Photo by Madoline Markham.
0114 Lane Parke
The Residences at Lane Parke are scheduled to open in the spring.
Lane Parke, the newest addition to Mountain Brook Village, took nearly 20 years to open its doors.
Plans for the mixed-use development date back to 2004, when it was proposed as the replacement for the aging Mountain Brook Shopping Center. The first phase, opened in 2016, brought the Grand Bohemian Hotel, 257 apartments and 67,000 square feet of retail. Early tenants included MidiCi, Tulipano and Annabelle’s.
The turning point came in 2018, when the old shopping center was finally demolished and crews began laying utilities for Phase 2. Developer John Evans promised the 18 new spaces would be delivered as “warm boxes,” ready for boutique shops and restaurants to customize. Road realignments and a new Regions Bank were part of the plan.
By 2019, Crawford Square Real Estate Advisors took over leasing, adding tenants like ABC Select Spirits, the U.S. Post Office and Sol Y Luna. “The whole village is our canvas,” CEO Sam Heide said at the time. “Lane Parke can fill in some gaps.”
Momentum carried into 2022 and 2023 with new-to-Alabama brands like Ladybird Taco, tasc Performance and Little Buckhead Blue.
On Nov. 9, 2023, Lane Parke celebrated its grand opening with live music, family activities and dozens of shops and restaurants. Crumbl Cookies and Little Betty Steak Bar were among the final tenants to open — a fitting capstone to a project that was, for years, all about waiting.