Nearly a year after being elected Hoover mayor, Nick Derzis said his administration is focused on one major theme: economic development.
Derzis, who spent more than two decades as Hoover’s police chief before becoming mayor, sat down with WBHM to discuss his transition into city leadership, the future of the Riverchase Galleria, the Stadium Trace development and the three-year anniversary of the Carlee Russell investigation that put Hoover in the national spotlight.
One of the biggest adjustments, Derzis says, has been discovering how long major government projects can take.
“One thing I’ve learned about government compared to police: police, I wanted it done yesterday. Government doesn’t get done yesterday. It doesn’t get done tomorrow. Sometimes it takes a heck of a long time to get things done.”
He said that has been especially true with redevelopment projects involving multiple property owners and long negotiations.
A new vision for the Riverchase Galleria
The 40-year-old Riverchase Galleria remains one of Hoover’s biggest economic drivers, but Derzis said the mall needs a major transformation. In January, Derzis and his team traveled to Chicago to meet with the Galleria’s ownership group.
Derzis said he was direct in the meeting.
“My message was, if you’re not going to improve it, spend some money to revitalize it because I think it needs to be reimagined completely, then please sell it.”
The current ownership group put the Galleria on the market in June. Derzis said a new owner could be in place as early as September but definitely by the end of the year.
Derzis said he believes potential buyers will see the property's potential.
“They understand the relevance of the Galleria, and they understand that this thing could be reimagined and it could be a success again.”
Derzis cited a city study that estimated Hoover is losing about $10 million annually in potential tax revenue because of the mall’s condition. Over five years, he said that loss adds up.
“When you start talking about roads, bridges, police, fire, maintenance on structures — $50 million goes a long way.”
For Derzis, the stakes are high.
“We cannot fail. Let me just say that to you. We cannot fail. We have to be successful.”
Stadium Trace development moving forward
Another major economic development project in Hoover is Stadium Trace Village near the intersection of Interstate 459 and State Route 150.
The Hoover City Council recently approved a $28 million dollar, performance-based incentive package connected to future phases of the development. It includes $4 million upfront to address stormwater issues.
Derzis said the agreement is structured so the city benefits if the project succeeds.
“If he (the developer) does what he says he’s going to do, then he’ll make money. We’ll make money.”
However, he said construction will take time because the site includes former mining areas that require significant preparation. Derzis estimated it could be at least 18 months or longer before vertical construction begins on new development.
Three years later, Derzis reflects on Russell investigation
Hoover resident Carlee Russell called 911 in July 2023 and reported seeing a child walking along Interstate 459. She then disappeared. Authorities found her abandoned car along the highway. Two days later, Russell showed up at her parents' home and claimed she was abducted. Investigators determined her story was fabricated.
The incident in July 2023 brought national attention to Hoover and, as police chief at the time, Derzis was often the face appearing before the news media.
“The ultimate goal was to make sure that Carlee Russell was found safe. And she was.”
But he said the case took many law enforcement resources and said there should have been greater accountability.
“The thing that probably upsets me, and I’m over it now, but [I] never really got an apology for what they did.”
Russell was charged with two misdemeanors for making false statements to police. Since then state lawmakers changed the law making the same action a felony.
Looking ahead
As he looked to his second year as mayor, Derzis said he hopes to see progress on the Galleria, Stadium Trace and other development projects throughout Hoover. He added his goal remains improving the city for residents.
“We work for them. We work for the citizens of Hoover. They’re the ones that elected us.”
Listen to or read the full interview with Derzis by WBHM's James Giles.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
When you decided to run to be the mayor of Hoover, what did you envision this would being like and what has it been like almost a year later?
I would say that probably the biggest thing that I did not know would be the time that it consumes day and night. There were times that myself, busy all day, get home at 5, 5:30, redress and go to something else at night. And that was sometimes four or five, six nights a week. Never been in this position, never really thought about anything about politically. I enjoyed the police profession, obviously, for a long time and was very satisfied with the job that we did. So I would say that the time consumingness of what this job takes was a little surprise to me.
