Again. From wilderness area four miles east of downtown Tuscaloosa, to growing bedroom community for the University of Alabama, home to many of the area's first chain restaurants, to a shopping and entertainment mecca, what had once been a crown jewel became badly tarnished in the '70s and beyond, as population growth extended north and south. McFarland and University malls drained off shopping. Upscale renters moved to newer developments like the Ski Lodge development, off Skyland Boulevard. Rents sank lower, as did the quality of some of Alberta’s renters. Crime rates soared, and with it the stigma that Alberta was not a good place to visit, much less live.