Upcoming development in Decatur expected to be bigger than Guntersville’s City Harbor

DECATUR, Ala. (WAFF) - Sunday evening, Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling shared on Facebook that developers are working on plans for a new riverside development near Ingalls Harbor.

The project is under development by Patrick Lawler, who built Guntersville’s City Harbor. City Harbor is home to restaurants, stores, and boat slips. City leaders in Guntersville say the development is a major economic driver.

Bowling believes similar development would be a hub for economic development in Decatur.

“Developments that are on the river in this nature have a little bit of pop to them. It also adds a cool factor to them as well,” he said.

Patrick Lawler said he’s working with Bowling to build a similar but more impressive structure in Decatur.

“This will actually be bigger than the one we have in Guntersville, as far as the square footage,” he said. “As far as how many, it’ll be in the ballpark of 75-90 thousand square feet.”

He said city leaders want to build something that will draw customers to the River City.

“Decatur needs something really cool, and I think this will be a positive for Decatur,” he said. “I think it’s a tremendous opportunity here, and I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for North Alabama as a whole.”

Architect John Chambless said sticking to what makes Decatur unique will be key in the design process.

“We have beautiful views, beautiful water, a lot of activity, and a lot of energy,” he said. “The idea here is to recapture that and reinforce it.”

Bowling said they need a good understanding of the details before it can be discussed during city council meetings. However, he said that could happen sooner than expected.

“We have a few more T’s to cross, and we hope that we’ll be able to bring this in front of the city council sometime in April,” he said.

Even if the city council approves the plans in April, the development will go through an approval phase with the Tennessee Valley Authority.

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