Putting the "Arts" In Arts & Entertainment

In roundabout news, contrary to what's been published in the TimesDaily, the Sweetwater Arts & Entertainment District has not been "shelved." We understand no one has used such a word, but that didn't stop Robert Palmer from reporting it.

No, the roundabout should be approved after the first of next year, and the city will then pony up what money is required to go with the ALDOT funding. Then...

Then we'll report when we have more. We have learned that the arts part of the district is to make sure it's not flooded with dollar stores. We assume payday lending stores and tattoo shops are included in the ban. We can look forward to art galleries and schools. Looking forward being the operative expression in that sentence. We even understand there may be no open containers, just on-premise consumption. 

We still have readers laughing in anticipation of the roundabout. Well, maybe some are doing more shuddering than laughing. It should be interesting to say the least...

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Know an organization providing free Thanksgiving dinners to those in need, those shut in, or those who are working that day? Send us the info and we'll publish a list. Thanks to all who provide these holiday meals!

A Roundabout Way to Say "Drinking District?"

One of our regular readers suggested the city of Florence was dragging its feet on the Sweetwater Arts & Entertainment District. Does Florence give precedence to the downtown area over North Florence or East Florence? At least North Florence has a business association; as far as we know, East Florence does not. North Florence recently produced its annual art crawl with pop up food shops, bands, and somewhat controversial tee-shirts. It was a booming success. What has East Florence recently done?

The city itself has purchased land for more parking spaces and is in the (attempted) process of installing a new roundabout. Many don't think the latter is progress, but more on that later.

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Another reader asked: Why don't they just say drinking district? Is anything else changed other than the suspension of open container laws?

As far as we know, the answer is no. The downtown is referred to as the "Downtown Entertainment District," while East Florence is referred to as the "Sweetwater Arts & Entertainment District." What the "Arts" in the title refers to, we have no concrete idea. Perhaps our regular zoning guru will contact us?

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The roundabout? It's temporarily on hold, and we will discuss it tomorrow along with ALDOT's role in the delay. Yes, the same ALDOT the city flauted when it installed the purple street signs.

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What's the Status of Sweetwater District?

It's officially called the Sweetwater Arts & Entertainment District, and we usually receive about two questions a month concerning its status. For those of you who speak legalese, here's the official plan for the SAED:

Sweetwater Redevelopment Area Brownfield Assessment Grant Work Plan

The plan was scheduled for 99% completion by October 2011. Below are the results and status of the area garnered from several sources:

1. The Sweetwater area comes up short on parking to be used for an entertainment district. We're going to guess that any improvements in this area of Royal Avenue/Huntsville Road will have to be made by property owners themselves.

Former Site of Sweetwater Mill

2. At least two properties in the area are being touted by the City of Florence as "shovel ready." One is the old Foundry site. The city refused Richards' Metal Plating a license to move its business there and is seeking a greener operation on this very prominent corner. It wants a similar business to locate on the site of the old Cherry/Sweetwater Cotton Mill, diagonally across from the Richards property. How long this will take is anyone's guess, and in the interim both properties have been referred to as eyesores.

3. There's also been much recent speculation concerning the old Brandon School property a few blocks to the east of the above referenced corner. Located at the corner of Cole Avenue and Ironside Street, this 13,000 sq.ft. edifice is owned by New Vision Church. The name may sound new age, but it's part of the United Methodist Conference. As of December 31st of last year, several tenants in the building moved out, ostensibly to avoid increased rent. Officers of New Vision blamed the rent increase on their almost 9K a month utility bill, but there has been speculation that the church has never lived up to its master plan and may be in the process of selling the property. 

4. That brings us to speculation on who might purchase the Brandon property. It's currently not zoned for retail or industry. It does sit in a neighborhood of small houses that could be easily torn down. Who in this area is infamous for buying and tearing down older homes? Two institutions come to mind, but only one stands out as possibly being interested in property this easily accessible to Colbert County residents.

If any readers have updates or other new information on the Sweetwater Arts & Entertainment District, we welcome them. This area has been underutilized for too long.

Shoalanda