The proposed downtown "iconic building," as described by Mayor Tommy Battle, may evolve into two of the tallest buildings in Huntsville.

According to a summary of the letter of intent between the city of Huntsville and Triad Properties and Crunkleton & Associates, one building could be as tall as 17 stories while a neighboring building could be as tall as 11 stories.

Currently, Huntsville's tallest building is the 11-story Regions Bank building at Clinton Avenue and Church Street, which stands at 188 feet.

AL.com obtained a copy of the summary of the letter of intent this week.

The letter of intent is non-binding between the city and Triad/Crunkleton. The letter also establishes a Dec. 31 deadline for the city and developers to approve and execute a purchase-and-sale agreement as well as a development agreement. That purchase-and-sale agreement would include a "fair market value" price for the property that the city would sell to the developers, according to the summary.

The project has emerged as a dramatic early step of a downtown master plan approved by the city council earlier this year. The city is also in the process of planning bike lanes on Spragins Avenue in downtown Huntsville.

The tallest building will be at least 10 stories floors and as many as 17. The secondary building will have be at least four stories and as many as 11 stories, according to the letter of intent summary.

Other tall buildings in Huntsville include The Times Building at Holmes Avenue and Greene Street and the Russel Erskine Hotel at Clinton Avenue and Spragins Avenue, both of which are 12 stories. Even though the Regions building is 11 stories, it still stands as the tallest building in Huntsville.

Battle described the maximum 17-story building as an "iconic building" in July in presenting to the city council the idea of the non-binding letter of intent.

"It has that element of, when you look at it, you go 'Wow!'" Battle told AL.com following the July 30 council meeting.

The Rocket City's skyline would figure to have a definitive new look with the potential dominating high rises should both buildings be erected to their maximum heights.

The buildings would be located at the site of the current city hall and the mothballed city hall annex next door and provide a southern framework to Big Spring Park East. The letter of intent said the buildings will "architecturally connect."

The buildings would "form a corner of the project by fronting both Church Street and Big Spring Park East," the summary of the letter of intent said.

The buildings, the developers and the city agreed, must include retail, hospitality and multi-family residencies and possibly office space and other general commercial and residential uses. The buildings must cumulatively consist of at least 200,000 square feet.

A second phase of the project would include a third building that would front Big Spring Park East. That building would connect with the potential 17-story building. It would be between four and six stories and would not include office space.

A structured parking facility is also a part of the project.

The letter of intent also stipulates that the developers will use renderings by Urban Design Associates - the Pittsburgh-based group that put together the new downtown master plan - as guidance for the projects.

The developers, according to the summary, intend for the first floor of the potential 17-story building to have retail space that will front Church Street. There will also be first-floor retail space in the second phase fronting Big Spring Park East.

The master plan also calls for a new city hall to be built at the southwest corner of the Madison County Courthouse where the city hall parking deck currently stands.

"Part of the development agreement is that (the developers) will bring in a scale model, something to look at, to make sure we don't overpower the park or underpower the park," Battle said. "We will have renderings that will tell us what this will look like in context to the city parks and the city buildings around it.

"It will also tie in portions of what city hall has because city hall needs to tie into that so we can have a continuity of process that we come through so we have continuity from one building to the other building to the other building."

Battle said there will be public presentations of the plans as the project advances.

"We started this process over a year ago," he said. "Now we are coming down to some actually actionable items."