The restoration of old buildings to create new retail and residential spaces along lower Dexter Avenue and Court Square downtown represents more than a lucrative project for one homegrown real estate developer.
When Golson Foshee, owner of Foshee Residential Management Company, looked at the long-shuttered and faded buildings along Dexter Avenue four years ago, he didn’t see blight. He saw opportunity. As a developer, of course, he is used to looking at land and buildings and seeing what they could be. But this vision went beyond the potential in a particular property. It was the vision for his hometown, his downtown, his city — the place where he hoped his children would decide to put down roots of their own. A place where they would want to live.
The vision was originally called Market District, in tribute to the area’s original name, Market Street. However, it has recently been rebranded as Lower Dexter to more accurately represent the geographical footprint of the development area. Nestled at the foot of what is arguably one of America’s most historic streets, the area includes mainly the buildings that face Dexter on the lower block, as well as some buildings around Court Square and the fountain at Court Square.
Lower Dexter is a cooperative project involving two developers, Foshee Residential Management Company, and ELSAJA 39 Dexter LLC, which is an offshoot of ELSAJA Holdings LLC and the sister company of Marjam. It will include a mixture of retail and residential develop-ment. Parts of the area will be closed to vehicle traffic on weekends and for special events, creating a family-friendly pedestrian mall.
Foshee acquired buildings along the south side of Lower Dexter, buildings on South Court Street and three buildings on the south side of the fountain. Foshee also will renovate the alley between the Dexter and Washington Avenue parking deck, providing an attractive area with outdoor seating and lighting. Already open on Lower Dex-ter is the new Cuco’s Restaurant. Additional retailers are expected to open by May or sooner, including Frios Pops, The Alabama Sweet Tea Company, Momma Goldberg’s, River Region Sweet Treats and Island Delight. There is also a planned 10,000 square feet of “makers space,” to house artists, artisans and craftspeople.
There are more than 100 apartments available or under construc-tion, including 35 skyline apartments in the 40 Four Building, 28 apartments at the Lofts at District 36, 15 apartments being developed at The Lofts at District 76 and planned residential apartments above the retail spaces along Dexter.
The centerpiece of the ELSAJA portion of Lower Dexter is Kress on Dexter, involving a total renovation and rehabilitation of the historic Kress department store building, including adding two stories of residential apartments above the existing structure. Kress on Dexter will include 32 residential apartments, 15,000 square feet of office space and 45,000 square feet of retail space. There will be an entrance to the property on both Dexter Avenue and Monroe Street, connecting the two. Apartments are already pre-leasing, and the entire property has a planned grand opening date of July 2017.
ELSAJA Vice President of Construction Development Zac Gibbs says several commercial tenants are committed, but at press time could not announce specifics. There is additional space available for lease, with flexible floor plans depending on the needs of the business, ranging from 500 square feet to up to 5,000 square feet. ELSAJA also owns seven additional buildings, including 1 Court Square, and will continue to renovate and roll out new plans.
Foshee has been developing properties in the downtown area for several years, primarily residential buildings like the 40 Four Building. Foshee says as his company began to develop the proper-ty, the vision for Lower Dexter began to grow. “We had purchased the 40 Four Building about four years ago, and we were sitting on Dexter looking at it; we thought it would be nice to eventually have Dexter developed. This was before the city did any RFP work that enticed developers to come in and renovate other buildings,” Foshee said. “We had always taken the position that if you were going to develop them you needed to develop them together and make it a destination.” Foshee says he wanted to “turn the lights back on” on Lower Dexter.
Already, Lower Dexter has all the components in place – from an attractions standpoint — to bring people to the site. It is rich in history, as the point where two settlements — New Philadelphia and East Alabama Town — came together at the fountain to create one city, Montgomery. Andrew Dexter donated the land for the Capitol and other buildings around town and brought the cities together, and the street was renamed from Market Street to Dexter Avenue in his honor.
“We feel like we have all the pieces coming together to create a vibrant destination downtown. It’s been our desire that it needs to be a family-friendly destination. Not a lot of bars and late-night places — the Alley has that and they do it really well. We love what that does for the nightlife here. We envision activities like a weekend Farmer’s Market, concerts and other per-formances, a lit-up fountain, great dining, great experiences.”
Gibbs agreed. “It’s a beautiful setting and probably underappreciated by people who live here,” he said. “A lot of pedestrians are walking the historic trail and reading the markers and visiting, but our goal is to bring life and community through arts, culture, food and residential apartments and condos.”
That idea of creating life in the city center is the key, according to Foshee. It goes beyond economic development and hits at the heart of building quality of place and recruiting and retaining talent, which are two of the Chamber’s top priorities. “One of our biggest concerns is making Montgomery attractive for young people,” he said. “I want my kids to come back to Montgomery. I want them to want to be here. That is one of the main drivers behind our downtown development.”
“Every city needs a vibrant downtown to be able to grow throughout the city, and I think that’s what Lower Dexter is doing and is going to do,” said Mac McLeod, Director of Business and Commercial Development for the City of Montgomery. “People are interested in living downtown again.” The city invested grant money to update and renovate the streetscape from Court Square up Dexter Avenue. “Lower Dexter now has a livable feel as the buildings are renovated,” he said. “It will completely change the entire feel of downtown.”
For more information and on-going updates, visit montgomerymarketdistrict.com.
LOWER DEXTER / SOUTH DEXTER AVENUE: Planned Foshee Developments
• Renovated alley between the Dexter and Washington Avenue parking deck, providing an attractive area with outdoor seating and lighting.
• 10,000 square feet of “makers space” to house artists, artisans and craftspeople planned.
• More than 100 apartments.
COMING THIS SUMMER
Keep an eye out for these new businesses hitting Lower Dexter by summer.
• Frios Pop
• The AlabamaSweet Tea Company
• Momma Goldberg’s
• River Region Sweet Treats
• Island Delight
