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Downtown Real Estate & Development News


Downtown has two development projects and two openings to celebrate.   The Firehouse Wine Bar & Shop opened April 25, and The Noble South opened May 8.  Please read on to learn more about these venues and help welcome them to Downtown by supporting these newest establishments.  Additionally, we are proud to help Heroes celebrate ten years of patio dining in Downtown Mobile.  Finally, two exciting development projects have been announced in the last month after developers' requests for variances received approval.  WKRG has reported on both of these developments, so read on to learn more about these proposed projects. 
In This Issue
Firehouse Wine Bar & Shop Now Open
The Noble South Now Open
10 Years of Heroes' Deck
Hilton Garden Inn in Development Pipeline
Possible New Apartment Development in Downtown
Downtown Office Market Report Released
Firehouse Wine Bar & Shop Now Open
Firehouse Wine Bar & Shop is now open
When husband and wife Margo Alderton and Andre Lotz first visited Downtown Mobile, they fell in love with the hospitality, culture, style, architecture and the development opportunities.  They were so impressed that they left the New York City metropolitan region, and relocated to Downtown Mobile to enjoy the warmth and the water. 

Margo left the marketing and public relations business, and Andre left the construction industry, but they did not retire.  They are putting their talents to new use developing the Firehouse Wine Bar & Shop. 

The Firehouse Wine Bar & Shop is located at 216 St. Francis Street near the northwest corner of Bienville Square, and was once an actual fire station.  Since Margo and Andre purchased the building, they have made the second floor an urban living space and the ground floor a hip wine bar and retail shop.  The couple have created both the wine bar and retail space for a reason.  They wanted a retail shop to serve the downtown residential community, but they also wanted an outlet where downtown's 20,000 daytime workers could pick up a bottle or two of wine.  Additionally, they wanted to be able to sell wine by the glass and introduce wine from other regions.

Husband and co-owner Andre Lotz is from the Cape Town area of South Africa.  This is important because a focus of Firehouse will be wines from the Southern Hemisphere.  Firehouse will emphasize wines from Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Australia and especially South Africa.  Customers will have an opportunity to taste the varieties from these newer regions.  These tastings offer a fun way to expand one's knowledge as well as to taste these great new wines.  However, there will be classics for nearly every taste bud, too. 

Firehouse Wine Bar & Shop opened Friday, April 25.  Firehouse will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM.  Margo and Andre can be reached at Firehouse by calling (251) 421-2022 or by emailing firehousewinebar@yahoo.com.  Finally, for more information or to stay current, please visit https://www.facebook.com/FirehouseWineBar
Noble South is Now Open
The Noble South, 203 Dauphin Street opened to the public Thursday, May 8 at 5:00 PM

Downtown Mobile's newest dining option, The Noble South, opened Thursday, May 8 at 5:00 PM.  Be sure to try this new arrival to the downtown restaurant scene.  The restaurant, which specializes in all things Southern, will be another great addition to the Downtown Dining District, which has over 30 restaurants in a one-mile radius.  For more information visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheNobleSouthMobileAL.
10 Years of Heroes' Street Dining
Before and After of Heroes Sports Bar and Grille

In 2004, David Rasp, owner of Heroes Sports Bar and Grille, made a pretty creative decision to pursue patio dining in Downtown Mobile.  Now it is hard to recognize the place in the photos before the iconic seating was installed. 

Patio dining is an important aspect of placemaking and building an environment where people want to dine.  Would you rather dine along an interstate or in a hip place where you can see friends and family?  The answer should be a no brainer.

So, congratulations to David Rasp.  David has just renovated the deck in order to mark the anniversary of this great accomplishment and nice addition to Downtown Mobile. 
Hilton Garden Inn Development in Planning Stages 
Hotel Development in the Planning Stages on former Cawthon Hotel site on Bienville Square

Downtown Mobile is the cultural and convention hub of the region.  Our 300-year-old downtown hosts a large number of conventions, tourists from all over the world, and families celebrating special events
,such as weddings. 

A new hotel development may be in the works.  The City of Planning Commission approved a minor variance in access regulations that was needed for the project to continue moving forward. 

WKRG reported on the development recently, and Peter Albrecht's story can be seen here:  http://www.wkrg.com/story/25206920/new-hotel-planned-for-bienville-square.

Possible Apartment Conversion for the Former Press-Register Building 
Developers are putting together an apartment project for the former Press Register Building on Government Street
A downtown's vibrancy is directly proportional to the number of people living in that downtown neighborhood.  Additionally, to sustain the diverse retail options many of us would like to see in Downtown Mobile, we need the critical mass that apartments help provide. 

We may soon see a new multi-family development.  Developers have tied up Adams Motor Court building, also known as the Press-Register building, and hope to restore the building by developing 47 apartments in the core of Downtown. 

WKRG reported on the project in April and Ashley Knight's story can be seen here:  http://www.wkrg.com/story/25286491/apartments-may-be-slotted-for-downtown-bldg.

Downtown Mobile Alliance's 2013 Office Market Report Publicized 
The Retirement Systems of Alabama is renovating the 60,000 SF Van Antwerp Building
The Downtown Mobile Alliance tracks the largest multi-tenant office buildings to gauge the Downtown office market as a barometer of Downtown's health. We have compiled the 2013 year end figures and assembled the report. Please refer to the link below for the full report. If you have any questions or comments, please contact the Downtown Mobile Alliance by telephone at (251) 434-8498.

To review the report it can be found on our website or by clicking here:  http://www.downtownmobile.org/downtown-news.php?detail=376.

There has never been a better time to visit or do business downtown.  For more information on real estate or business opportunities, call me at the Downtown Mobile Alliance. 

Sincerely,

Fred Rendfrey
Downtown Mobile Alliance
www.downtownmobile.org
fred@downtownmobile.org
(251) 434-8498 office
(251) 533-5017 cell