Construction is such a constant at Auburn University, it should be no surprise that two new projects started this week when the campus is practically empty.

John Mouton, senior adviser to the president, said two hot water outages had to be planned during the winter break because they could not be done while the campus was full of students, faculty and staff.

In order to replace a section of underground piping on the north side of Tichenor Hall that is under stress, the hot water for 16 buildings, including the Haley and Shelby centers, Lowder and Ross, was shut off all this week. Mouton said they had to advise faculty and staff in those buildings to wear warm clothes to work because the outage also meant no heat.

“This is really the one time of year we have to do this kind of work,” he said.

It’s also the perfect time of year to shut down half of the guest rooms at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center for renovation. Managing Director Hans Van Der Reijden said the planning process had to start some time ago in order to ensure no more than half the hotel was available between Dec. 18 and early April. Those months are typically slower for the hotel and the completion date is well before May graduation and the first Camp War Eagle session.

The second outage is not scheduled yet, but will occur before students come back Jan. 8. Mouton said it is necessary to repair a pipe section near Broun Hall. If the hot water valves hold, it will only affect Broun; however, if the valves do not hold, then the same 16 buildings involved in this week’s outage will be affected again. This project should only take three days once it is scheduled.

Mouton said the construction season at AU slows down a little at this time of year because of deer season and the Christmas holiday, but it continues nonetheless.

The Shelby Center for Engineering Technology project has reached “substantial completion,” which means the building is ready to be occupied for its intended use. There is some minor work left to finish, but Mouton said it’s not affected by people.

It will likely take until the end of January to finish moving all the furniture in, Mouton said. The engineering dean moved into his office this week, but he anticipates more people will follow after the first of the year and most will be in by the end of February. Classes could be held inside the new building during the spring semester, but Mouton thinks summer would be the earliest.

The project to create a new student center next to the Haley Center is moving along fine, Mouton said. It won’t be completed until next summer, but he did say the interior finish work is in progress while the outside is completed.

Mouton said the contractor for the new student housing project on the west side of campus, White-Spunner Construction of Mobile, might mobilize before the first of the year, but he doesn’t expect it. The new halls won’t be available until fall of 2009.

In their last meeting of 2007, the Auburn Planning Commission approved two annexations of more than 716 acres into the city limits, plat approvals for a five-lot subdivision, and conditional uses for a Goo Goo Car Wash and a Wendy’s fast food restaurant with a drive through.

With a mid-January opening of Sam’s Club, a series of conditional uses for new businesses were considered for the nearby island of property bordered by East Glenn Avenue, Hilton Garden Drive and Bent Creek Road.

Access and cross access within that island of property was discussed by the Auburn Planning Commission during their regular meeting Thursday.

Discussion included proposed access from East Glenn Avenue for a fast-food restaurant, cross access to a land-locked piece of property at the corner of East Glenn Avenue and Bent Creek Road and access to and through another Goo Goo Car Wash.

The members approved:

• A road service use for a car wash (Goo Goo Car Wash), on Bent Creek Road north of the existing Waffle House,
• A road service use for a fast-food restaurant with a drive through (Wendy’s), on the south side of the intersection of Hilton Garden Drive and East Glenn Avenue with entrances from both public streets.
• Preliminary and final plat approvals for a 10.69-acre, five-lot conventional subdivision for commercial development, the Bent Creek Commercial Park, for property along East Glenn Avenue, Hilton Garden Drive and Bent Creek Road.

For a look at maps of the proposed developments, check out the planning packet and agenda online at http://www.auburnalabama.org.

Other Business:

One of five parcels involved in an expired “Memorandum of Understanding” between the city of Auburn and West Pace LLC was approved for annexation into the city limits.

The approximately 36.46-acre property, Lot B-1, is an administrative subdivision of the Tommy Pace Subdivision, redivision of Parcel B.

