The 2008 Census Estimates for cities were released yesterday. In Alabama, the city that gained the most numerically was Huntsville, growing by about 5,000 people. Since 2000, Huntsville has grown by about 16,700 people. After Huntsville came Tuscaloosa with about 12,000. In terms of percentage growth, Calera (a Birmingham suburb) was tops with 211% since 2000, growing by about 7,000 people to around 10,000. After Calera came Vance (a Tuscaloosa suburb).

Other cities our region:

Decatur: A slow grower, Decatur has gained about 2,000 people since 2000, last year gaining about 500.  The growth rate has begun to increase slightly, so we’ll see where that takes us.  Sadly, Auburn surpassed Decatur to take the number 8 spot among the largest cities in the state.  Decatur now sits at # 9 with 56,068 people.

Athens: The third largest city in Huntsville’s metro area, Athens has been growing a good pace.  The city has grown by about 5,000 people since 2000, and about 1,000 in the past year.  The growth rate has definitely increased as the East Limestone region of the Valley has started to influence growth on the suburban parts of Athens.

Madison: Among the fastest growing cities in the state, it has gained nearly 10,000 people in the past 8 years.  It now stands at 38,714.

Somerville: Since 2000 Somerville has lost about 200 people.  Lately, however, the town has begun to gain again.  A good sign.  Current estimates show the population at 505.

Hartselle: The second largest city in Morgan County and the Decatur Metropolitan Area has continued with its steady growth.  A very slow grower for the first half of the decade, the city has slowly started to grow a little faster.  The city now stands at 13,888.

Eva: The second smallest city in Morgan County has continued its very slow growth.  It now stands at 587.

Falkville: Until 2005, the city was losing people.  However, the population has turned around.  The population has lost people since 2000, however, the city has gained 1 person in the past year.

Trinity: A fast grower for a city its size, it now stands at 1,976.

Moulton: A city with VERY spastic growth, Moulton has gained just 7 net citizens since 2000.  But, growth is growth, the city has gained about 10 in the past year.

Priceville: Priceville is still one of the fastest growing cities in the state. Since 2000, Priceville’s population has increased by about 1,100 people, or 70%.

Hmmmm, seems like someone might be reading my blog…

Daily article

Of course, that is kind of arrogant of me, but hey, it’s a big coincidence. Later today, I plan to post on some possible ideas, and good course of action for using the Delphi campus.

We have a good edition of the Decatur Daily today! Yay!

Anyways:

First, we have some sad news. Delphi will be closing soon. My mother worked there for years, so we’re all sad to see it go. Though, I think that some good can come out of this. Now that the building is going to be vacant, the area has some prime real estate. The robotics center is being built right next door, which I hope to visit to photograph soon and report on the progress, so you have to think that some company that utilizes that thing is gonna want somewhere nearby to use also. Those buildings are massive, and can support some big operations. While many people, including some family friends, have worked there, there is bound to be a hi tech company that is going to be looking at that place now. I imagine that it could happen quickly too.

Next, we move downtown. Peoples Bank of North Alabama will take up shop in the old AmSouth Building. This is some GREAT news. This building has had a lot of empty space ever since the Regions/AmSouth merger. This is good on many levels. Not only do we get another tenant downtown, we get more business and money flowing through downtown, more people in downtown spending money thus stimulating the downtown economy, and we get someone in there who might actually make the building look presentable.

The city of Decatur has been rumored to be interested in buying the building, that was built in the 80s. I don’t know why they would want to do this. Part of me wants to believe that they want it because it’s currently an eyesore and they wanna make it look better. But, of course, it is across the street from city hall, and they could need some extra office space. Maybe this could be part of the downtown revitalization? Maybe they’ll renovate it and put some street level retail in there, that would be really nice. Maybe it could be part of the downtown arts college. It could contain some extra classroom space. Though, that would be pretty difficult to work out. Either way, they better have a good reason for wanting to spend so much money on this thing. Anyways.

