BY SARAH STEPHENS – ELMORE AUTAUGA NEWS
Construction photos by Seay Seah and Litchfield Architects.
MILLBROOK, AL – In political and development arenas, there has been a lot of talk concerning the opening and continual use of Phase I of the Fields at 17 Springs in Millbrook. With Phase II in progress, Millbrook Mayor Al Kelley told council members this week “The best is yet to come. This is going to be big.”
On Tuesday, the City Council approved a bid from Dubose Construction for just over $4.5 million. Those funds will continue work in the Marketplace area, along Hwy. 14. It encompasses land purchased by the City of Millbrook in a partnership with Elmore County and was once the site of an old junk yard, a cow pasture, and wooded areas. When complete, that area in front of 17 Springs is expected to include restaurants, a hotel, and retail, among other prospects.
Millbrook Project Manager Stuart Peters said, “This is a big deal. It is a two-part process. It is the Marketplace at 17 Springs, which is a key, critical component. It will include 12 commercial lots, streets, infrastructure, lighting, and landscaping. You made a very smart, strategic purchase of the property to be able to do this at the beginning of the project.”
To begin preparing the ground for construction, Peters said 35 bid packages were sent out, with 22 plan holders responding back, and six bids for the project. Dubose Construction is the accepted bid by the city, and is ready to proceed, he said.
“We need to proceed because we need restaurants and commercial development out there for when (Phase II) opens. We thought it would be wise to set up a $5 million budget to cover it. The bid is actually $4.588 million. That will cover expediting things, upgrades. This gets you pad ready sites at Marketplace, with 12 commercial lots on Hwy. 14.”
Once Phase II is officially open, it is expected to draw thousands of people for events. They are going to want places to stay, restaurants to enjoy, and businesses to shop.
Millbrook Council President Michael Gay said that this expense approved Tuesday will be recouped by the city by the sale of the lots within the Marketplace.
“We have two commitments already on the lots,” Mayor Kelley said. “We’ve got the money in a savings account; we can pay as we go. I think we will end up clearing some money we can put back into the project.”
This project is expected to take six months, Peters said.
“Right now, you just have a piece of dirt out there. It is muddy,” Mayor Kelley said. “But this is to get the power, sewer, water, drainage and everything built on those things to where they are pad ready. That restaurant does not want to go build on what we have now. They want it pad ready, and this will do that.”
Mayor Kelley said that a big push has been to get the Marketplace moving forward. He praised everyone who has played a part in the entire plan and seeing it finally coming to fruition is extremely rewarding and required a lot of patience.
“This is going to be a huge thing. Not only are we going to come out okay money-wise in the development part of it, but it will also produce sales taxes for many, many years. So, that is the thing I am really looking at. The Marketplace is key on my agenda.”
Kelley said in March or April travelers along Hwy. 14 will see the construction on the 86,000 square foot field house obviously going vertical.
“You are going to have people asking you what is happening. We have been telling them all along, but they cannot picture it. So, when those restaurants and hotels or whatever start coming out of the ground it is going to be a whole different world.”
The Fields at 17 Springs is a joint project between the City of Millbrook, Elmore County Commission, Elmore County Economic Development Association, the Greater Montgomery YMCA and Elmore County Public Schools.
Below are photos of recent construction progress on Phase II. A tremendous amount of work has been completed but is hard to see from Hwy. 14. Once building construction goes vertical, it will be more evident to passersby.
