[bobdreamz]

RSA has turned out better than expected and has given Mobile a skyline...now if you could only add a few 300 to 500 footers around RSA!

[Exodus]

It already had a small skyline before, this just adds to it. Also the city is supposed to get 3 riverfront highrise condos that will be in the 20 storie range.

[Scottybo]

It already had a small skyline before, this just adds to it. Also the city is supposed to get 3 riverfront highrise condos that will be in the 20 storie range.

...someday......

[Verve]

Here's a shot of the top of the tower taken on Sunday, a great day for photos.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/403349518_ecb330c7c8.jpg

[Exodus]

Interesting. I didn't know it was going to be see through.

[sahara727]

Interesting. I didn't know it was going to be see through.

i think they're still going to cover it with glass. there's a section on the western side that has some already. i was confused that they took the scaffolding down before this was compledted, but i guess they have some way of doing it from inside the tower--catwalks or something.

[Exodus]

Thanks, that clears that up. BTW, Do you notice the "M" ?

[rickydavisfan21]

I haven't followed this project very close but I feel like this should have been done, at least the cladding of the entire building, a couple months ago. Was there a hold up or am I just expecting too much too fast?

[Exodus]

I haven't followed this project very close but I feel like this should have been done, at least the cladding of the entire building, a couple months ago. Was there a hold up or am I just expecting too much too fast?Nope, you aren't expecting too much. It really should have been done a little sooner. I was wondering myself here lately why it has taken as long as it has.

[rickydavisfan21]

okay good, it just seems like it has been at this point for sometime now, I remember the spire was put on quite a few months ago, somewhat disappointing but what a gorgeous building :-D :-)

[Musicisright]

There have been numerous delays. Most were because of hurricanes.

[Scottybo]

RSA Tower (http://www.mobala.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=28) view from the North on Feb 25th.

[Musicisright]

RSA Tower (http://www.mobala.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=28) view from the North on Feb 25th.

That is a great shot. It's worth posting on here:

http://xs513.xs.to/xs513/07104/412342892_d14e45113e_b.jpg

[nimsjus]

Here is an article on the wrapping up process...
RSA Tower project nearing completion
Sunday, March 11, 2007By KATHY JUMPERReal Estate Editor
In 20 days, Margo Gilbert and her staff will begin unpacking 17 truckloads of furniture and equipment for the newly renovated 238-room Battle House Hotel on Royal Street.

"It takes us 30 to 45 days to unpack the furnishings, move in and train," said the hotel manager for Point Clear Hotels & Resorts, which operates the hotel for the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

On May 11, the hotel will turn on its reservation system, and guests can begin staying in the rooms the next day, she said.

"Our vision for the hotel, when we open, is to have the service start up as if it had never been closed for 35 years," she said.

After 4½ years, the $200 million RSA Battle House Tower project is almost complete, according to Ron Blount, project director for the Retirement Systems of Alabama, the state's $28 billion pension funds.

Construction costs were

$162 million on the office tower and hotel complex, but the overall cost of the project will be $200 million, he said.

The circa 1909 hotel building will open as a four-star Marriott Renaissance Hotel. A grand opening to benefit the arts will be held May 11 in the hotel, but the ticket prices and details are still being planned by community leaders, according to RSA and its affiliate, PCH.

"This has been brick and mortar for me for four years and about three months ago it hit me," Blount said as he walked through the Battle House Hotel last week. "We're about to hand Mobile back its living room, and it's almost 100 years old."

The 35-story Battle House office tower will also open in mid-May, and at least 60 percent of the office space has been leased, according to Joe Toole, leasing agent for RSA.

Page 2 of 2
Interior work is under way on International Shipholding Corp.'s offices on the 17th and 18th floors and the company plans to move in by the end of the month, Toole said.

"Leasing started out a bit slow," Toole said. "But once they saw the building, the interest really picked up. When the folks go on a tour, the building sells itself."

Most of the tenants are local firms, though RSA is talking with some regional firms about relocating to Mobile, he said.

Lease rates average $20 per square foot on the lower floors and $22 to $24 per square foot on the upper floors, he said. The top floor has not yet been leased.

That's a jump from the average $15 to $16 per square foot charged for newer, updated Class A office space in Mobile.

Announced Battle House tenants include the law firm of Hand Arendall; CitiGroup/Smith Barney; Regions Bank; and RSA's management office and PCH's office, both on the 8th floor.

Other tenants include a state agency, a telecommunications firm, an architectural firm, a corporate design group and several law firms, Toole said. Wachovia Bank will have a drive-through location on the main floor of the nine-deck RSA parking garage.

The last two weeks before the hotel opens are "crunch time," said Gilbert, who will have 26 managers and several hundred workers on board by opening day.

"I feel very confident that I'm going to hit the May 11 opening," she said. "As soon as (Blount) turns the hotel over to us, we're ready to go."

More than 400 workers are still on the job site, down from the 600 during peak construction, according to Blount. Crews are cleaning the buildings and finishing up interior and exterior details such as flooring, paint and landscaping.

Work will continue after May 11. The parking deck off Water Street will be open, but the spa and fitness center on the top-floor deck will not be ready, according to RSA. The Trellis restaurant in the Battle House Hotel will be open, but PCH is finalizing the concept for the hotel's second restaurant, which is next to the Royal Street hotel entrance.

