Growth and development projects build excitement in Pelham

PELHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) – The City of Pelham has been steadily growing for the last several years, and officials say many new commercial and residential developments are underway.

“Pelham is experiencing, I think, a renaissance of growth that has been in the works with the new city manager starting seven years ago and really kicking in over the last 18 to 24 months,” Pelham’s economic development director Michael Simon said.

Current projects include new townhomes being built in the area on Huntley Parkway between Publix and the Grand Reserve to new restaurants like Edgar’s, Waldo’s Chicken and Beer and Bullet Coffee coming to the space next to the Pelham Public Library.

“We’re kind of in a time, I think, where a lot of these assets and a lot of these things we’re doing are new,” Simon said. “I think that’s starting to energize the community and also attract new people to the community that might be moving from other places.”

The city says the commercial and residential developments happening now will help to attract even larger projects in the future as developers look for the traffic that comes through and the number of people living in an area.

“Time is money to developers; ease of development is big for them. So, I think as all of those things come together, when you have multiple opportunities in multiple areas to be looking to invest millions of dollars, you start to weigh those out on your pro and con sheet,” Simon said. “The more that Pelham can stay in the pro sheet, which I think we are, I think that’s where you start to see interest.”

Overall, people seem to be looking forward to the new developments and growth in the city. However, some do have a few concerns.

“It’s good for economics, it’s good for the schools and stuff, it’s bad for us farmers,” Pelham resident Pat Nelson said. “Basically, you’re processing the farms out because you can’t, the cost of the land and economics is real bad this year for the farmers, so I’m predicting a whole lot of people are going to be going out of business this year.”

“The city’s trying to do a lot of things to just make it more attractive for people to want to come, visit and stay here,” Pelham resident Richard Poff said.

Some people in Pelham say it was a matter of time before development came to the city, especially as cities like Birmingham and Hoover start to overflow.

“I believe [Pelham’s] kind of really overlooked. I believe they’re looking more at Alabaster and their growth, of course Alabaster’s got more land,” Nelson said. “We’re locked in between four cities now so there’s only so much you can do with your limited space.”

With an increase in housing options and businesses, more people will be living and working in Pelham. While this may cause some people to worry about increased traffic, others say they don’t think it’ll get much worse.

“I’m sure with all the new homes, I know like right off of Huntley Parkway near the Publix, there’s going to be over 100 homes right there in that subdivision, so I do think that traffic will be impacted a little bit but I don’t think that’s going to stop anybody from being able to move around and get to where they want to go,” Poff said.

Beyond restaurants and more housing, Pelham city leaders hope to see a hotel and a stand-alone emergency room come to the area.

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