Indiana Firm to Develop Indoor Sports Facilities & Hotel at Northport Shore

Elected officials in Northport hired an Indiana firm to develop a 100-room hotel and a 100,000 square-foot indoor sports facility on the bank of the Black Warrior River Monday.

The professional services agreement approved by the city council Monday will pay $840,000 to Northport Sports Complex Decelopment, LLC over the next two years to develop the amenities at its riverside Northport Shore recreation complex. 

The developer is already working with the city on the construction of the $27 million River Run Park, the marquee baseball and softball fields already under construction there.

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The new LLC is led by R. Birch Dalton, the Managing Director of EdgeRock Development LLC in Westfield, Indiana.

His other projects include:

• The 60,000 sq. foot Pro X baseball and softball facility in Westfield
• The 400-acre Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield
• The mixed-use commercial and residential Grand Millennium Center
• A 157-acre single-family residential neighborhood called 191st.

The 19-page agreement adopted Monday says Dalton and Northport Sports Complex Decelopment, LLC will develop "an indoor sports facility or combination of facilities" "with a minimum square footage of 100,000 square feet" and also develop a hotel "with a minimum of 100 keys."

Northport will not be obligated to provide funding or incentives for the projects except $35,000 in professional service fees each month for the next 24, for a total of $840,000. Dalton and the company can also earn a commission on sponsorships sold within Northport Shore.

City attorney Ron Davis said the agreement is the result of months of work by Northport employees and other lawyers.

The five-member council unanimously approved the agreement Monday.