urbanscraper
10-25-2006, 10:20 PM
The Renovation of the 17-story Old Wachavia Building has begun. The building will be stripped entirely leaving only the steel frame. The The project will be called Center Pointe and is located across the street from the center-city park now under construction. a restaurant will occupy the first floor, offices the next 2 or 3 floors then the remaining floors will be condos. The highrise crane has been erected and its the first time since 1990 that we've seen one of these tower cranes downtown
photo gallery
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061025/NEWSREC0101/61025001/-1/NEWSREC0201
Crane signals downtown’s health
GREENSBORO — An unusual object began to take shape on the downtown skyline this week. Unusual, at least, for the center city.
In a matter of days it will stand 300 feet tall, be able to lift nearly 40,000 pounds and play a key role in the revitalization of the Wachovia Tower on North Elm Street.
Called a tower crane, it will hover over the 16-story building like a giant weather vane, swinging from side to side to assist workers as they tear away the existing facade, put on a new one and drop balconies into place.
That kind of activity hasn't been seen downtown since 1990, when the city saw the expansion of the Jefferson-Pilot Building and the erection of Renaissance Plaza and the former First Union Tower.
"It was unprecedented that we had them all going on in the same two-year period," said Jim Melvin, president of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation. "There have been no high-rises since then, unfortunately. This is a huge victory for us."
Melvin and others say the appearance of the crane represents a key step in downtown's revitalization.
"I think it is a tremendous marketing tool for downtown," said Roy Carroll, the developer who is turning the former Wachovia Tower into Center Pointe, a complex of condos, office space and a restaurant.
"When I go into a new city, I look across the horizon to see if I see construction going on. If you do, then you typically think that is a healthy community."
So why has it been so long since a tower crane went up downtown?
"The life just got sucked out of us for several years," said Milton Kern, another downtown developer. "We're kind of like Rocky. We're still fighting."
Construction of the 340,000-pound crane, which is owned by Heede Southeast in Charlotte, could be finished by Friday.
"It's a fairly easy job," said Sam Williams, a superintendent for Rentenbach Constructors , the company overseeing the building of the crane. "It's a fancy Erector Set."
Here is what the building looks like now
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=128543
Here is what the building will look like once complete
www.centerpointegreensboro.com
you might as well say its like building it from scratch considering only the steel frame from the Wachovia Building will be left.
photo gallery
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061025/NEWSREC0101/61025001/-1/NEWSREC0201
Crane signals downtown’s health
GREENSBORO — An unusual object began to take shape on the downtown skyline this week. Unusual, at least, for the center city.
In a matter of days it will stand 300 feet tall, be able to lift nearly 40,000 pounds and play a key role in the revitalization of the Wachovia Tower on North Elm Street.
Called a tower crane, it will hover over the 16-story building like a giant weather vane, swinging from side to side to assist workers as they tear away the existing facade, put on a new one and drop balconies into place.
That kind of activity hasn't been seen downtown since 1990, when the city saw the expansion of the Jefferson-Pilot Building and the erection of Renaissance Plaza and the former First Union Tower.
"It was unprecedented that we had them all going on in the same two-year period," said Jim Melvin, president of the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation. "There have been no high-rises since then, unfortunately. This is a huge victory for us."
Melvin and others say the appearance of the crane represents a key step in downtown's revitalization.
"I think it is a tremendous marketing tool for downtown," said Roy Carroll, the developer who is turning the former Wachovia Tower into Center Pointe, a complex of condos, office space and a restaurant.
"When I go into a new city, I look across the horizon to see if I see construction going on. If you do, then you typically think that is a healthy community."
So why has it been so long since a tower crane went up downtown?
"The life just got sucked out of us for several years," said Milton Kern, another downtown developer. "We're kind of like Rocky. We're still fighting."
Construction of the 340,000-pound crane, which is owned by Heede Southeast in Charlotte, could be finished by Friday.
"It's a fairly easy job," said Sam Williams, a superintendent for Rentenbach Constructors , the company overseeing the building of the crane. "It's a fancy Erector Set."
Here is what the building looks like now
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=128543
Here is what the building will look like once complete
www.centerpointegreensboro.com
you might as well say its like building it from scratch considering only the steel frame from the Wachovia Building will be left.