A second annexation of 679.7 acres by Saugahatchee Lands LLC along Lee Road 081 and west of Camden Ridge was approved by planning commission members at the request of JA Conner Jr. The property, the Samford Hills Annexation, is comprised of two parcels with Saugahatchee Creek at the southern boundary.

The Donahue Ridge LLC application for rezoning from a Rural (R) zoning that has not been approved by the Auburn City Council was approved for a recommendation to city council to consider changing that pending zoning to Development District Housing (DDH).

The Donahue Ridge involves 13.61 acres of a total of 47.87 acres of vacant land, and is located off of North Donahue Drive, east of Camden Ridge Subdivision and south of West Farmville Road.

The commission approved a conditional use for a road service use (equipment rental/sales) at the old location of the Jubilee Junction behind the Hampton Inn off of South College Street.

Members granted a preliminary plat approval to Cleveland Brothers Inc. for a 55-lot performance residential subdivision, The Summit, Phase 3, in a Planned Development District (PDD) with a Limited Development District (LDD) underlying located south of Shell Toomer Parkway and east of Mill Creek Road. A waiver to the design speed of a street there was approved from 35 mph to 25 mph.

The hallways of Auburn High School were bustling Tuesday night, not with students, but with parents gathering to talk about the disappointment of having to tell their young children that they will be attending new schools next year.

The Auburn City Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a rezoning plan that would move students from the system’s five existing elementary schools to create a student body for the new Richland Elementary School for next year. Construction of the new school is expected to be completed in February, according to Auburn Superintendent Dr. Terry Jenkins.

In order to receive state funding next year, Richland Elementary needs a student body of 263 students.  After rezoning, Richland is expected to have 287 students.

Now that the vote is over, both the board and the parents are moving on to the next step.  For parents, that means figuring out how to make the change work.

“I will have two kids on both sides of town now,” said Brian Mitchell, a resident of the Mill Creek subdivision.

His daughter is one of 34 students in the subdivision that attend Ogletree Elementary.  Next year, the students will move to Richland.

“(My daughter) wants to stay at Ogletree obviously,” he said.
Mitchell said his family bought their home in Mill Creek because they wanted their children to attend Ogletree.  His other child attends daycare closer to home, which will create problems in their routine next year.

One bright side, Mitchell said, is that his daughter won’t go through the change alone.

“The good news is the subdivision isn’t divided,” he said.
David Olive, a resident of Hamilton Hills, isn’t seeing much of a bright side to his daughter’s situation and said the fourth-grader was very upset to find out that she might be leaving Ogletree Elementary to move to Dean Road Elementary.

“As expected, my daughter burst into tears because she was looking forward to graduating from Ogletree,” he said.

During rezoning discussions, the board stressed the importance of maintaining a balance in the percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunches at each school.
But Olive said he sees such moves as unnecessary.

He says his biggest concern is his daughter’s comfort. He told her that she could choose to attend Dean Road Elementary or be home-schooled.

“It would be easier if she went to (Richland) where everyone was equally new,” he said, “Now she’s going where people are already established.”

Parents also voiced concerns about safety, traffic problems and fears of declining property values.

Jenkins told parents that a turning lane is going to be built next to Richland Elementary and that he is ready to push for a red light to be put in place as well.

As far as traffic problems, Jenkins told parents about alternate routes that would avoid South College street.

He said the rezoning would have no impact on property value, citing growth after a similar rezoning in the 1990’s as an example.

Jenkins told the board that the next step will be staffing Richland Elementary with a principal and a mix of new and experienced teachers.

He said he expects the building to be ready in time for an open house in the spring when students and parents will have a chance to check out the new building and meet their teachers.
Jenkins said the comfort of students is very important and if there was a way to make everyone happy, he would have done it.

“You really truly wish you can draw a map that everybody would be happy with, but that’s just not possible,” he said.

If you have been hankering for a slab of cheese that’s been aged in a cave in Switzerland for at least 10 years - your wait is almost over.

Earth Fare Market and Cafe is bringing its organic and natural foods, and sustainably-produced products to Auburn. The Asheville, N.C.-based company is slated to open a new store in September 2008 at the former Food World location on Opelika Road.

