An empty sales building and a single partially built duplex are about all that stand at Summit at Monte Sano these days, feeding neighbor suspicions that the long-promised subdivision on the mountain has quietly died. But developer Ben Jackson says that is not the case, insisting ground is about to be broken on three more homes even as the site sat with no observable activity on a recent Thursday.
A Site That Looks Stuck in Time
Residents near the development on the south side of Bankhead Parkway and east of Gaslight Way believe the subdivision has been abandoned, according to AL.com. The site is being built by Colorado-based See Forever, and as of mid-October it still consisted of little more than the vacant sales office and the unfinished duplex. The station's report notes the property appeared virtually unchanged from a YouTube update posted by Bo Henderson four months earlier.
A development sign had advertised residences coming in summer 2025, a target that has clearly passed. Workers did clear weeds at the site on October 14, and resident Mark Judge said he occasionally sees someone working there, but the same report found no observable activity when checked again on October 15.
The Developer Pushes Back
Jackson flatly denied the development has been abandoned. He said ground was about to be broken on three more homes, and pointed back to 2023, when he said the project had 25 prospective buyers. He has also said homes valued up to $1.5 million would be built, and that release of a limited opportunity would occur around the 2025 Parade of Homes dates.
Resident David Little offered a different read, saying the developer appears to be waiting on the subdivision's acceptance into the city's maintenance program, which includes a required land trust donation, before moving further. Little added that one home is underway and others appear close to construction. Separately, City Communication Director Kelly Schrimsher said the city's planning department told her the development was still moving forward.
Years of Opposition Over Drainage and Traffic
The project has drawn sustained pushback since the Huntsville Planning Commission and Huntsville City Council approved planned urban development zoning for it in 2022, with adjacent neighborhood residents citing concerns about the mountain's character, drainage and traffic. Those drainage worries turned urgent in May 2025, when construction at the site contributed to flooding in lower neighborhoods during what city officials called a 100-year flood event.
The flooding followed a punishing two-day rainfall. The National Weather Service recorded 3.48 inches of rain over May 2 and 3, 2025, and the city of Huntsville issued a stop-work order afterward, according to AL.com. That order limited the contractor to finishing only the ongoing stormwater drainage construction before other work could resume, and at the time, construction on the actual homes still had not begun.
City engineers determined the development's stormwater infrastructure did not meet required standards, per Rocket City Now, and the developer and contractor agreed to prioritize stormwater improvements downstream of the site. The city's engineering division separately requires that drainage plans for new subdivisions conform to the City of Huntsville Storm Water Management Manual, according to the City of Huntsville.
Residents Downhill Still Dealing With Runoff
Little said the city worked with the developer to address earlier runoff issues, and the site has since had street and drainage work completed. Even so, residents below the development continue to experience runoff problems during heavy rainfall. Judge said runoff had crossed a street drain and flowed downhill 13 previous times in just over a year, and a resident of Heritage of Monte Sano reported that red mud runoff clogged drains and drainpipes. The city had cleaned a clogged drainpipe in one resident's yard just a few months earlier.
See Forever worked to mitigate drainage issues following the May 2025 flooding. City engineers and developers also worked on redirecting stormwater discharge in the aftermath, and planning approvals have continued to move forward despite the unresolved concerns: the city granted final approval for 26 lots and preliminary approval for 64 lots in 2025, then gave final approval to 41 second-phase lots in March 2026.
A Greenway Takes Shape Nearby
Apart from the subdivision itself, See Forever has pledged to donate unused development land to the Land Trust of North Alabama, having already given 5.6 acres on the east side of Bankhead Parkway in 2023. The Tollgate Greenway runs through that donated land, and the Land Trust confirmed receiving a 5.61-acre donation adjacent to Bankhead Parkway, according to the Land Trust of North Alabama.
The Land Trust officially opened the Tollgate Greenway on Monte Sano on April 27, 2026, noting construction had begun the previous September and wrapped in less than a year. But Marie Bostuck said no property on the west side of Bankhead has yet been donated, and that work there remains ongoing — a reminder that even the project's completed pieces sit alongside parts still very much in progress.
