The Hoover Municipal Council should consider requests on February 17 for a family entertainment center off Lorna Road and a cocktail bar in the development of Knox Square in front of the Hoover Metropolitan stadium.
A company called Stars Entertainment seeks authorization to open a family entertainment center in the village of the Lorna shopping center in the anchor area currently occupied by Bargain Hunt.
A floor plan for the space of 54,800 square feet subjected to the city shows 16 lanes of bowling, a trampoline / arcade area, a “blaster” room, two large activities / party rooms, five small bedrooms for Holidays, a food and food area.
On January 13, the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend that the Hoover Municipal Council approved the request, and the case is now planned for a public hearing and voting on February 17.
Johnny Jones, a representative of the company who spoke to the zoning council, declared that the company has the park of the trampoline altitude at 8581 Helena Road in Pelham and is building a family entertainment center of 45,000 feet squares in Moody.
Jones said he had grown up in the Hoover / Vestavia Hills region and believes that this community and this place are well suited to an entertainment center.
The property is zoned as a C-2 community affairs district. The planner of the city of Hoover, Mac Martin, said that city staff had no problem with the proposed development. It is in an area that is already of a commercial nature and should not cause problems with the nearby residential areas, said Martin.
The hours offered are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. on Midi Sunday.
A condition that the zoning board included in its recommendation is that stars entertainment renovates the landscape islets in the parking lot. The shopping center originally had a landscape maintenance plan which included trees, but over time, the trees were removed from the inner part of the parking lot, said Martin. The proposal obliges the company to replace four trees on the existing landscape islets and to add more islands with seven additional trees.
Meanwhile, Lantrice Green, a resident of the Knox Square community, is looking for permission to open a 2000 square feet cocktail bar called Sticks & Stones in the commercial part of Knox Square which is under construction.
The bar would be in the middle of the shopping center along the Stade Trace Parkway at 5852 Elsie Road.
Green has said that he and his wife have lived in Hoover for about 12 years and that driving in downtown Birmingham for a high-end cocktail bar has become too tedious on the way. They would like to bring such an establishment closer to the people of Hoover, he said.
He thinks that it would be a good choice for retirees who move in the new communities that opened up in traces which are designated for people aged 55 and over.
The bar should have seats for around 60 people, and live entertainment and music would only be allowed inside, he said.