The positive fact is that everywhere I go, people are more excited. They see some movement. They see things that are happening. They've got some great relationships with our congressmen and senators, and the fact that they know that we're going to make things happen.
One thing I've learned about government compared to police: police I wanted it done yesterday. Government doesn't get done yesterday, doesn't get to get done tomorrow. Sometimes it takes a heck of a long time to get things done.
The Riverchase Galleria — the last mayor said that it's hard to get anything done. The owners live in Chicago. There's different owners, not only in Chicago, but other places. And I made the comment that I'll get on a plane and go visit with them if that's what it takes and that's what we did. Back in January, my team and myself flew to Chicago, sat down with the ownership group and pretty much told them weren't satisfied with the conditions of the Galleria. This is a billion dollar corporation that owned it, that owns it now still. They own like 125, 130 malls around the country and the bottom line is the last five, six, seven years they've I've absolutely done nothing to improve it.
So my message was, if you're not going to improve it, spend some money to revitalize it, because I think it needs to be reimagined completely, then please sell it. So right now, they're taking bids on the sale, and we're very excited about it. We're hoping that whoever ends up with it will sit down and talk with us. And we wanna be part of the reimagining. We've got some great ideas. We know that the retail portion is probably too big. So part of that needs to be trimmed. We know because of the demographics of the area that we've been contacted by some big box stores that are not in this metro Birmingham area, but they're very well known around the country. And they say, if you reimagine, we want to be part of it.
We've got the number one Costco in Alabama that sits right by the Galleria. We've got Home Depot, which is one of the top Home Depots in Alabama. We've got Dick's Sporting Goods, one of top Dick's Sporting Goods. All of those three, you can pretty much take a rock and throw it to the Galleria. So what does it tell you? Prime real estate. Costco's not going to build something that's not prime real estate. Again, I think you'll see some positive things happening.
You ran on economic development and improving Hoover's retail space. What has the progress been like a year later?
I think we're moving towards that. I think you're gonna see some positive things happen at the Galleria. I also think you can see some positive things happening at Patton Creek, another area that needs some revitalization. It's 70 some odd acres. It's a big piece of property. It was sold a little over a year ago and we've been talking with them. But I'm very optimistic that in the near future there'll be some very positive things that come out of both of them.
Usually you see malls in the areas. They decline because of the economic negative conditions. Maybe crime, maybe people losing jobs. We're one of the safest cities in the southeast, but statistics back that up. Demographics are fantastic and, like I say, the location. If you built that flyover that takes you behind the Galleria Mall, so access-wise, it'll a cost you two hundred sixty million dollars to build something like that today. It's a lot a lot of money I just saw some stats the other day the fact that over a hundred thousand cars between [Interstates] 65 and 459 pass that interchange every single day. One of the top two or three in the state of Alabama, business intersections that people pass. So again, I know that that's prime real estate and I know this will develop into a positive thing.
Let's talk about some of the challenges you face on the economic development front. What's been the hardest thing?
I think the hardest thing is the fact that I didn't realize that things move so slow. That's probably something that I was not really aware of. I knew that it would probably be slower, but not this slow. And then again, when you get to something like the Galleria that has multiple ownerships — the [office] tower's one thing, the hotel's another, Macy's owns their deal, J.C. Penny owns their own deal. There's multiple owners involved. So when you start talking about redeveloping something, you got to get a bunch of people to the table at some point talk.
A lot of moving parts, for sure. Going back to the Galleria, that's something that impacts more than just Hoover. A lot people come to shop here. Do you have an idea of how those conversations are going? what's the timeline before the sale is finalized? Like you mentioned, a lot of parts move slowly.
I'm hoping that we could actually maybe have a new ownership group September, October feasibly, which would be pretty quick. I would say for sure before the end of this year, hopefully before that. And I think that from what I hear that there's some pretty good development teams around the country that are probably going to take a bid on it. And I think if some of those do, first of all, they understand the relevance of the Galleria and they understand that this thing could be reimagined and it could be a success again.
