Sun Neighborly news & entertainment for Hoover
Volume 5 | Issue 9 | June 2017
WEATHERING A STORM Brittany Schultz, who works at Christian Brothers Automotive, is one of the few female automotive mechanics in Birmingham. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Under the hood and on top of her game
Brittany Schultz, 23, finds her place in auto garages By SYDNEY CROMWELL During her first automotive maintenance class, Brittany Schultz fell in love with taking a look under the hood. That she was the only woman in her class didn’t faze her a bit. “I still have not met another female mechanic. I have heard they exist,” Schultz said. “I was the first girl to graduate my school with an automotive major.” Schultz, a 23-year-old Hoover resident, has worked as a mechanic for about two years, including nearly a year at her current shop, Christian Brothers
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Tupelo, MS Permit #54
See SCHULTZ | page A30
GALLERIA ANNUAL SALES
As volatile retail market reshapes malls across US, Riverchase Galleria adapts to remain viable
$500M $416M $400M
$430M $423M
$375M
$300M
By JON ANDERSON
W
$200M $100M 0
2011
2014
2015
2016
*2012, 2013 data not available SOURCE: CITY OF HOOVER TAX RECORDS
More than $120 million was poured into renovations of the Riverchase Galleria campus in 2012 and 2013, helping bring new vibrancy to the state’s largest enclosed mall. Photo by Jon Anderson.
INSIDE
Sponsors .............. A4 News...................... A6
ith traditional retail juggernauts J.C. Penney, Macy’s and Sears all closing large numbers of stores across the country this year, times are tough in the shopping
center business. But the owner of the Riverchase Galleria, which contains all three of those department stores in anchor positions, remains optimistic about the 31-year-old mall’s future. The Riverchase Galleria was spared from the closure lists of those three iconic companies, and the mall also has seen the expansion of Belk and addition of Von Maur department stores in recent years.
Business ..............A10 Chamber.............. A12
Events ..................A18 Community ........ A22
Annual sales at the Galleria dipped 1.6 percent — from $430 million in 2015 to $423 million in 2016 — but still are 13 percent higher than the $375 million total in 2011, tax records from the city of Hoover show. And Alabama’s largest enclosed mall — with 1.5 million square feet of leasable retail space — is 98.5 percent occupied and has been for quite a while, said new General Manager Mike White. “We’ve been really fortunate,” he said. “This is a class A retail property. It’s always going to thrive. We have such a great piece of real estate. It has such great access.” The mall is at the intersection of Interstate 459 and the busy U.S. 31, and about
Sports .....................B1 School House ...... B9
See GALLERIA | page A28 Real Estate......... B24 Calendar ............. B26 facebook.com/thehooversun
How to Win
100 Years of Life
Everything came together for the Hoover High School track and field team at the state outdoor meet.
Hoover resident Florine Harper celebrates her 100th birthday, remembering world travels and life stories.
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