“A lot of times we do look for old, empty supermarkets,” Earth Fare Director of Sales and Marketing Troy DeGroff said, noting that the cost to retrofit older stores can be as expensive as building from scratch. “There is something about going into an old supermarket - and recycling that supermarket - that’s in line with our company mission.

“Our whole business is based on sustainability,” he said.
Earth Fare promotes fair trade, sustainability and environmental responsibility through the products it sells in its stores that include: organic produce, gourmet foods, meat and poultry with no antibiotics or growth hormones, natural supplements and organic dairy products.

The Auburn store will feature a full-service meat counter, deli and cafe that will include a coffee bar, bakery, sushi bar, Indian hot bar, olive bar and a brick-fired pizza oven. The store will stock hundreds of internationally made products such as artisan cheeses - including a cheese aged inside a cave in Switzerland for a decade or more - chocolates and wines.

Earth Fare does not sell any product that contains artificial colors, artificial ingredients or added trans fats.

“You don’t need all that to have good-tasting food,” DeGroff said.

Food items containing partially hydrogenated oils were banned by the grocery store chain in 1993 and those with high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient were banned in 2004, he said.
Earth Fare will offer a variety of departments and services, including nutrition and body care, catering, seafood, coffee and bulk foods.

The natural and organic grocery store is expected to hire more than 100 people, which DeGroff says will include everything from cashiers and stockers to a cheese specialist and a wine specialist.

The Shoppes at Capps Farm seems to have come to an abrupt halt, according to city officials.

The 62-acre project encompassing retail, restaurants, a movie theatre, playground and open-air amphitheater was to be built along the southeast corner of Exit 58 off Interstate 85 in Opelika.

Property transactions should have been finalized in October with site work beginning shortly thereafter. But City Attorney Guy Gunter said he hasn’t seen any clouds of construction dust kicked up on the property. He said, as far as project paperwork goes, he hasn’t seen a shred since August when the council approved a cooperative district for the project developed by DeBartolo Development LLC.

“The city has done what they said they would do,” Gunter said. “The ball has been in their court. DeBartolo had entered into a partnership with the Capps family to buy land. No one ever told me if they ever exercised the option to buy the land or not. Bonds for financing were due in October. I have not received any type of notification they have issued the bond. The bond money would have been set aside for grading the land and putting up infrastructure. The pad is supposed to be complete in March 2008, but I haven’t seen any work going on out there.”

The city had agreed to revenue sharing once the project got off the ground. Because nothing has happened, so far the city has not lost any dollars, Gunter said.

Following a positive recommendation from the Opelika Planning Commission in April, the Shoppes at Capps Farm proposal went before the Opelika City Council in May where a public hearing was held on the open-air retail shopping center. Then in June, Capps Farm developer DeBartolo Development LLC announced it had secured a heavyweight to anchor its lifestyle and retail shopping center - Kohl’s department store. DeBartolo and city officials had said the 68,000-square-foot Kohl’s department store was slated to open its doors in Opelika in October 2008.

In a Kohl’s statement released Monday, public relations officials said, “At this time, we’ve not announced any plans to open a new store in the Opelika, Ala., community. Kohl’s has an ongoing real estate assessment process. At any given time, Kohl’s is reviewing sites in communities nationwide. We do not comment on real estate speculation.”

In a “Memorandum of Understanding” between the city and DeBartolo, other draws included: PetSmart, Circuit City, Staples, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Hastings, Barnes & Noble or Borders Books, LifeWay Christian Books, Michael’s, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Cheddar’s. The council approved the memorandum during its June council meeting.

As stated in the memorandum, once Phase I and II of the project was complete, the center would stretch approximately 821,971-square-feet with a capital investment of approximately $125 million. Tax revenue off the project was expected to generate $7.4 million for the city. A portion of the memorandum stated that the city agreed to form a cooperative improvement development district where it would share sales tax revenues with DeBartolo.

