Birmingham Post-Herald from Birmingham, Alabama • 17

Sloss Furnace fit ByJIaWuv heavily into plans for Morris Avenue Plans call for the street to stretch to Morris Avenue will it make it? Richard Mansfield-Jones looks at plans for Morris Avenue Morris Avenue part of national trend By Jim Nesbitt Pint-Hanld Report To Randal Oaks Morris Avenue is like an experimental airplane no one is sure will fly It's taxiing down the runway of successful development once again but take-off chances are uncertain taxiing down that runway and it's got to be given full consideration by everyone concerned-the city the merchants and the downtown business be said He should know Oaks wai one of the first Morris Avenue nightclubrestau- Last of a series rant investors He owned Oaks Street when Morris Avenue enjoyed the first success after it's much-pushed opening as a Mstoricentertainment district in 1974 He was also one of the pioneer night-moke 01 spot owners who went street In case hewua man with ambitious plans who didn't have enough money to take him through the hard times Now a salesman trying to dear his debts he points to the city's apparent Interest in the project cites the money Birmingham is spend- ing on a project office to promote development on the street He points to money the dty is spending on a pUxxa under the 22nd Street Viaduct But he he wonders whether it will be enough to attract the private investors needed to make the street successfuL says the effort may be the last chance to turn around Morris spotty track record "The dty has no choice but to follow through now If this street does not suceed the blight and stigma of failure on the downtown area will far outweigh what would have happened if the dte did nothing "No one is going to put a shop in unless there's a positive statement of confidence by the dty "Morris been on the runway a long time but no one has pulled the throttle full forward They're see- the furnace ham but connoisseurs must now go to New Orleans or elsewhere to purchase fine art works owners of the Vulcan Furniture Manufacturing Co are talking about relocating elsewhere in the city making their property available for other types of development They talk about either selling the building to an interested investor or develop the property themselves Bank talks about opening some retail shops on the street are plans for a mini-mall in the buildings now occupied by the Liberty Trouser Co Mansfield-Jones has talked with Brennan's of New Orleans La and Rosie O'Grady's of Pensacola Fla talking with hotel owners specialty shop merchants and national chain store owners about Morris Avenue not unusual for there to be three and maybe four owners at these restaurant-nightclubs in historical districts lucky caught it after about two owners and hopefully we can turn it But Oaks hu his doubts "I come bade until I uw a positive statement by the dty and business community to establish confidence in the area and the he said for the piazza might be the key but it was supposed to be complete three months ago (it now has a late fall completion date) This is an example of how people want something but red holds it Mrs Millie Radaey who ran the now-bankrupt Diamond is even more pessimistic "Morris Avenue is a Pandora's Box of troubles and Dick Jones does not hold the she said Oaks said he wants to see a successful Morris Avenue but can't afford to devote any more of his time and money to the street been a tremendous education for me but the been accomplices were neighbors of the woman and that she probably would have recognised them and therefore had been killed avoid The law specifically mentions murder to avoid arrest and for pecuniary gain as aggravating circumstances to beconsic Iby tbecourtindetermin-ingpuMshment There is an automatic appeal in death verdict cases Jasper appointed defense attorney Massey Relfo to continue to represent Gaines throughout the appeal and he ordered a free transcript of the trial for the use of the defense Two otter men also are charged with the crime and are awaiting trial JB Bennett is charged with first (tepee murder which carries a penalty of life in prison and David Totes Robinson is charged with capital felony and faces a possible ing the fence at the end of the runway and it will go through that fence if they push the throttle And Rid I Richard Mansfleld-Jones Jr the Morris Avenue project coordinator is ansfield-Jooes is the man working for Birmingham the Chamber of Com merce and Morris Avenue project board and into the ware- owners to see that the the drawli houses and deserted buildings that pock the street He's the first to admit that Morris Avenue has suffered from poor planning mismanagement underfinanced investors poorly promoted parking and a lousy security image Bat he hopes to turn that around He sees a successful Morris Avenue as the link between Birmingham's downtowns" that are now divided by railroad tracks He's quick to point out that with the renewed effort private Investors are starting to express an interest in Morris Avenue told dty council when I first got here that we have not had a marketable product up until a month ago We have not had evidence that we could have a marketable product and now the made an adequate committment to get the thing The committment Manifield-Jones talks about includes: of his 118000 salary (the 'to come from the rest is Chamber Commerce and Morris Avenue property owners) -939000 for office Morris Avenue advertising map keting and other promotional projects -945000 for the 22nd Street Viaduct piazza some 9100000 left over from street improvement money earmarked for future improvements along Morris Av Mayor David Vans says the effort be viewed as renewed interest in the future think the attitude of City Council is that we have continuing commitment to work with the property owners and tenants on Morris Avenue and I Gaines 22 wu convicted in May by a Jury in Jasper's