Sweet Home Alabama
by Borden Black

The cotton fields around Fort Mitchell are sprouting a new crop. Single family homes are popping up like mushrooms in a wet meadow. Although the new residents are mainly military, the expected influx of Army families from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) action has not even begun.

Another City in the Making James McGill said he has seen more growth in Russell County in the last year than during the entire 23 years he spent as county engineer. McGill, who now serves as director of special projects for the Russell County Commission, expects some 5,000 new homes will have been constructed once BRAC relocation is complete. One contractor reports he is selling 40 lots every 90 days.

Taking into consideration a conservative family size, McGill says that will mean 10,000 to 18,000 new residents in Russell County. “That’s a third of our population in a 10-mile corridor,” he said. Three thousand of the lots are within five miles of Fort Benning’s west gate, McGill said. Contractors estimate that about 90 percent of those locating in East Alabama are military … that’s up from initial estimates that 60 percent of the new residents would work on post.

“It’s been absolutely wonderful for us,” said Connie Justice, a realtor with Coldwell Banker, Kennon Parker Duncan and Key who markets several of the 10 new neighborhoods in the Fort Mitchell area. She said they feel like they are making history. “We are creating an entire little city out here.” The few existing restaurants and store owners are also excited over their increased business.

Phenix City/Russell County Chamber of Commerce President Victor Cross expects retail will soon follow the residential boom. “We’ve got to have somebody serving those rooftops,” he points out. A strip shopping center just outside the Village of Westgate is in the developer’s plans and a day care center is expected to open soon. Once all the planned homes are built, fast food outlets are expected to follow.

So far, the infrastructure in the area is holding up but there are some concerns. “Fort Mitchell is doing an outstanding job with what they have to work with,” McGill said, but water flow and sanitary sewer improvements will be needed. He adds that an improved east-west corridor is critical. Money has been requested and state and federal leaders are looking at the needs.

The vacant fields near Ladonia Elementary have also proved fertile and several subdivisions have sprung up there. They, too, are being bought primarily by military families. Justice believes the attraction there is the school systems. Children can attend either Lee County or Russell County schools, both of which have a good reputation.

Why East Alabama? Why now?
Developers, many of them from recession-hit Atlanta, began building homes in East Alabama in anticipation of an onslaught of troops when Fort Knox’s Armor school combines with Fort Benning’s Infantry school to become the Maneuver Center of Excellence. Realtor Justice points out that those soldiers haven’t even arrived yet and the homes are filling up.

When Chris and Shawna Klein and their four children moved to Fort Benning two years ago, they initially lived in an apartment, but decided they needed something bigger. They looked at a few homes in Columbus, but settled on a two-story in the Village at Westgate. She says they were attracted by the size of the home, the community amenities and how close the neighborhood is to Fort Benning. Since they have children in fourth, second, kindergarten and pre-K, the school district was also important. After a talk with a principal and a tour of Russell County’s Mount Olive Elementary, the Kleins decided to move. They have found a primarily military community where the kids play together and they are friends with the neighbors.

James Beeman and his wife and son are even more recent homeowners. They also had been renting. “I was tired of paying someone else’s mortgage,” Beeman said. They really liked the style of the homes in Patriots Point but were primarily sold because of “being out in the sticks.” They found that homes in their price range in Columbus had less land. Beeman, who is a soldier at Fort Benning, values the serenity of living in the country, but adds that work is close and he can carpool with other military people in the subdivision.

Phenix City/Russell County Board of Realtors President Dale Parker says the homes have more square footage in East Alabama because the cost of building is less. “They are getting more square foot per dollar … more house for the buck,” he explained. In addition, first time home buyers are now getting a tax credit of $8,000.

While price and location are a major factor in military families selecting the Fort Mitchell area, realtors say they hear many more reasons.

Cross points out that taxes are considerably less on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee. “That means that on a $200,000 house with homestead, you will pay a little over $1,000 in taxes in Russell County. On the same house across the river, the tax is $2,780 plus.

In addition to the financial benefits, McGill says the Fort Mitchell area will not have some of the negatives of military growth like the noise from Armor school training that is expected to impact other areas. Unlike Columbus there is still a lot of land available for development, he pointed out.

Military retirees is another market that is expected to swell the population. They get a good deal in Alabama since they pay no state income tax on their military retirement check. McGill believes the area has just begun to tap that market. “They want gated communities and don’t want to mow grass,” he said.

Still More to Come
Justice only sees things getting better. “We are just on the beginning of this,” she explained. And Cross likens it to getting a “drink from a fire hose.” The first relocations as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) actions are not expected until the spring of next year. Eventually more than 28,000 new residents are expected to come to the Columbus area.

Cross expects many of those will head for Russell County. He has visited Fort Knox several times and says most of the families he talks to are looking at locating in Alabama. He’s ready to capitalize on the influx and says the chamber is trying to provide as much information as possible so those relocating can make an intelligent decision.

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