When that thing opened, it opened February 19th, 40 years ago this past February, and when that thing opened up it was the largest mall in the southeast. It had an office tower, the hotel, combined. The first Macy's and the only Macy's in the state of Alabama still opened over there. So it was significant. People came from all over the state of Alabama to come shop. I mean it was like major deal — biggest tourist attraction almost in the state of Alabama at the time. And again, it was a big catalyst for what you see at the Galleria and all the different shopping centers that are around Hoover right now. They didn't exist 'till the Galleria came and then when they came then everybody else started building. So it was an economic driver for us
And that's why I say the the last study that was done by the last administration pretty much said that we're losing, because of the mall's condition, around $10 million a year in tax revenue. And when you look at it after five years, it's 50 million bucks. So when you start talking about roads, talking about bridges, talking about police, fire, maintenance on structures, I mean, $50 million goes a long way. We cannot fail, let me just say that to you, we cannot fail. We have to be successful.
The biggest headline that I've seen coming out of Hoover lately is the Stadium Trace project. I think the latest thing that happened was the tax incentive that the council passed.
Four million up front, $28 million total. That includes the $4 million over a potential 20 years. Hopefully it'll be quicker. It's pretty much performance-based, so again $4 million really is going to take a lot of the stormwater issues that we have in that particular area, take them off the table. So it's performance- based. As long as that mall does well, they pay us back, they get the tax incentives, it's a win-win for everybody.
Trace one has been a very successful operation. Even Stadium Trace two, in over 20 years, the school system's going to receive 20-some-odd million dollars, which is huge for that. It's gonna be some additional amenities. They're gonna have Chasing Aces, which is like a par three golf, people will be able to go to. Village Green, which will have a stage, huge TV, football games during the football season, small concerts, restaurants, bars, activity that people could come with families and have a good time. So an amenity that our public's been looking for, and I think the majority of our citizens are very happy and excited about it.
What has been the biggest challenge with that project since you've taken office?
Well, number one, that project under the last administration blew up on the phase two portion.
That was the performing arts center phase?
Yeah, that just blew up and it just kind of went away and it didn't appear that the last administration really, you know, I don't think they were really nice to the developer. Again, the developer did, I thought, a very good, excellent job on that first phase. I was the police chief. I was not involved in anything else. So I'm not sure why it blew up like it did, but there was a lot of comments, a lot disagreements, a lot ridiculous nonsense, to be honest with you, with that one.
So when I came into office, we sat back down and talked, and a lot negotiations from what the developer wanted to begin with, compared to what he got. Not even close, but a lot more incentives, a lot of different things. And as I told him to begin with, this has got to be a win-win for you and a win-win for the city. The city's just not going to give away a bunch of money. We've got to have performance-based. We're all going to do some things because we've talked about storm water. Last administration, if you came and talked about, I've lived in my house for 20 years and all of a sudden had a bad rainstorm and my house is flooded with water, my yard. But this only happened when this structure was just built up the street. Why is it happening now to me and not? So they would always say, I'm sorry, it's your property, private property, we can't do anything to help you. That's not true. If it's a public purpose, that's happening here, and then it's happening on your house, you can get involved.
That's why under the last budget that we passed we spent 7 million dollars on a lot of different projects in the city to help some of the stormwater problems. Those are some of things that pushed me to run because I thought it was nonsense. I'd be hot as a firecracker if I'm sitting in my house and all of a sudden I've got water problems until they built something new, and maybe did the city do everything they were supposed to do to make sure that I wasn't going to have these water problems? But some guys would come in and say, I'm spending 15, 20 grand to fix my house that I've never had a problem with for 20 years. But that doesn't make sense to me. It's common sense to say, maybe something was done wrong. It doesn't makes sense that all of a sudden I'm having these problems. So again, that's one of the catalysts again that made me consider that I think I can do better than what's being done.
We prioritized different areas that were having the majority of the problems. So they've already been addressed and they're being addressed, really, as we speak, some of them are still being addressed. And then in this upcoming budget we will address some additional property areas that are still having issues and we'll do whatever we can to fix them.