court of the capital felony off id first degree murder The capital law requires that after a sets punishment at death that the hold a hearing to consider any ting and aggravating circum-LHel i then must either affirm the death sentence or commute it to life in prison without parole That tearing wu concluded at noon yesterday but Jasper did not announce the ruling until 3 pm aloud his findings briefly going over the facts before calling Gaines before the tench to pronounce the formal sentence which he concluded with the solemn "And may God have mercy on your Gaines showed no emot emotion when the ruling wu road but standing before the bench lie replied: I would like to Street closings The City of Birmingham engineering department said the following streets will be closed today: 20th Street North Sixth to Seventh avenues Fifth Avenue North 20th to 21st streets 21st Street and Fifth Avenue North intersection Seventh Avenue North 17th to lOthStreetstreets First Avenue North 19th to 17th Sixth Avenue South 19th to 20th reeto Tuscaloosa Avenue Third to Sixth Post -Herald Saturday Jyly 29 1978 think that means continued planning" he said think the dty has strongly sup-rris Avenue Recently we I up to that fact that there was a ported Mm faced up to I for greater coordination between property owners tenants and other interested groups "The greatest need on Morris Avenue is for a variety of business been a goal since we started out but it's been difficult to obtain a question of whether the property owners and the downtown business community will show support something the dty do alone The bottom line depends on what property owners and the private sector do MaasfieM-Joaes talks confidently about the street To him planned moves onto Morris Avenue by the Chamber the Birmingham Press Club and a group interested in converting a warehouse into office space signifies new interest in the street's future But much of the new interest is still in the talking state: are plans to extend Morris Avenue and connect the street with the park planned for the Sloss Furnace area A trolley car would run a loop from the furnace area down Morris Birmingham chapter of the American Institute of Architects is talking about a Morris Avenue office and technical library -The Alabama School of Fine Arts wants to draw federal funding to set up sculpture parks and art shops along Morris Avenue Mansfleld-Jones says there's quite an art market in Birming- say I commit no crime I hurt nobody I wouldn't have the heart to teat anyone or shoot anyone I'm sorry she's dud" There wu a brief silence then he added like to know why I'm locked up for His mother grandmother and several relatives were In the courtroom when the ruling wu announced They but made no outcry said the young age of and his prior good record and reputation were mitigating factors that be weighed carefully listed sew He listed several aggravating circumstances which he said outweighed the others These included the brutal nature of the crime and the fact that the victim wu robbed thereby making it a crime for "pecuniary The Judge also noted that two alleged Cotton Avenue and Second Street SW intersection Old Lewisburg Road and 24th Street intersection Old Pratt Highway Sheridan Road to Azalea Way Dogwood Lane to Goldenrod Drive Jefferson Avenue at AGS Railroad Partially blocked but open: Eighth Avenue North at 20th Street 19th Street South Fifth to Sixth avenues 20th Street North and Seventh Avenue intersection Ridge Road Rutherford Drive to Exeter Drive To help plan your day the Birmingham Pooftiereld will hit I street doting! and planned dteruptiooe In power water and telephone service TO dosing not I in utility AcUniune not listed or to report a disruption service call the Post-Herald at mane Death sentence upheld for Gaines niques perfected at older historical districts like Laramore Square to avoid the pitfalls suffered at a project such Morris Avenue Landing is not a Gaslight Square (another St Louis entertainment district) We don't want a Gaslight Square on Morris Avenue because of the tackiness Landing involves high quality retailing and entertainment just like we want to Mansfield-Jones said Laclede's Landing is adjacent to Gateway Park and the arch over the Mississippi River while Morris Avenue is adjacent to the proposed Sloss Furnace Park Laclede's Landing connects with St Louis' convention center and Busch Stadium by shuttle bus and movers' Just as Morris Avenue will connect with the convention center by Perhaps the biggest parallel between Morris Avenue and Laclede's Landing is that both have strict architectural and historic controls over development 'They have very precise control over being done and quite successful so you tell me it cant be done in he said Mansfield-Jones says Laclede's Landing is successful because one owner controls the property in the i coordination of devel- area This makes opment easier In contrast Morris Avenue property is held by several people which makes Mansfield-Jones' much more difficult people on this street have to develop the 'shopping mentality and that's been missing here" he said In fact Mansfield-Jones says that's one of the primary reason why the street has not been successful Crash kills two teens in Etowah GADSDEN Two Etowah County teenagers were kilted near here yesterday afternoon when their car modified into a dune buggy collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of two county roads State Trooper Sanders Roberts identified the victims as Bruce Mitchell Tow and Barry Craig Williams both 15 Gadsden Rt 8 The driver of the dune buggy Jimmy Ray Shelton 17 Gadsden Rt 3 received multiple in juries and was hospitalized According to Roberts the driver of the pickup Mark Webb 16 Gadsden RL 8 received minor injuries on how much toe program will cost Bill Foiay chairman of the subcommittee said he would not know cost estimates until more of the elderly and ed to