Hoover’s new mayor-elect says the proposed redevelopment of the Riverchase Galleria was a promising start to reimaging the 39-year-old shopping center, which could still be a “catalyst” for economic growth.

But Nick Derzis, the police chief who won the mayor’s race in August, said he feels the study was too tightly focused on the Galleria and not on surrounding properties.

“It only concentrated on the southern piece of property, not the whole Galleria itself,” he said. “I think we have to look at the complete footprint.”

Case in point:

Across Galleria Boulevard is Patton Creek, a 491,000-square-foot open-air shopping center that is almost half the age of the Galleria and exactly the kind of lifestyle center development that the Galleria redevelopment calls for. And yet, it has seve

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