By Andy McWhorter and Samantha Eastburn | CW Staff

The last business at the former Central Plaza on the corner of 10th Avenue and 15th Street is closing its doors this week to make way for a five-story, mixed-use apartment complex.

Little Caesars, the final business, will have its last day of operation Tuesday. EatMyBeats, an audio supply store formerly located at Central Plaza, recently moved to a new location on Jug Factory Road. The 15th Street Diner closed its doors Dec. 15 after about 24 years of operation in the same location, and the former 10th Avenue Package Store moved in January to a new location on Hackberry Lane, behind the Bama Lanes bowling alley. Bamaland, an Alabama merchandise retailer, closed last week, said Chris Vernarsky, the general manager of Bamaland.

According to plans submitted to City Hall by South City Partners, the Atlanta-based development company behind the project, the complex will be called South 10 and will create space for 592 beds. The complex is primarily intended for undergraduate students at The University of Alabama, said Mark Randall, owner of South City Partners. The complex will also include retail spaces on 10th Avenue, thanks to a recent change in the property’s zoning.

(See also “City rezoning to affect student housing“)

While the businesses of Central Plaza are either closed or displaced for now, and the demolition process has already begun, it is possible that some might return once the project is complete.

“We are in discussions with a few of them, but [there are] no definitive plans yet,” Randall said. “We’re hopeful that they will decide to come back.”

Even though Bamaland is out of business for the moment, Vernarksy, for one, said he hopes that this isn’t the end for the merchandise outlet.

“Unfortunately, for now, I think we are going to close,” Vernarsky said. “We will still be online, and we are hoping to come back to the same site once the complexes are built.”

Drew Henson, owner of 15th Street Diner and Cypress Inn Restaurant, said he would want to return to the same location if he decided to reopen the diner.

“It’s not moving to a new location,” Henson said. “If we reopen it, it will be there. I would want to be in the same spot. We have talked to them about it, but nothing firm yet.”

Knute Christian Sr., owner of 10th Avenue Package Store, said he believes the growth in new student housing developments has outpaced demand and that building new housing on 10th Avenue will only serve to make traffic worse.

(See also “Continued expansion causing problems for resources on campus“)

“It looks like to me they’re overbuilding, but I’m not a builder,” Christian said. “And as long as they rent them, they’ll build them.”

Since plans for the development were submitted before Mayor Walt Maddox’s formation of the Student Housing Task Force, the project will not be affected by the amendments to zoning code recently passed by city council.

“Our project is fully permitted. It was done ahead of the deadlines,” Randall said. “My understanding is that they’re also working on creating a new category for projects that are within the box, which is north of 15th.”

Randall said despite the rapid growth of student housing developments, he believes the South 10 complex will succeed because of its proximity to sorority row and the rest of campus.

“I think that the market will dictate what makes sense,” Randall said. “If [the University] keeps growing at the pace it’s been growing, there’s room for a lot of what’s being done.”

(See also “UA housing policy not in line with promise to make students feel at home“)