“I am not sure of the status of the project now,” Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller said. “I haven’t heard anything.”

During a two-day International Council of Shopping Centers Southern Convention in Atlanta on Oct. 22 and 23, Economic Development Director Al Cook met briefly with representatives of DeBartolo and asked about the Shoppes at Capps Farm project.

“They said they were working on it, but it was slow going,” Cook said. “That’s the last I’ve heard from them.”

DeBartolo officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

On Sept. 17, Greater Peace Community Development Corporation officials announced the building of affordable housing in Jeter that would serve as a 15-year rental with the option to buy. The development, named Jordan’s Gate, will be a 49-lot subdivision, scheduled to be built next year.

Tuesday, the Opelika City Council approved a resolution that addressed the city’s acceptance of Jordan’s Gate facilities.

“In 2023, renters will be able to purchase the units that will be built on city streets,” Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller said.

Applications for houses in Jordan’s Gate are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. Interested parties should stop by Greater Peace Baptist Church, 650 Jeter Ave., and fill out an application complete with a letter of intent.

“This is a faith-based way to cross over from rental to homeownership,” said the Rev. Clifford Jones of Greater Peace Baptist Church.

Herbert Slaughter, chairman of the Greater Peace Baptist Church Deacon Board and 61-year church member, said that Jordan’s Gate will serve the community well.

“We hope this can be a stepping stone where people can move from there to something better,” Slaughter said.

The project is largely funded by the Alabama Housing Finance Authority. 

The Opelika City Council wasted no time Tuesday approving an ordinance authorizing a development agreement and lease agreement for Silver Companies’ Celebrate Alabama project.

On Nov. 20, Silver Companies CEO Larry D. Silver announced his company would build a vacation destination in Opelika called Celebrate Alabama to be built along Interstate 85 stretching from Exits 64 to 66. Celebrate Alabama, dubbed a major retail, entertainment and attractions destination, is expected to span more than 535 acres and when completed will create approximately 5,000 jobs with a capital investment approaching $1 billion, according to Silver Companies and city officials.

City Attorney Guy Gunter said the project ordinance would grant an incentives package.

“It addresses two things: 1-the sharing of revenues and 2-that the city pledges $15 million in contribution to the Expo Center,” Gunter said. “Silver will pay all the operating expenses, and the city will be authorized to use the Expo Center 10 days of each calendar year.”

According to the ordinance, the city will provide financial incentives to the company, which include a sharing of non-educational ad valorem (property) taxes, non-educational sales taxes, lodging taxes, rental or leasing taxes, taxes on alcohol and tobacco and business license fees. The agreement also states that the city will not pay more than $15 million for the acquisition and construction of an Expo Center.

City Administrator John Seymour that 15 acres would be deeded to the city for the building of Opelika’s Expo Center. He said, “The city will build the Expo Center and lease it back to the company, and they’ll operate it.”

Under Article 20 of the Expo lease agreement, it states that for a period of 25 years after the commencement date that the city will not construct, erect, fund or support in any fashion any competing exposition center or convention center in the city with the exception of the city’s existing relationship with the Retirement System of Alabama in connection with the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center at Grand National. It also states that the tenant, which is Celebrate Alabama Expo Center at Opelika LLC, will not own, develop or operate any competing exposition or convention center within a 60 mile radius of the property for a period of 25 years after the commencement date.

And under Rights to Name in the agreement, it states that the city and Celebrate Alabama Expo Center at Opelika LLC acknowledge that Silver IP Rights Inc. is the sole owner of the names, “Celebrate Alabama” and “Celebrate Alabama Expo Center at Opelika.”

It states that the right to name/or rename the property belongs to Silver IP Rights Inc., which include the right to sell or license, on a permanent or temporary basis, the naming rights or sponsorship rights for the 115,000-square-foot Expo Center.

It continues to state that the name of the center may be changed or new names added from time to time without need for approval or consent by the city or Celebrate Alabama Expo Center at Opelika LLC; provided however that the name shall always contain the word, “Opelika” and shall not contain the name of any other city in the State of Alabama.

