A proposed 30,000-square-foot community center near Hoover's Riverchase Office Park has run into resistance from city staff, who say the project doesn't belong on land set aside for offices. At the same time, just a few miles away along Stadium Trace Parkway, four planned-industrial lots tied to developer Jonathan Belcher remain stuck in limbo over a dispute about when a flooding fix should get done.
The Alabama Merchants Association has proposed building the community center at 900 Concourse Parkway, a 7.5-acre site off Riverchase Parkway East sandwiched between ABC 33/40 and the Homewood Suites by Hilton, according to Hoover Sun. The property is currently zoned for office use, and Hoover's Comprehensive Plan calls for office and light industrial development there, the outlet reports. City of Hoover staff have recommended denial of the conditional-use request, with city planner Mac Martin saying a community center would not be the highest and best use of the property, per the same account.
The site is owned by Harbert Properties Corp., and the merchants association is interested in buying it, the Hoover Sun reports. The association represents owners of numerous gasoline stations and convenience stores and is connected to a religious community; it has indicated it is contemplating a mix of uses on the property, including a recreational center, office space, and a place of worship, according to the outlet's reporting. The Alabama Merchants Association itself operates under the National Alliance of Trade Associations, a group established in 2000 that represents more than 4,000 independent retail businesses nationwide.
Traffic Study Fell Short of Capturing Full Plans
Part of the holdup stems from an incomplete traffic analysis. Skipper Consultants prepared the original traffic study, which based its expected counts on a recreational community center similar to a YMCA facility, the Hoover Sun reports. That study did not account for traffic generated by all of the uses the association is now contemplating, even though the project is expected to include about 350 parking spaces and generate 865 trips on an average weekday, per the outlet's reporting.
The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission continued the case in both August and September to allow for a more comprehensive traffic study, according to the Hoover Sun. The application is now scheduled to return before the zoning board on Monday, October 5. The merchants association is also considering alternative locations for the community center and could submit a new conditional-use application at a different site, the outlet notes.
Riverchase Office Park anchors more than 10,000 jobs in Hoover; the surrounding area has over 5 million square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment amenities, according to Business Alabama Magazine. City staff have argued that the Concourse Parkway land should stay reserved for office and light industrial uses rather than pivot to a community center. The corridor is also where Hoover's 2024 Parks and Recreation Master Plan designated the Riverchase Office Park area along the Cahaba River as a high priority for a continuous greenway trail, according to the City of Hoover.
The Concourse Parkway parcel itself has already been through one zoning adjustment. In December 2025, the Hoover City Council considered an ordinance to rezone the site from split Planned Industrial and Planned Office to fully Planned Office, following a Planning Commission recommendation to eliminate the split zoning, per city records.
Stormwater Fight Stalls Trace Crossings Lots
Across town, a separate zoning board case involving four planned-industrial lots at the corner of Stadium Trace Parkway and Flemming Parkway was also postponed, according to the Hoover Sun. The lots are part of developer Jonathan Belcher's Trace Crossings project, and the holdup centers on disagreement over the timing of needed stormwater improvements, the outlet reports.
Signature Homes, the company behind the project, has proposed off-site downstream stormwater improvements intended to fix a flooding problem at the Stadium Trace Parkway and Flemming Parkway intersection, per the Hoover Sun's reporting. City staff did not want to approve building permits before that stormwater work was completed, citing the risk of further flooding problems. Belcher, for his part, sought building permits before the stormwater work was finished, saying he did not want to work on the fix while school was in session and that the work could not be completed over fall break — though he indicated it could likely be done during winter break, according to the outlet.
Potential land buyers were ready to begin development, and the Hoover Sun reports the proposed project would provide an economic boost for the city. The Trace Crossings case is scheduled to return to the zoning board on the same October 5 date as the Riverchase community center application.
Big Dollars Riding on the Stadium Trace Corridor
The stakes along Stadium Trace Parkway extend well beyond this one stormwater dispute. In January, the State of Alabama announced an $11.75 million federal Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization grant split between Broad Metro's Stadium Trace Village Phase 2 and Signature Homes' I-459 Exit 9 Parkway Extension, according to Workforce Alabama. And in July, the Hoover City Council approved a tax incentive agreement for Phases 2 and 3 of Stadium Trace Village that included $4 million upfront from a city-budgeted stormwater allocation, the Hoover Sun reported.
Traffic congestion near Stadium Trace Parkway is already a known pain point. The South Shades Crest Road widening project nearby requires its contractor to complete traffic-alleviating construction within 300 days of receiving a notice to proceed, and is meant to ease severe congestion near South Shades Crest Elementary School, per the Hoover Sun. The Hoover Metropolitan Complex, also located off Stadium Trace Parkway, generates an estimated $90 million in annual economic impact for the city and draws regional crowds for events including the SEC Baseball Tournament through at least 2028, according to the outlet's earlier reporting.
Belcher's development footprint in Hoover extends beyond Trace Crossings. Signature Homes purchased 24 acres inside Hoover's Riverwalk Village development in early 2025 to build roughly 200 single- and multi-family homes, according to Yellowhammer News. Riverwalk Village is a master-planned, health-and-wellness-focused site built on former corporate office property. Any new conditional-use application the merchants association might file for an alternate Riverchase site would have to be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Commission at least 28 calendar days before a scheduled meeting, per Hoover's municipal regulations.
