PELL CITY — Local officials broke ground Thursday on the new Pell City Square retail development at the former site of St. Vincent’s St. Clair.
People from Pell City and St. Clair County gathered on the site of the future shopping center.
It was announced last month that the lineup for the shopping center will include Tj Maxx, Ross, Old Navy, pOpshelf, five BELoW, Rack Room Shoes and Hobby Lobby.
Economic Development Council Executive Director Don Smith said the development has been a long time coming.
“I know there’s been rumors on Facebook for about four years about this,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming but I can assure you this: the team that’s up here never stopped working on it, no matter what was thrown at us.”
Pell City Manager Brian Muenger said he shared Smith’s excitement that the day to break ground on the project has finally come. The city manager recognized the members of the Pell City Council and St. Clair County Commission that has worked for years to bring retail development to Pell City. He also recognized Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt who worked with the council to make the project happen.
“Our council and mayor have been unwavering in pushing this project to completion,” Muenger said, “and for that I am extremely grateful.”
He said Thursday’s event recalled a similar one on the same site in 1968 to lay the cornerstone for St. Clair County Hospital. Muenger said since then both the city and county have grown and the needs of the community have changed a great deal.
“The major thing that we’ve heard from our citizens is they want to keep their dollars here in Pell City and here in St. Clair County,” he said. “This shopping center is going to do exactly that.”
Muenger said the project goes all the way back to 2012 when the new St. Vincent’s St. Clair was built. He said since then the city has been working towards developing its former site, including demolishing the old hospital, finding partners, and dealing with challenges offered by the pandemic. Muenger said he feels all that work ultimately does a lot for both the city and county.
“I think it can be said that adding 135 thousand square feet of retail to a city our size does a lot for our city, for our county, for our schools and for our residents,” he said. “This is a great day for the city and it took alot to get here.”
Pell City Mayor Bill Pruitt said he feels the new development has shown that the city has come back after the pandemic.
“As far as I am concerned, this just puts the nail in the coffin of covid,” he said. “We’re back.”
County Commission Chairman Paul Manning praised his fellow commissioners for their hard work on making the project happen through the commission’s partnership with the city. The chairman also praised Pell City based developer Bill Ellison, who has been key to making the project happen.
Noon Real Estate Developers Kevin Jennings and Jaimey Flegal also praised Ellison and local elected officials for making the retail center happen. Flegal even called Pell City Council President Jud Alverson a rock star for his leadership on the project.
During the event the city and commission also revealed the Alabama Legislature has named the highway 231 bridge over I-20 between Walmart and the new development the William C Ellison Bridge after Ellison, who played a role in bringing both Pell City Square and Walmart to Pell City.
By Taylor Mitchell, Daily Home Staff Writer
Photo by Bob Crisp, The Daily Home
Original article: https://www.annistonstar.com/the_st_clair_times/stclair_news/pell-city-breaks-ground-of-new-retail-development/article_4d91c87e-2f98-11ed-81e4-0bff643d16b5.html
