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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.