You say it's performance-based, but what do the metrics look like? How do you measure the success as the time progresses?
Well, I think you measure the success by seeing what the tax revenue, what are they doing. And this is going to be a little bit different too. Not only there'll be some tax revenue but they're also doing a medical facility there. I actually think they're going to do a ribbon cutting here in the next couple of weeks, which is going be a good thing for us. I'm happy any time that we're getting additional healthcare for our residents instead of having to go elsewhere. It's a very positive thing. That's going to be part of it. So again, when I say performance-based, I think if he does what he says he's going to do, then he'll make money, we'll make money. The way we propose over the 20-some odd years, we think that that thing should be paid off in 17 or 18 years. So we think because of Stadium one and the type of job that he's done, if he goes the same things in phase two, then those metrics will be exactly what we think they'll be and they'll be very positive.
What's the timeline before we see completion? Is there a rough estimate?
There're mines on that spot, right? So you got to do some mine reclamation. It'll probably be 18 months or more before they can actually start construction because you've got a lot of stuff to do with those mines before you can start. I mean, some of those mines are 30, 40 feet deep. And then once you get down to that 30, 40 feet, then they spread like this. And so you've got a lot of reclamation to do before you can actually feel comfortable about grading it out and putting a structure on it. So they're on top of it, and I'm sure they're going to start that mining reclamation probably very soon.
Three years since the Carlee Russell investigation. Nationally, you became the face of this thing. It was very odd. Looking back on it, what still sticks with you today?
It happened on a Friday night. I was home, got the phone call and said that lady was talking to dispatch. She was following a baby on the interstate. And then when the police arrive, her car is there. She's gone. Her purse is there. Her cell phone is there everything is still there, but there's no baby either. And I remember my wife, I had it on speaker and my wife's listening and she said, "oh my goodness." I said one question I had for the dispatcher that called me to say that the captain from the police would be calling me immediately. They just wanted me to be aware, turn my police radio on so I could hear. And I said well, "do we have any other calls about the baby?" And they said, "no." I said "okay, thanks" So I hung up. And that immediately put a little skepticism in my mind, to be honest with you,
I've been in the police office for a long time. But here's what I've learned. I've learned that in situations, regardless of what they are, you have to gather the facts. Sometimes I've thought in my mind, there's no way this particular thing happened and guess what? I find out that it did. Also, there have been times that I said, there is no way that that didn't happen. And it ends up it did. So I've learned over the years that you don't make any preconceived ideas. My line is you work it like it happened until you can find out that maybe it didn't happen.
So I never called the captain and said, you know, I got questions about this. I said, let's get everybody out and we went full steam ahead. Ended up getting a couple of federal agencies to come out and help us. The thing that probably surprised me more than anything was this particular case got legs like that. We were getting calls from all over the country, from news media, within 48 hours. I'm doing press conferences in front of guys that are doing national broadcasts for NBC and ABC and CBS, from Washington, from New York, and they're in Hoover, Alabama doing this. And I'm thinking to myself, this is pretty wild. That was such a short time that this thing has gotten this kind of notoriety.
And I had friends from around the country calling me to say that this was a big story where they lived. There were two couples that are friends of mine that were having a vacation in Italy during this period of time. And they texted me to said that they saw television stories in Italy about what was happening at Hoover Alabama. This is worldwide. Worldwide. So I mean just really incredible. Incredible. And again, as I said when that thing first started, What I wanted to happen was to make sure that Carlee Russell was found safe and she was. So that was the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal was done.
The negative side was that we spent a lot of money, a lot resources. You had people from all over the state of Alabama that didn't know Carlee Russell that came here to help search in 95 [degree heat]. If you remember that three years ago that summer, it was hot as the devil out there. In the 90s, people bring water. The whole community, and the region, and literally the state, all embraced, let's find this girl.