Silver Companies is expected to break ground in Opelika during the first quarter of 2008 with grading of pasture land taking about 18 months. The project is expected to take about eight to 10 years to complete with the first phase tentatively done in 24 months.

What locals have long known about the area, those outside its realm are now discovering.

That was evident Tuesday when Silver Companies announced it would build a vacation destination that would draw people to Opelika to “Celebrate Alabama.”

No longer will locals have to clamor to convention centers in Georgia since Silver Companies intends to build an expo center along Interstate 85 as part of the project that will stretch from Exits 64 to 66. The development will be surrounded by luxury hotels, restaurants and retail. The project will be anchored by a hotel with an indoor water park, theatre space for live entertainment, a multi-screen drive-in theatre, upscale RV park, apartments, bus tours and pedestrian-friendly trails. Celebrate Alabama, dubbed a major retail, entertainment and attractions destination, is expected to span more than 535 acres and when complete will create approximately 5,000 jobs with a capital investment approaching $1 billion, according to Silver Companies and city officials.

Based in Metro Washington, D.C., and Boca Raton, Fla., Silver Companies has already taken Fredericksburg, Va., out of its frame and onto the map with its Celebrate Virginia concept that will serve as a blueprint for Celebrate Alabama.

Silver Companies CEO Larry D. Silver said wheels were turning toward Opelika a year ago. Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller met with Silver at the Boca Raton, Fla., headquarters.

“Larry said to me, ‘We’re thinking about buying a little land in Opelika,’ “ Fuller said.

Silver said he and his team found a pro-growth area in a city surrounded by historic significance and bursting at the seams toward economic growth. He admitted the TigerTown development played a major factor in the decision-making process as did the massive construction up the road in West Point, Ga., where Kia dirt continues to turn. As those in real estate know, he said, it’s all about location - whether it’s residential or commercial, the locale must be point-on.

As a Celebrate Alabama video flashed legendary faces and historic places across the overhead screen at city hall Tuesday, local fourth-graders could be seen making their way to the front of the room toting poster-size pictures of heroic figures that helped make Alabama great. As part of the project, Silver Companies will erect 50 life-size statues fashioned after high-profile Alabamians lining a two-mile stretch.

“The total potential of things evolved. Sometimes a little bit of luck happens, a little bit of strategy pays off,” Silver said of the Celebrate Alabama project, which is expected to take about eight to 10 years to complete with the first phase tentatively done in 24 months.

While he cannot say how many retail stores would be housed in Celebrate Alabama, Silver said he expects the square footage to stretch close to four million.

Economic Development Director Al Cook said the project is a dream come true.

“Celebrate Alabama is the culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people,” Cook said. “It will pay dividends for years to come.”

Once the expo center is complete, Silver said it will serve as a catalyst for more industry to locate in the area.

“Regional and statewide conventions will be held in Opelika,” Silver said.

He said the expo center will draw musicians, artisans, sporting events, festivals, trade shows and consumer shows geared toward fishermen, hunters and cooking enthusiasts, just to name a few.

“People are always looking for something to do,” Silver said.

And something to aspire to, said John Elkington, chairman and CEO of Performa Entertainment Real Estate Inc.

“There’s no greater region than the South. You’ve got great writers, musicians, food, culture, history all right here,” Elkington said. “We want to create something unique, different and special.”

Fresh from Branson, Mo., he said Celebrate Alabama will be even better than that.

“We want to promote this place. We will be on television telling people to come to Opelika for a vacation,” Elkington said.

Bob Siegel, president of Robert L. Siegel & Associates Inc., pointed out that by and large people are leaving metropolitan areas for places like Lee County. He said the growth of Auburn University, military bases, auto manufacturing, retail and East Alabama Medical Center have all played a part in drawing people here.

“Opelika has been sitting on the cusp maybe 10 years,” said Siegel, who has 40 years of growth trend experience.

