonprofit group, is overseeing and managing the project.
Ennis, who served on Springville’s strategic planning committee, said the committee decided Springville needed a facility like this one, which will include two auditoriums, banquet and meeting rooms, school grades K-8 and a preschool called Esteem Academy. Surgance is also partnering with the St. Clair County Board of Education, providing space for its virtual academy.
Representatives of regional, state and national organizations have been involved with the childcare and education committees to help with planning. It will include early childhood education, virtual school, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) Academy.
“There’s really nothing like it on this end of the county,” said Ennis. “We’re hoping to reach out to Springville and beyond. We’ve had a super positive response from everybody we talk to. I think there’s a real need for something like this.”
Phase I of the project is a 10,000-square-foot building, which is expected to be completed by June 2022.
