By Lee Roop

lroop@al.com – Huntsville Times

The 550-acre Clift Farm, one of the last big undeveloped properties along U.S. 72 in Madison, has been sold to developer Louis Breland, Breland Companies announced today. It will become “retail, dining, residential, office, multifamily and medical” office space, Breland said.

 

The farm fronts U.S. 72 from Wall Triana Highway to Balch Road and sits directly across from the Target Shopping Center and Madison Hospital. Parts of it have been owned by the Clift family since the 1830s.

Family patriarch Jack Clift, 98, sold the property to Breland for an undisclosed amount. The land is in Madison County outside the city limits now, but Breland spokesman Joey Ceci said it will be brought into the city of Madison.

“To understand this property, you need to understand the history of the Clift family and what faithful stewards Jack and Lillian Clift have been for this land,” Breland said in a statement. “I have ridden every inch of this property with Mr. Clift to understand its history and his vision for this wonderful piece of land.”

Architects and land planners with Smith Gee Studio in Nashville are working on a master plan for the property in discussion with the City of Madison and the family, Breland said. The goal is “to create a community that will have a timeless feel and preserve many of the existing natural attributes while providing premiere retail, dining, residential, office, multifamily and medical opportunities.”

The developers have also begun a dialogue with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) about entrance and exit points along the busy U.S. 72, Ceci said. State traffic maps show nearly 28,000 cars traveling U.S. 72 west of Wall Triana Highway each day and 44,000 on U.S. 72 east of Wall-Triana.

Breland has developed numerous properties in the South for the past 40 years and is currently developing the 530-acre Town Madison project along Interstate 565 in Madison.