Last week, the Tuscaloosa City Council voted to allow Springbrook Investments LLC to rezone their residential neighborhood. The proposal concerned turning Springbrook’s 23-lot residential property into a retail lot. The lot would be altered to become a four-store retail center, although what stores will be in place is not yet fully known.

In order to accomplish this, Springbrook had to issue a rezoning proposal to change the land from residential zoning to retail zoning. The proposal was divisive amongst the residents of Springbrook’s neighborhood, other residents of Tuscaloosa and the developers. The residents of Springbrook have been vocally opposed to the redevelopments, many feeling as if the developers are no longer seeing the value of the neighborhood.

The topic has been the focal point of multiple city council meetings, with many people on both sides of the argument having a passionate opinion on the matter. Representatives of the city shared their concerns about allowing the rezoning before they even know for sure what stores would go into the retail center, while Tuscaloosa citizens were torn between the people who live in Springbrook and the possible financial upside a new retail center would bring.

Despite the various debates and opinions on the matter, the resolution to rezone Springbrook passed after Mayor Walt Maddox broke a 3-3 tie with his yes vote. Councilman Kip Tyner was absent for the vote, making Maddox the tiebreaker.

The vote comes as a huge relief for those at Springbrook looking to rezone the land. If the proposal had been denied, the developers would have had to wait six months to restart the whole process. The proposal had already been denied twice previously, and a third denial may have been the last nail in the Springbrook coffin.

However, with the proposal making its way through the process put in place by the City Council, Springbrook will begin remodeling the area into a 44,000 square-foot retail center.

Although the plan has been approved, the City Council still retains a level of oversight, and there will still be multiple City Council meetings where Springbrook will be brought before them to ensure proper implementation procedures are followed.