Daphne City Hall's Jubilee Conference Room was a hive of activity Tuesday, July 30, as over 40 residents filled every available seat.

Daphne City Hall’s Jubilee Conference Room was a hive of activity Tuesday, July 30 as over 40 residents filled every available seat.

The reason for the large crowd at 3 p.m. was a special called Industrial Development Board Meeting to review and discuss 68 Ventures' proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) at the Daphne Innovation and Science Complex (DISC). The proposed project is being called Prospect Park.

Prospect Park would be built on 60 acres of land at the corner of State Route 181 and Champions Way near Daphne High School. The land, known as DISC, belongs to the City of Daphne and was purchased using lodging tax dollars and grants. The site was developed to attract businesses in the science and technical field but has sat empty. The property has paved roads and underground infrastructure in place.

The meeting was informational and not a public hearing, which was explained to the crowd, but the floor was opened to public comment before any information on the project was presented. When no one stood to speak, the public comment portion was closed, leaving many in attendance whispering and confused. One resident in attendance was heard saying, "How can we comment on something we don't know anything about?"

68 Ventures Director of Development Finance Cameron Thatcher introduced the architectural firm, Nequette, working on the master plan. They are the same Birmingham-based company that is working on the proposed 68 Ventures PUD in Fairhope at the corner of 181 and Fairhope Avenue.

"The goal here is to bring something somewhat different from what's typically developed," Thatcher said. "It provides amenities to the city and adjacent property owners and residents with a core retail, lawn and village center district in that northeast corner of the site and surrounded by various residential product types with different elevations and density components."

The proposed PUD as presented would have 120,000 square feet of corporate office space at the heart of the development for Novelis, an aluminum manufacturing plant under construction in Bay Minette. Another 20,000 square feet of small office space would be located on one of the outer edges of the development, and 86,500 square feet of retail and food and beverage space would be built.

The residential components were discussed, but density was not part of the presentation. The residential mix would include rental apartments, referred to as market-rate multifamily, townhomes and a four-story hotel.

The proposed project is set up to promote a walkable living and working community with green spaces, restaurants, retail, offices and sidewalks. This is a style of development that is popular in areas like Birmingham and Atlanta.

Lawson commented that the DISC site was looked at recently by a corporate company with a presence in the area, but they opted to remain in their current space and expand in Dallas, Texas, where they have empty office space due to cost.

"This board has worked diligently to try to make sure that this could be an asset for the city alongside our organization (Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance) it's just the fact that the traditional office park is now dead in our current environment," Lawson said. "That is largely due to cost. The cost of money, the cost of construction right now are putting rents into the $40 to $50 a foot for office space."

Lawson said Novelis has committed to 70,000 square feet of office space at the DISC site but not until after the plant is completed. Lawson said completion has been pushed back to 2026, and the office space would be 2027.
The hotel on-site would provide Novelis with accommodation for their training facility.

The meeting wrapped up, and residents either left or stayed to speak with one another. Concerns voiced included about infrastructure and traffic. With Prospect Park's location so close to Daphne High School, school traffic and sporting event traffic were also a concern.

The next step for the project will be the Daphne Planning Commission. The agenda for the next meeting has not yet been published, but concerned residents who would like to have their concerns heard should check the city's website agenda center.

When the project is presented to the planning commission, more details will be discussed regarding the density of the development, traffic studies and the overall plan.