deter- handicapped can be reached i mine how many persons need the help He said that when the program is completed the committee will present it to local governments to ask for funding and help in starting The project will enlist the help of hundreds of social service agencies which have specially equipped vans church buses taxi cate and other vehicles to help the elderly and handicapped a small number of the total population but they're a group who cap get very isolated unless they get some Wilburn said The meeting yesterday dealt mainly with the current status of the project and members agreed to continue soliciting opinions from the elderly and handicapped and social i cies Creating an historic entertainment district on Morris Avenue is not a novel idea Cities across the United States have made the concept a reality by converting old abandoned warehouse districts into historically-flavored shops bars rityhas and restaurants The activity spurred by growing concern about dying downtown districts and incentives like federal tax write-offs for commercial development in historic downtown districts Philadelphia's Head House Square and Laramore Square are all older commercial districts that have been converted into historic entertainment and shopping areas Perhaps the most extensive historic rehabilitation development has been started in St Louis where the Laclede's Landing district covers nearly 12 blocks Morris Avenue project director Richard Mansfield-Jones says the two-year-old St Louis project Morris parallels what is planned for Avenue The St Louis district is the only re mainder of the "original St in 1730 Like Morris Ave- mapped out nue Laclede's Landing includes St oldest thouroughfares But unlike Morris Avenue Laclede's Landing has made the jump from a rundown area of warehouses to a well-on-the way historic entertainment district in just under two years Tom Purcell head of the Laclede's Landing Redevelopment Corporation says in the area by made placing an emphasis on office space think we've been at it about two-and-a-half yean and we have committments for 400000 square feet of the 900000 square feet we want to Purcell said Purcell said the area is making progress because of good planning the ability to raise money committment by the business and financial community and a dose contact with local government "Our emphasis is on office space but we will have entertainment One of the problems with entertainment though is that when entertainment dominates an area you take on an certain image that seems temporary and that may discourage investors "Whenever you do renovation the most important thing an investor looks for is stability In an entertainment district he may have excitement for two or three years but still paying off his investment for another 10 or 15 Mansfield-Jones commented that Landing developers use tech- 20 representatives of various social service agencies are asking the elderly and handicapped to complete the questionnaire to figure out how far-reaching the program should be The number to call is 251-8139 The group will come up with a plan sometime in the fall and it'll probably be realty to begin by winter "Our survey is trying to get a handle on the needs and existing services then well take a look at which of those needs are the most critical and how much it would cost to serve those needs! uld Rod Wilburn a consultant from Huntsville who is helping the subcommittee draft its report usually very expensive to operate because it's demand-responsive the kind of service where not able to get a lot of people on one bus" Expeases caa be cut he said once the program starts because definite scheduling of routes can be developed The group does not have an estimate Disadvantaged can help themselves By Jue Aldridge FNtHmld Report Circuit Judge Joseph sentenced Ronnie Gaines yesterday to die in the electric chair for the death of an elderly widow at her North Birmingham home last year The date of execution wu set for Nov 3 "The court finds no reason whatsoever to change the punsUuneot fixed by the Jury at uld Jasper Mrs Hazel Thomason 97 was brutally beaten shot three times and stabbed several times with three of the knives left in her body according to trial testimony "The court is appalled at the inhuman treatment inflicted on an innocent victim in her home" he uld adding that he could not recall a heinous atrocious and cruel Court postpones Evans execution UnttadPNMhtHMtioMl MONTGOMERY The Alabama Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision John Louis Evans HI apparently clearing the way for an appeal to the UJ9 Supreme Court -After a Stminute tearing the high court issued its decision that could set of the stage for the first review ever Alabama's 1975 death penalty law The stay was sought by Evans' lawyer John Carroll of the Southern Poverty Law Center who said he needed time to prepare an appeal to the UA Supreme Court Carroll told the Justices that Evans who had previously expressed a desire to be executed on schedule authorized an appeal of his case solely to gain time for his campaign to change Alabama's method of execution from electrocution to lethal Injection By Steve Holland PMt-Henld Report If you are elderly or handicapped id have trouble getting a ride to work school or Just to visit a friend you can heip yourseu ny helping a subcommittee of the Birmingham Regional Planning Commission All you nave to do is fill out a ques- Allyou tioiinaire The subcommittee termed the Elderly and Handicapped Transportation Advisory Committee is still gathering responses from the underprivileged so it can accurately define the needs of these people before preparing a final recommendation for theplanmng commission The numbers are bard to come by but it is estimated that there are at least 20 000 handicapped persons in the county end some 65000 elderly persons -10 percent of the county's popu- The made up of some I (l 0 Si i ll.