Silver Companies is expected to break ground in Opelika during the first quarter of 2008 with grading of pasture land taking about 18 months.

A fifth school district and two new high schools were a few of the ideas discussed Tuesday by Lee County Board of Education members.

The Lee County Board of Education held a work session Tuesday to brainstorm about a building program to handle current and future student enrollment increases in the school system. No action was taken during the session.

Lee County Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Stephen Nowlin told board members the school system needs to achieve three goals with the new building program: prepare for natural growth in student enrollment; remove more than 40 portable classrooms currently used in the Smiths Station attendance area; and prepare for BRAC, which is expected to add about 1,200 students to the Lee County Schools system by 2010.
“We’re already overcrowded regardless if they come,” Nowlin told board members.

The school system needs to pull up to 2,000 students from the current Smiths Station attendance area to handle projected student enrollment growth for at least the next 10 years, Nowlin said.

Several of the ideas discussed by school board members to meet the system’s goals and growth requirements were:

• to move students in the current Smiths Station attendance area to either the Beulah or Beauregard zones;
• to create a fifth attendance zone northwest of the Smiths Station area, which would include a new high school;
• to build a new high school in the Smiths Station area for grades 10 through 12 and use the current high school for grades seventh through ninth.

These ideas - and combinations of these ideas together and with other options - were discussed at length by board members. The system currently has about $30 million to spend on construction projects, Nowlin said, noting that additional revenue might be secured from extra local revenue from retired debts and by possibly reducing expenditures.

The next step for the system will be to get estimates for possible projects, Nowlin said. In addition, Nowlin and Lee County Board of Education President Napoleon Stringer will narrow the list of options for the building program, based on Tuesday’s discussions, before the school board’s next regular meeting, Jan. 8, 2008.

There are going to be an estimated 1,200 new students coming into Lee County as a result of BRAC by 2010. That’s according to estimates Lee County Interim Superintendent Dr. Stephen Nowlin received from army officials at a recent BRAC-related meeting.

Nowlin used those numbers at Tuesday’s meeting of the Lee County Board of Education to illustrate a point.

More students equals less room.

Nowlin told the board that plans to accommodate that growth need to begin as soon as possible.

Nowlin told the board that as the schools are now, there would be no room for those students.

He said four out of five schools in Smiths Station are using portable classrooms in order to hold current students. Smiths Station High School is currently using 40 portables, he added.

“The high school is the most overcrowded,” he said.

While the estimated 1,200 students coming into Lee County are a result of BRAC growth, Nowlin said, normal growth is already having an impact on room as well.

Typical growth for Smiths Station schools is about 50 to 60 new students each year, he said. However, those numbers have been closer to 100 new students for the last several years, he added.

With a little more than two years left to solve the problem, Nowlin urged the board to allow him to move forward with plans to build a new school in Smiths Station, possibly two.

The board agreed, voting unanimously to authorize Nowlin as the interim superintendent to begin planning for a building program. Part of that planning would include looking into hiring an architect and borrowing money to get the job done.

Nowlin said there is currently $20 million available to use toward building costs, but an additional $15 million to $25 million would have to be borrowed.

Earlier this year, voters turned down a proposed tax increase, part of which would have helped the school system cover building costs.

On Tuesday night, Nowlin seemed focused on the future. He said he has already done some preliminary research, including looking into seven years’ worth of attendance data and mapping out students by street addresses.

Some students may need to be rezoned to Beauregard or Beulah, he said.

Nowlin also plans on bringing in outside help from state officials to determine the proper course of action and talk about operating costs for the new facilities.

A tax increase is not currently being considered, but Nowlin said it is not being completely ruled out.

“At this time, we don’t anticipate asking, but we may have to in the future,” he said.

Although time is ticking, Nowlin is optimistic about the outcome.

“I think we have a chance,” he said. “I wish we had six more months, but we don’t. I think we could get it done.”

The board will meet again in January. Nowlin said he hopes to be ready to recommend an architect for the job by then.