On its face, the new Gardendale City Center is a great idea.

There’s no question businesses such as a movie multiplex and upscale retailers are sorely needed in northern Jefferson County. It’s always seemed odd that residents of an area with as large a population base as ours would have to drive nearly an hour to Hoover or Vestavia just to see a movie. The city could use additional lodging as well, and such is part of the City Center master plan.

And the overall concept of city-center developments shows promise. Witness Homewood and its SoHo project, an unqualified success.

So why is there something about this that makes us a little uneasy?

Perhaps it’s the notion of a city government entity getting into the development business, or any business at all, even with the new city hall as the centerpiece. Maybe we’re a bit skittish from boondoggles such as Solyndra, which was backed by federally-guaranteed loans.

But our world and our current economy is far from perfect, with lenders unwilling to loan money to those even with stellar credit. Governments appear to be the exception, which is also why the city of Gardendale is loaning money from its line of credit to another developer to get Northgate Village redeveloped.

The case can be made that this is the only way today to get this deal done. If that’s true, so be it and let’s hope it works out. But we’re still a wee bit leery of a city government getting into the business of business.

We hope our mild misgivings are off base, and that City Center is a great success.