Lane Parke: The Changing Face Of Mountain Brook Village

MOUNTAIN BROOK, AL —Nine years ago, the residents of Mountain Brook were presented with a plan by Evson, Inc. that would change the face of one of the city's historic commercial villages. When the Lane Parke development was introduced for Mountain Brook Village, what immediately followed were questions, concerns, support and opposition to what amounted to the most significant change in the city's business community in decades.

Concerns about the project included traffic, parking, congestion and the worry that national and regional businesses would come in and drive out the locally-owned businesses. Supporters of the project touted the need for diversity in the business community, better parking lots and a fresh look to the village, as many people felt the aesthetics of the village needed some improvement.

Mountain Brook's villages have long been one of the elements of the community that makes it unique, as each has its own distinct character, and the three oldest villages - Mountain Brook Village, English Village and Crestline Village - have undergone gradual change over the years, but nothing to the extent that Lane Parke brought.

Related Story: Mountain Brook's Villages Remain Pillars Of The Community

Here in 2019, the Lane Parke development's first phase is up and running, with a new hotel, new shops and new restaurants having joined the Mountain Brook business community. The second phase of the development is still under construction and is expected to open in 2020. With the initial reaction to the project split fairly evenly between supporters and opponents, what do Mountain Brook residents think of Lane Parke now?

"I have mixed feelings, while I think it's great to have new businesses come in, with a lot more to offer, I think it's growing too quickly," said Mountain Brook resident Joan McCalla. "It's so congested with trying to get out of a parking spot without getting smacked. The charm of the old village is going by the wayside. It used to be so simple and quaint. I certainly miss Browdy's, that was a sad, sad day. Fun memories were made there."

Mountain Brook's Pamela Parsons said the traffic issues and congestion are likely not unique to Lane Parke. "This loss of charm and congested traffic seems to have happened all around us," Parsons said.

Former Mountain Brook resident Carrie Graves said she is not a fan of what Mountain Brook Village has become. "I left MB in 2008 and reside in Naples Fla., which is an even more affluent community," Graves said. "When I returned a couple times to MB (Hurricane Irma evacuation and a couple family celebrations), I found that what made MBV and even Crestline has been lost. The redevelopment is neither pedestrian or driver friendly."

When Western Supermarket closed after making the move into Lane Parke, local residents were vocal about their disappointment, and as the new Greenwise Market moved in, residents have yet to fully warm up to the new corporate neighbor.

Residents have cited Greenwise's lack of basic products that Western carried - over-the-counter medicine, basic household needs - and that many of the surrounding businesses are not locally owned and therefore do not contribute to what originally made the village uniquely "Mountain Brook."

High Rent, High Turnover

A concern initially when the project was presented in 2010 was that national chains would be the only businesses that could afford the higher rent in the Lane Parke Development and would therefore eventually take away business from the locally-owned shops - many of which have been in the village for decades.

"Kudos to the family/indie businesses that have been able to stay so far, but that level of redevelopment will have to be recouped and likely will be with exponentially increasing rents," Graves said. "The local focus and appeal is lost and will likely lead to only chains being able to handle such increases in fixed costs such as rent. We've had a plethora of small, successful, beloved businesses in Naples/Ft Myers area that have had to close soley because of inability to renegotiate appropriate rental renewals. Very sad for MBV, and I cannot imagine the next time I visit that I'll drive through that mess. I'd likely just go to Homewood or Southside."

"It is worth noting that the prices on rent appear functionally too high for the few businesses that have made a go of it to try out the new area," said Ian Henderson Dexter. "In my humble opinion, I think the redevelopment will be shown to be overbuilt for the actual demand in this area, especially as the demographic groups in the vicinity show an ever more marked preference for either online purchases or longtime local businesses (or in my case the combination thereof). It also doesn't help that the whole area feels super contrived, like the commercial area of a 'resort' conveniently ordered out of an in-flight airline catalog."

Mountain Brook's Doug Davis said he feels the property managers should lower the rent to maintain local businesses. "I think they’d be wise to eat a bit of the reportedly astronomical rent they ask for those spaces to include the post office or some other civic amenity to locate there and draw some more folks in," Davis said. "The site plan as it is turns the back of the grocery store (probably the most frequented part of the development) to the rest of the area. It’s easy to skip over the shops which surely contributes to the lackluster success of things over all. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the design of the entire development is cheap, bland and ordinary. It’s a far cry from the architectural standards agreed to in the Planned Unit Development agreement Evson made with the city."

