Merchants meet, discuss downtown Northport’s future
Downtown Northport business owners are coming together to talk about the future of their surroundings.
Northport District 4 Council Member Jamie Dykes organized the event, which happened Tuesday.
“We are in the process of developing a comprehensive plan for the city of Northport,” Dykes said. “This meeting was specifically for merchants, business owners and developers to give us some feedback on what they want to see in downtown Northport, the riverfront. We were so pleasantly surprised to see the variety of people we had, the amount of people we had.”
Some topics discussed included construction, parking and how to attract new businesses. City Administrator Glenda Webb said she was impressed with the quality of ideas presented.
“I loved the ideas that came out, making sure we preserved pedestrian safety, preserved the history of the area, and make sure that we build upon those things so that we can have a nice area downtown and along the riverfront,” Webb said. “Be unique and separate us from other cities here in the area and just offer a great quality of life.”
Tony Bryan, who owns the CBD Store in downtown Northport, said he’s excited for growth and understands the pains that may come with it.
“The parking, availability for more parking and keeping the streets open to allow the merchants to continue to do business,” Bryan said. “Many of the community stores that have been here are family owned and independently owned and operated for generations. It is amazing that they are keeping all those things in mind when they are doing this.”
Tuesday’s meeting was part of the city’s 20 year plan to build for a better future. Other meetings are taking place on the following dates:
- May 22 – Downtown and riverfront
- June 26 – Public facilities and parks
- July 24 – Open House
- October – Zoning Update
- February 2024 – Subdivision regulations
