Condo construction underway at Merts Center in Huntsvilleâs Twickenham neighborhood
A crane went up into the third floor of the historic Annie Merts Center in Huntsville’s Twickenham neighborhood last week, signaling the transformation of the old school administrative building into 11 condominiums.
Crunkleton & Associates, LLC bought the Merts Center site from Huntsville City Schools in September 2022 for $2.9 million. The developer split up the land, which then sold for about $8.2 million across multiple sales, including the $2.1 million sale of the central portion of the property to Merts Condo LLC, according to Madison County probate records.
The condos will be located in the building that housed Huntsville High School beginning in 1929, then the junior high, before becoming the school system’s central office in the 1980s.
Wesley Crunkleton, a principal at Crunkleton & Associates, told AL.com that he expects the city of Huntsville will soon approve the plan for the condos, paving the way for completion of the construction by the end of 2024.
“It took a lot longer than I expected it to take,” he said. “The weather earlier this year was horrendous with the amount of rain that we had and anytime you’re trying to do dirt work and there’s a lot of rain, it causes a lot of delays.”
He also noted the challenges of working in a historic neighborhood.
“Working in a historical neighborhood, trying to grade lots and do heavy demo right next door where people are living, you try to be as careful as you possibly can,” he said.
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Workers are cleaning out the building following demolitions of the adjoining structures.
“And so we’re very hopeful that by this time next year, we can be finishing up the project,” he said. “But we live in an environment right now where construction is difficult because finding certain subs and finding people that can do certain trades, it takes time, and it’s difficult.”
Merts Preservation LLC demolished the east and west wings, gymnasium, auditorium, data building, walkways, canopies, fencing, and the decommissioned mechanical equipment. It also sold the lots created after the demolitions around the standing part of the historic building in the Twickenham neighborhood for home building.
Crunkleton & Associates initially agreed with Huntsville City School to buy the property for $3.45 million but negotiated it down to about $2.9 million because of a limitation the Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission placed on the property usage to not have lots in front of the staircase.
“There will be no buildable lots platted on the north facade of the building to preserve the front elevation of the building,” said the commission’s March 2022 minutes.
Crunkleton & Associates formed Merts Preservation LLC in June 2022. Merts Preservation LLC purchased the property in September of that year. That same month, Crunkleton joined others to form Merts Condo LLC, registered in Mississippi. Following the demolitions, the owners dissolved Merts Preservation LLC after selling what was left of the Merts Center to Merts Condo LLC in August 2023 for $2.1 million.
Wesley Crunkleton explained that the two LLCs have different focuses. Merts Preservation LLC was to oversee the entire property, including the demolitions, dividing, and selling of lots. Merts Condo LLC aimed at developing the condos with MR Construction out of Oxford, Miss., as a partner.
“They do condo developments, and that’s not something that we specialize in,” Crunkleton said. “So we wanted to have a partner that actually understands the development process of condos. I’m still part of the ownership. I was part of the original one, and there’s a lot of similarities in ownership between Preservation LLC and Condo LLC, but the Mississippi company was not part of the Preservation LLC because we did not need them for that part. They specialize in condos, so we wanted them for the condo part of the development, which is the reason why they came in there.”
The school district decided to sell the Merts property because it needed repairs totaling $14 million based on a 2018 evaluation.
The district now hosts the administrative staff in various offices across the city pending the completion of a building at the corner of Memorial Parkway and Max Luther Drive that the City of Huntsville is donating to the school district.
Between March and July 2023, Merts Preservation LLC sold the lots around the standing portion of the building for $6.1 million, according to Madison County probate court records. The demolition costs $1 million, Crunkleton told AL.com.