MADISON, Alabama – A Providence-like development is on the horizon in the vast cotton fields of west Madison, bringing a mixed-use center intended to be more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

The City Council rezoned 157 acres of agricultural and commercial property to Traditional Neighborhood District at the end of July that places the same sort of restrictions and allowances where residential and business can not only share the same block, but also the same building.

The development has no name, but it is being managed by the same group that put together Village of Providence in Northwest Huntsville: Ron Roberts, David Slyman and Todd Slyman. The property is on the south side of Huntsville Brownsferry Road and east of Bowers Road in Limestone County. Huntsville Brownsferry Road is an east-west route connecting County Line Road and Interstate 65.

The developers have submitted a layout plan to the Madison Planning Commission that shows a basic concept of 349 residential lots around three sides of a neighborhood center on about 15 acres.

Madison Director of Planning and Economic Development Amy Bell said the process is just beginning, and it's mostly involving technical reviews and conceptual plans at the moment.

"It may be many months before you start to see anything on the ground," she said.

The developers said they are not ready to discuss their plans, though they will present the layout plan to the Planning Commission on Aug. 21.

Councilman Mike Potte said he has seen some of the preliminary planning with the developers and he likes their ideas. It's also encouraging to see some commercial development be part of the westward growth, he added, and anticipates more retail shops and services following on Huntsville Brownsferry Road.

"There are 1,600 homes at some stage in development, either on paper or being built in that western area," he said.

This will be the first TND in Madison.

Bell said TNDs are a growing trend nationally and they are labeled "traditional" because it's a return to a Mainstreet town center concept that existed before zoning regulations started separating smoky industries from neighborhoods.

Though the city has plans for more commercial development on Huntsville Brownsferry Road, the TND development is geared more toward serving the people who live close by, giving them access to stores and services within walking and biking distance, she said.

"You see it a lot more in the major metropolitan areas and their suburban areas," Bell said, listing Nashville as example of where they are becoming more common.

The TND on Huntsville Brownsferry Road fits with Madison's long range plans for its western areas that it dubs "the new frontier." The Madison Growth Plan calls for proactive "neighborhood creation" in this key development area with "internal commercial and retail in the area surrounding the subject property."

"New development that provides residents with access to parks, recreation, and shopping," the growth plan reads.

The TND requires that 20 percent of the entire site be set aside for open space and parks. It also emphasizes a connective network of streets, pedestrian and bike ways throughout the entire development. The growth plan identifies the area along the eastern side of Oakland Spring Branch as a future park site, while a greenway is recommended along Oakland Spring Branch as well.

The latest traffic counts for the area indicate 4,429 trips a day along Huntsville Brownsferry Road, which is between 35 and 50 percent capacity. City officials anticipate Huntsville Brownsferry Road becoming a major roadway in the future because it connects with Interstate 65.

Outside the land-use planning, the City of Madison has not initiated any infrastructure improvements in that area. Bell said the city will look to developers coming into that area to be involved with improvements.

Potter said there are flood and drainage challenges out along Huntsville Brownsferry Road, and there will need to a new bridge constructed. But on the plus side, the city has concrete culverts in its inventory that can help expedite that process, he added.

The new development also will benefit from the new, five-lane boulevard the City of Huntsville recently constructed that goes north and and south from U.S. 72 to Huntsville Brownsferry Road, Potter said.