Mayor Earl Johnson and members of the Andalusia City Council on Tuesday announced a major acquisition of downtown property that it plans to develop in public-private partnerships. 

The $1.75 million acquisition includes 143,000 square feet of space in 18 mostly-vacant buildings, and approximately six acres of land. 

The announcement was made before a packed crowd in City Hall Tuesday afternoon.

“Our hope in making this acquisition is to find businesses like Big Mike’s, Milky Moo’s and Clark Theatres that would like to be in downtown Andalusia, and to develop public-private partnerships with them,” Mayor Earl Johnson said. “All indications are that this will happen. As rumors of this acquisition have spread, we have already been approached by several developers interested in doing downtown projects.” 

Johnson said the acquisition includes some of Andalusia’s most iconic buildings, including the Prestwood Building, which dates back to 1904; the Opera House, where the first silent films were shown in the area in the early 1900s; buildings on Central Street;  the South Cotton Street buildings once known as The Bottom;  and the beautiful L&N Depot built in about 1926. 

“This was not a project the council took on lightly, and I want to thank them for being willing to take this bold step to further redevelopment of our downtown,” the mayor said.

City officials have been working with Concordia, a design firm in New Orleans that specializes in community development, to create a plan for the downtown area. The mayor said the architects worked extensively with him and members of the council to incorporate their dreams for downtown in preliminary drawings presented at the announcement. In the future, he said, more input will be sought from Andalusia residents about their dreams for downtown.

The announcement also included a video rendering of the proposed projects, which is available electronically on the City of Andalusia web page and social media pages. 

The announcement was well received by the business community. 

Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chrissie Duffy said it is important for local residents take ownership and interest in transforming the community into a better place for citizens in all economic levels to work, live and play.

“This is our community. We, the people, are responsible for its well-being.  The same could be said for our State and our Country, but it starts right here at home,” she said. “This paradigm shift is the first and most important step in moving forward. When we all take on a sense of ownership, we will truly see how we can effect change. 

“Our leaders have a vision of faith and hope that we can come together for the good of our local community by loyally supporting one another,” Duffy said. “We can shop local. We can form partnerships to create new opportunities, fill in the gaps, and create a spark.  We can smooth the way for new entrepreneurs by supporting their ideas and offering mentorship. We can recognize that our small businesses make our communities better and be invested in their well-being.  Perhaps the simplest and most important thing we can do, is we can act as ambassadors for our communities so that others want to invest, live, work, and play here too.”

City Clerk John Thompson, who served as master of ceremonies for the event, said that the acquisition is similar to a large downtown redevelopment project undertaken by the city four years ago.

“Many of you were with us in the Historic Andala Building on Coffee Street when we announced the mayor and city council’s establishment of our entertainment district, and long term leases with Big Mike’s Steak and Seafood and Clark Theaters. The theater Project was made possible by a generous donation of the building by the O’Neal Family. Together, these public – private partnerships with a $2.5 million investment by the Andalusia City Council represented the largest redevelopment in downtown Andalusia in generations,” Thompson said.  

“Today, four years on, we can proudly say that these businesses are outpacing expectations and that they are attracting visitors into downtown Andalusia who wouldn’t otherwise come,” he said. “Coupled with Candyland, our Downtown has a new energy! All of this validates the strength of the vast, largely untapped market all around us.” 

Thompson said the downtown projects are part of a larger body of work that began 20 years ago when Mayor Johnson first took office. 

“He sought to change the culture of Andalusia, to raise expectations, to expand horizons,” Thompson said. “He championed projects that today represent nothing short of an incredible body of work. Without listing them all, consider city hall and the Veteran’s Memorial, sidewalks and lighting on East Three Notch Street, Church Street, River Falls Street, South Three Notch Street, the addition of Springdale to our campus, the Dream Field and Park, the School Projects, all are a body of work or pieces to a puzzle that put us in a position to accept opportunity.”

Recent complaints from local residents about buzzards roosting on the Carson Street water tank set Tim Glisson on a mission.

“I knew they were a protected species, so I got in touch with the Alabama Game and Fish Department. They sent me to the U.S.D.A. Animal and Plant Inspection Services,” Glisson, the director of water and sewer operations for the City of Andalusia Utilities, explained to the Utilities Board recently.

