Gin Shop impact: $37M historic redevelopment may bring more changes to downtown Prattville
Article written by Marty Roney of the Montgomery Advertiser
PRATTVILLE – The dream that drove the almost decade-long crusade to preserve Prattville’s historic “Gin Shop” seemed at times like a nightmare. The effort was marred by delay after delay and unforeseen roadblocks. Then the whispers began − “boondoggle,” and “it’ll never happen.”
But apartments are being leased, finally, and the whispers disappeared like the mats of Virginia creeper vines that for so long covered the walls and its old buildings.
Envolve Communities is building 127 loft-style apartments in the five historic masonry structures of downtown’s iconic landmark. Dubbed “The Mill,” leasing in two of the buildings began about three months ago and work continues on the remaining structures.
The Mill apartments in downtown Prattville are expected to be the cornerstone of a new round of development for the city. (Photo credit Mickey Welsh of the Montgomery Advertiser)
Prattville's next wave of development
Now that people are moving into the apartments, will it kick off another round of downtown revitalization?
The short answer is yes, officials say, but there are questions around the timing and scope of the growth. And how it will be managed.
“We expect more people, developers, to express an interest in downtown,” said Matt Holtzscher, chairman of the Historic Prattville Redevelopment Authority. “Before we were showing plans of what the apartments could look like. And people would say ‘That looks nice.’ Now we can take people to the property and show them.
“It makes a huge difference.”
It’s not just private enterprise behind the investment.
The City of Prattville recently funded a $3.4 million outdoor venue that is planned for the parking area between the city hall annex and old Hancock Bank building. The city bought the bank building in 2022 for about $1.7 million. Plans are for the venue to be completed sometime by mid-2025, just across from city hall.
HPRA owns the Picker House across the creek from The Mill and the closed grocery store about a block away at the corner of Chestnut and Tichnor streets. Progress at the apartments has potential clients eyeing those two buildings.
The Picker House is the sole surviving structure of the Gurney Building fire in 2002. A cotton spinning plant, the sprawling building stretched about a block long and was the twin of the Gin Shop. It was completely lost in the fire, which was found to be arson.
There is a developer expressing interest in the Picker House, Holtzscher said. He declined to give specifics, but he said plans are to build a restaurant in the building with a deck overlooking the creek and millpond dam. There will also be other outdoor dining spaces, he said.
Trees grow on the eaves of the old Prattville gin shop in Prattville, Ala., on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. (Photo credit to Mickey Welsh of the Montgomery Advertiser)
The grocery store is another matter. Built in the mid-1950s when Prattville had a much lower population, the footprint is the problem.
“Just about every potential developer we show the grocery store to says it's too small,” Holtzscher said. “So we are planning on helping the city out with the new outdoor venue and give them some more space.”
Plans are to raze the current building and build larger on the other side of the lot − about 1,500 square feet larger than the current building. That leads to concerns about parking, which is an issue in a landlocked downtown amid a surge in residents and both vehicle and foot traffic.
“I like to think of it as a challenge,” Mayor Bill Gillespie said. “It’s a good challenge to have because people want to be downtown. That’s good for the businesses and restaurants downtown.
“We are going to have to manage that growth. And parking is right up there.”
City government has long viewed downtown as Prattville's unofficial front porch, and back yard. It's the city's home for parades, creekside concerts and back to school parties. The odd car show pops up. During the holidays, crowds flock downtown to see the Christmas tree in the city-owned park across the creek from the Gin Shop and all the decorations downtown.
Paige Hartley was one of the first people to sign a lease at The Mill and owns two businesses downtown. She's an esthetician at Indulgence Salon and Spa and owns Autauga Creek Craft House. Hartley can see both from her apartment, which offers stellar views of downtown and the millpond and dam.
She's taken to posting sunrise images from the bank of windows at her home on social media, along with shots of walking her dogs around the area.
"I love it, with a capital L," Hartley said of living downtown. "I got interested when they first started talking about the apartments years ago. It is just so convenient, I walk to work. If anything is going on in Prattville, it's going on downtown."
The Mill apartments are part of a $37 million preservation and development project. (Photo credit to Mickey Welsh of the Montgomery Advertiser)
'No other city has this'
Pratt was a New England Yankee and his town reflects his heritage. Most Southern towns founded in the early 19th century were built around the courthouse square concept. Pratt made the industrial area the centerpiece of Prattville.
“No other city has this; these buildings, these views,” said Kea Calame, senior vice president of asset management for Envolve, in an earlier interview. She’s shepherded the project since its start in 2015. The oldest building onsite goes back to 1848, with the “newest” building being constructed in 1912.
In Prattville’s early days the Gin Shop complex was the heart of the community, a heart that beat for well over a century.
At its peak, it was the largest cotton gin factory in the world. During World War II it made 5-inch gun mounts for the Navy and casings for 250-pound bombs. Recently discovered files show that it built high-pressure steam and water pipes for the Manhattan Project, the massive and ultra secretive nationwide effort to build the atomic bombs.
Local production ceased in 2012 when Continental Eagle shipped the work overseas.
HPRA bought the sprawling site during a mortgage foreclosure sale on the grounds of the Autauga County Courthouse for $1.7 million on Dec. 18, 2014.
The preservation group began to market the property almost immediately.
“You can see we are marketing downtown Prattville as part of the attraction,” she said in November, when Envolve showed off construction progress. “We want to complement downtown and be part of downtown, and downtown’s future."
The $37 million project involves more than just adding apartments, much more. It’s being credited for saving a large chunk of the city’s history.
The fear among Prattvillians who loved history was that these handmade brick and heart pine beams, timber and joists would leave the city on the backs of flatbed trucks; that Prattville’s history would be exiled piecemeal to projects in larger Southern cities.