And the thing that probably upsets me, and I'm over it now, but never really got an apology for what they did. We never found out where she was for that period of time that she was gone. And I thought the judge made it pretty easy. I think she pays us 50 bucks a month. So yeah, I'm over all that. I just think it wasn't done properly. The positive side that came out of it, hey, she was found safe and hope her life is positive for. And the fact that the legislature changed that now it's not a misdemeanor. If you have a hoax like that today, it's a felony which will put you in jail for a year plus a day.
Would you consider that a silver lining out of all of this?
Yeah, I think so, because what I don't want to see in police work is for the agencies to go through what we went through to what I consider just a slap on the wrist for somebody. I think that if you do something like that, there ought to be some sort of penalty. If you're going to behave like that there ought be some penalty other than paying back $50 a month. And again, I heard from people all over the country that were very, very upset [by] the fact that that she did what she did and that she, I would think the general public sentiment was that, her penalty was not severe enough.
What did you take away from that managing such a high profile investigation that you can apply or do apply it in this role today?
One thing that I stressed as a police chief for 21 years, my comment always, standing of excellence. Do the best job that you can do every day. If you do the job that can do, no one can ever shoot arrows at you. And that is something that I've tried to bring to the 220 some-odd employees that were in the Hoover Police Department. We've got over 800 with the city. And I've tried to bring that same standard of excellence to all departments in the city of Hoover right now. And my comment to the staff all the time with the police department was, nobody does it like we do. And that's what I wanted. I said, I don't want any department to do what we do. We're going to excel at everything. We can't excel? We either are not gonna do it, or we're going to get better. I've always thought that if I'm going to manage something, it's gonna be the best. And if we can't be the the best, then we're not gonna give up. We're gonna strive. We're going to continue to do it. And if the people that we got are not the best, you know what? [The] train's leaving, man. You can either be on board or we're gonna find a replacement.
But again, I've enjoyed so far the time as mayor. Trying to again bring the standard of excellence to us. Just because people have been doing something the same for 15 or 20 years, to me, doesn't necessarily mean that that's the best way to do it. So let's think outside the box sometimes. Let's try to streamline. Let's trying to make things a little bit easier for our citizens. And just because that's always the way we've done it doesn't necessarily mean this is the way would have continued to do. And that's something that I stress to all our department heads. Listen, if I get a complaint, and it's a valid complaint, fine. But let's just make sure that we're doing things the best that we can. We wanna make things again, we work for them. We work for the citizens of Hoover. They're the ones that elected us. And as employees, we worked for our citizens. So let's do the best job that we could do and do things for them, that's what we're here to do.
What's your vision for year two and moving forward? Where do you see Hoover in the future?
I hope in year two that we've locked down Galleria and Patton Creek and there's some movement there. Some positive things that are taking place. We've got this Riverwalk Village down here in Riverchase that we got our CON (certificate of need), hopefully in the next several months. Solara [Surgical Partners], who is going to run the CON, they're going to have a space down there that they're going to start construction themselves on getting that started. So year two, that should be moving good.
And then we've got exit nine off of 459, which is going be the new exit, which will help alleviate some traffic on that Shades Crest area. But hopefully by year two they'll probably start construction on that deal and make our ease down 150 in places a little bit easier for traffic control.
When you look back on your campaign and just promises, is there anything that you can identify that you haven't been able to make good on yet that you want to work on or what are your thoughts on that?
No, I think everything that we campaigned on, we're moving in that direction. Again, unfortunately, some things not quick as I would like them to be. But I think that the things that we campained on that we're gonna bring them to fruition. We campaigned on them. And again, when you start talking about some of the economic development stuff, we cannot fail. We gotta be positive and it's gotta happen. And talk with enough people I think it will.
A question everybody wants to know no matter where I go. I'll get it in just for fun, man. Where do you shop?
Well, to be honest with you, a lot of my sport coats and suits I actually get made. I get made because I'm one of those guys that don't want to go somewhere and everybody's got the same stuff on. Even today, if I wear a blue sport coat somewhere, I thought you might have something cool on. It's almost funny to me. That's why most of my stuff, you're not going to see much because I'm hoping I'm the one that's picking that fabric.