“Buzzards,” which are actually vultures, are migratory birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, state laws, and regulations. There are two species native to North America: black vultures and turkey vultures. According to the USDA, both raptor species play an important role in the ecosystem, feeding mostly on carrion, or already-dead animals. However, their sharp nails and highly acidic stomach acid and urine also can cause damage.

Because they are a protected species, the birds, their nests, and eggs cannot be killed or destroyed without a Migratory Bird Depredation Permit. However, the USDA can provide site-specific vulture management assistance when this is property damage or health and safety concerns.

By the time the USDA’s Officer Jason Terry visited Andalusia, Glisson had identified 12 locations where vultures regularly roosted. Terry recommended hanging constructed effigies of vultures in the locations, and Glisson agreed to purchase them from the USDA.

Terry returned to Andalusia on Wednesday and watched for flocks of vultures to who up in the sky. Shortly before dusk, he noticed a large concentration of vultures going to roost between Opp Avenue and Ellis Street.

Glisson said Terry got permission from an Opp Avenue resident to enter the large wooded area behind his residents, where he shot off a screaming pyro round to scare the vultures away. Terry believes this wooded area is the main roosting area and that the water tank and other buildings were being used for twilight sunning. 

Thursday, Glisson and Terry called on the Andalusia Fire Department for help. Using the ladder truck, the effigies were strategically placed in the 12 roosting locations previously identified. 

As of late Thursday afternoon, the vultures were reported to be circling their usual roosting spots, but flying away once they spotted the effigies. 

“We hope this fixed the problem,” Glisson said. 

The owners of the Covington Mall told the Andalusia City Council Friday that they’ve landed a national retailer that will draw others to the area, and they expect the facility to be full soon.

Shaun Jackson, who owns the facility with his brother Michael Jackson, said the two received word this week from a national retailer that the company’s board has agreed to an Andalusia location.

“We should have a contract within the next couple of weeks,” he said.

The Jacksons have already raised the roof of the space adjacent to current tenant based on a Letter of Intent they had received from the national retailer. Other retailers will follow this one, he said, adding that they have Letters of Intent from two additional retailers.

“We anticipate that we’ll have it full quickly,” he said.

Jackson thanked city officials for their help recruiting retailers.

“Y’all have done an absolutely fantastic job helping us with this,” Jackson said. “We think this will become a destination on the way to the beach. We’ve already said we expect a Starbucks to pop up.”

The council approved a resolution authorizing in kind assistance in installing a draining system and lighting at the mall as the Jacksons prepare for the new tenants. The first tenant hopes to be open by August 1, they said.

The council also authorized a rebate on half of the sales taxes generated by two new national tenants for the first five years. The city is providing a prepayment of $600,000 of those taxes to Covington Mall, LLC, for further renovations to the facility and the parking lot. City Clerk John Thompson explained that the Jacksons will have a $3 million investment in the property and improvements when they welcome the new tenant this summer.

Council members also had high praise for the Jacksons’ work and investment.

“It’s exciting to be working with Andalusians on this project,” Mayor Earl Johnson said. “This could be happening with an out-of-town developer, but y’all care more about the community, It’s really exciting to see young people stepping up.”

The Andalusia Police Department added another tool for solving crimes this week when it  partnered with Central Alabama CrimeStoppers.

Andalusia Police Chief Paul Hudson said the organization recently held a meeting in the area and invited local departments to join forces.

“This gives people an opportunity to report crimes and know they will remain completely anonymous,” Hudson said. “We can also ask questions of those who provide information, but the whole process remains anonymous.”

Similarly, CrimeStoppers will help push out cases in which local law enforcement offers are seeking information. 

Hudson said Andalusia residents can contact Central Alabama CrimeStoppers by using the 24-hour tip line at 215-STOP (7867) or download the organization’s P3-tips app. Residents can also give information through the web at www.215STOP.com or the Facebook page at Central Alabama CrimeStoppers (www.Facebook.com/215stop/). CrimeStoppers also provides an 800 number, 1-833-AL1-STOP, for those that are outside of the 334-area code. 

All tipsters are eligible for a cash reward of up to $5,000 when their tip leads to an arrest. All rewards are paid within 30 days.