Not everyone is displeased with the new businesses coming into Lane Parke, however.

"I don’t think (Lane Parke) would run local businesses out. Provided the service and food is as good as its always been, the business will always be there," said BJ Amick. "I love the new shops and development in that area. The Grand Bohemian hotel is beautiful, along with the design of the other buildings next door."

Lane Parke has also had some bad luck in some respects, as a handful of the businesses that located there closed - not because of the location, but because the businesses closed all of their locations.

"Regarding the closings, Lane Parke experienced what might best be described as a perfect storm of bad luck," said Francis Hare. "Local Taco closed at least four other locations in three states. Kinucan’s closed every store but its original Auburn location, and Western closed its entire chain of stores."

The Bottom Line

Regardless of what residents may think about the success of the shopping center, the bottom line on Lane Parke is, well, the bottom line. The development has been a financial success for the city and a significant source of tax revenue.

Lane Parke has actually been a positive addition to the city in several other ways as well, according to Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce President Vincent Schilleci.

"Lane Park has been a home run for this community," Schilleci said. "Grand Bohemian has given our community a first class hotel, spa and event center, and the Lane Park apartments have been a hit."

Schilleci also pointed out that not all of the tenants at Lane Parke are "new" to Mountain Brook. "Phase 1 has numerous legacy Mountain Brook stores, such as B. Prince, A’mano and Swoop, and great new retail boutiques like Annabelles and Tulipano," he said. "Though we were all sad to see Western close down, Greenwise Market has added a great alternative for those searching for organic options not typically found in other grocery stores."

From a community standpoint, Schilleci said, Lane Parke has donated time and space to numerous local events and fundraisers. "For the past three years, Lane Parke has hosted the V2V Race, with local vendors and a musical acts celebrating the 1000+ runners that participate each year," he said. "In addition, Lane Parke recently opened up space for the Mountain Brook Art Show when bad weather threatened to cancel the long-running event."

"Mountain Brook is so special in that our residents have a passion for the future of this community and typically buy-in to our Mountain Brook businesses," Schilleci said. "I hope our community will continue to support all of our Mountain Brook business and keep sales tax revenue here in the community so we continue to have access to our top-notch police department, fire department, public works, library and parks and recreation facilities."

Greenwise joined the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce immediately after moving into the village, as have most of the businesses in Lane Parke that are not based in the city. Schilleci said the businesses have thus far been positive corporate neighbors.

Protecting Mountain Brook

Are Mountain Brook residents perhaps over-protective of their community?

Long-time residents of Mountain Brook are often wary of disruption, especially when it comes from what they perceive as "outsiders." In essence, change is not always widely accepted in Mountain Brook.

When the Piggly Wiggly grocery store closed in Crestline Village in 2013, hundreds of yard signs popped up on the lawns of Mountain Brook residents stating "Save the Pig," and the opposition to anything moving into the Piggly Wiggly space was abundant.

Six years later, the CVS pharmacy occupies the former Piggly Wiggly location and a new Pig has opened across from Crestline Elementary School. Both businesses are thriving, and the once-vocal unrest has died down completely.

That was an example Schilleci pointed to when he urged Mountain Brook residents to have patience with Lane Parke.

"Just give it time," Schilleci said. "That is all I ask. Give it time and you'll find that these businesses are just as much a part of the community as any."

Residents by the bundle on Monday responded to a pair of presentations given by Mel McElroy, an attorney with Maynard Cooper Gale who represents Evson, Inc., and Richard Caudle, a traffic engineer with Skipper Consulting regarding Phase 2 of Lane Parke.

The council chambers were so full that many residents had to be turned away. The overwhelming theme was once again traffic concerns and congestion surrounding the proposed new phase of the development.

McElroy said that potential tenants have expressed interest in leasing space at Lane Parke but need the guarantee of drive-thru capability before committing. This was not re-assuring to some residents.

The original Lane Parke PUD outlines five types of businesses that can have drive-thrus: banks and financial institutions, pharmacies, dry cleaners, coffee shops and specialty food concepts such as bakeries, delis or ice cream shops. McElroy said coffee operators have shown interest in opening in Lane Parke’s second phase, though he did not disclose any names.

No announcements have been made regarding new tenants in the next phase of the development, but Evson does have several interested potential tenants ready to jump in when it opens next year.