Next, we have Bradley Byrne talking to the Decatur Daily. Obviously, he was trying to score some points for his campaign for governor, but either way, it made me happy. He says that the downtown arts campus and things associated with the robotics park would be a high priority if he became governor. And really, I tend to believe that he would make it a priority. I think he is the right person we need to fix our education system, so it would make sense that he would want to show other schools in the state what can happen when two colleges work together to improve education. Also, one of his platforms is a focus on technology. I also believe that the robotics park would be a priority because, obviously, hi tech industry is the future of this state. Plus, the park is going to put the state on the map. I really believe him because we have a HUGE opportunity to be successful with this park. When companies get done utilizing this facility, they’ll want somewhere close by, and RIGHT THERE is the Delphi campus. It could easily be converted into a hi tech research park. The state already owns part of it, and I don’t think the guys in Montgomery would mind working something out with a hi tech company. Just sayin… I get giddy just thinking about it.

So, that’s pretty much it for today. Don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook! The link is below. Also, don’t forget about the forum!

Decatur Development Blog now has a fan page on Facebook: I stole an idea from the Huntsville Development News Blog and decided to create one. Hoping to get more readers in the future. Anyways, become a fan! I hope to update more often. But, without much news lately, there isn’t much to report.

Hey folks, I’m sorry for my absence. I recently had surgery on my jaw, so my motivation has been at an all time low. It was a structural problem, so don’t worry, I am fine.

There isn’t much to report. It seems like the low point of the economy is finally starting to reach Decatur, but not to worry, I think I’m seeing a few signs that it will be picking up locally soon. Sadly, I don’t think I really have the energy to get into those right now, but I will soon.

I’d also like to put out a request for any ideas to improve this blog. I’m sure all have some ideas about what I could do to make this blog better and more interesting. I’d like to expand the reaches of this thing so that we can make it read by more people, and maybe we can get people actually involved to the point where we can actually improve the Valley.

So, if you have any ideas, I urge you to comment, email me, or go to the forum and leave a post. If you need a link to the forum, I believe I have it listed under the “TeVa Nav” section. If you need my email, it should be listed under the contact me section.

Well, I didn’t know that it was off track, but anywho. Apparently, it’s on the track that no one know it was off of…?

OK, well, construction is expected to start soon, and should move pretty quickly since it’s only like a mile long.

Unforunately, Phase III beginning will probably be delayed because talk about the proposed tunnel under the beltline for Central Parkway is being brought up again. Of course, I like the idea, it reduces traffic confusion, but I don’t like the fact that it might delay the beginning of Phase III. Oh well, we’ll see.

In other news, the Huntsville area was rated as a region for quick recovery from the recession by Forbes. It was joined on the list by cities like Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Fayetteville, AR.

I’m sorry for my absence. There honestly has not been much going on in the city as far as development goes. There is a small shopping center going up at the corner of Central Parkway and 14th Street.

I’m also working on making a map of the city with various regions identified, just a little pet project or something. Also, I’m going to try to make a map of all the development going on.

So, I’ll post those links when I’m finished with them.

Yea, I couldn’t come up with a creative name for this post…

Anyways, anyone know what is going on at the corner of 14th Street and Central Parkway??? I know that there’s obviously a shopping center being built, per the sign out there. But, I never heard any mention of this in the paper or anything. Of course, I’m sure that if I had been reading the council meeting minutes, I’d know, but still…

Other stuff, the Jubilee is in town! I’m hoping that this isn’t a down year, because the city really needs a good tourism year to help make up some deficits that it’s facing.

There really isn’t anything else going on, so, I’ll let everyone go!

OH! We now have our THIRD member on the forum!!!!!! I know, it’s just three, but it’s better than just one or two! Anyways, we need more people to join it so that we can actually start having conversations on it, so it might become interesting! So, here’s the link to it! Go join!

LiveDecatur!!!! Forum

There was a lot of good news announced in the Decatur Daily today.

The city council unanimously approved the $800,000 requested by the colleges for the arts campus. The county of course also approved their portion a few days ago. The city donated the money, as well as the property, to the State Board of Education, for the campus.

An interesting note was made that Morgan County is the most populous county in the state that does not have an institution of higher education within its borders.

I’m really happy about this. Not only with this provide for improved access to education in the city, and economic development in downtown, but it will also keep some of the oldest buildings in downtown from being demolished.

Another development with this is that the two year college chancellor is planning to resign. What we saw last time this happened was another slow down on this project. They’re saying that the chancellor stepping down shouldn’t have any effect on the project. And, I’m praying that this is true…

We now have our first member! Other than myself, that is. I’m looking forward to more people joining so that we can all have more conversations about things going on in our town.