RSA's total investment in downtown Mobile over the last 4½ years will top $300 million, according to Blount. In addition to the Battle House project, that includes the purchase and

$60 million renovation of the 375-room Riverview Plaza Hotel at 64 S. Water St. and the construction and management of the Alabama Cruise Terminal at Mobile.

and another on staffing the place...
Staffing search for Battle House begins
'Hiring halls' help place local people in jobs at historic hotel Sunday, March 11, 2007By KAIJA WILKINSONBusiness Reporter
With the May 11 grand re-opening for the Battle House Hotel rapidly approaching, Retirement Systems of Alabama subsidiary PCH Hotels and Resorts is holding four hiring halls, or job fairs, to help fill about 200 positions. The first event took place Friday at the Alabama Career Center.

The other fairs will be held today through Tuesday at the Riverview Plaza Hotel, another RSA property.

Bill Lang, PCH spokesman, said the events are an effort to give local people a shot at jobs in properties that PCH markets as upscale resorts known for a high level of service.

Previous events, such as one in Birmingham to fill positions at the Renaissance Ross Bridge Spa & Resort, resulted in well over 100 hires.

Although PCH welcomes applicants with experience, "we also make a practice of hiring attitude," Lang said. In fact, some of the north Alabama hires for PCH's Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa in Florence had backgrounds in chicken processing, and that resort has been ranked as the top Marriott golf resort in North America, he said.

A wide range of positions are open at the Battle House, from housekeeper to bartender to front office manager.

Pay varies widely depending on job requirements and experience. An entry-level hourly employee will earn about $8 to $8.50 an hour, while salaried managers can earn anywhere from the mid-$30,000s annually to $70,000-plus, according to Keith Schmitt, vice president of human resources for PCH.

Employees will report to work in April to train, ideally about six weeks before the opening, Lang said.

Schmitt said that by the time he left Friday's hiring hall at mid-day, HR representatives had seen about 20 applicants, and made offers to a few people on the spot, including a native of Mobile and Bishop State graduate who had been working as a line cook at a Mississippi coast casino.

PCH also plans to staff its hotels with foreign workers, such as students on work-study visas, especially during times of heavy seasonal demand. A former 1843 orphanage at 911 Dauphin St. has been purchased by investors who plan to renovate and lease it to PCH to house about 60 of those workers who could take jobs at the Battle House, the downtown Riverview Plaza Hotel, and the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa in Point Clear, the company has said.
A job at the Battle House is a long-awaited homecoming for at least one employee, George Moore, 74, who worked there from 1958 through 1963 as a waiter.

Moore said he has fond memories of the hotel, all the way back to the times he marched past Mardi Gras revelers on the hotel's balcony as a member of the Central High School marching band.

He started working at the Battle House as a banquet waiter in the Crystal Ballroom, and said he can remember the luxury of the king's dinners during Carnival and another occasion when a jubilant reveler tossed money from the ballroom balcony.

Moore, known as "Mr. George," is a supervisor at the cafe and grill in the Riverview on Water Street. Moore said he will likely work in a similar capacity at the Battle House.

The Battle House, where Mobile has had a hotel since 1852, will eventually employee about 250 people, Schmitt said.

PCH employs abut 1,500 people at its six resorts, and anticipates that number growing to 2,200 by this time next year, Schmitt said, when a new Montgomery hotel and conference center is slated to open.

Eugene Beard, 23, was among the applicants who showed up to apply at Friday's event. Beard said he has experience working temporary construction jobs, but wanted something more permanent since he needs the money for college. Beard applied for a restaurant helper position.

"I'm getting older, and I need a full-time job," he said.

[alon504]

When is the tower going to be completely finished?

[Musicisright]

^I don't know exactly when they're saying it will be completely finished. Maybe somebody else on here does.

I got some pictures of RSA yesterday after lunch downtown. My cousin and I got the idea to just act inconspicuous and try to go inside the RSA Tower, since there are no gates up anymore. We crossed the street and I got all giddy as I set foot on the expensive-looking stones that made up the driveway area right outside the tower. Just as I was beginning to think that we may get away with getting inside, we were stopped by security guards. We told them that we just wanted to take pictures and they said that we could only take them from the sidewalk. Oh well, at least I got close to its beauty.:haha:

Anyway, here are the pictures.

http://xs413.xs.to/xs413/07121/IMG_5394resized1.JPG

http://xs413.xs.to/xs413/07121/IMG_5395resized.JPG

http://xs413.xs.to/xs413/07121/IMG_5396resized.JPG

http://xs413.xs.to/xs413/07121/IMG_5398resized.JPG

http://xs413.xs.to/xs413/07121/IMG_5400resized.JPG

http://xs413.xs.to/xs413/07121/IMG_5404resized.JPG

http://xs413.xs.to/xs413/07121/IMG_5405resized.JPG

[nimsjus]

Amazing pics...especially the fifth one that has the full length with the lamp post in the corner. I believe in one of the earlier articles a page or two back they said the hotel was taking reservations for May (Maybe?). I think it may have listed a move in date for the New Orleans company that was coming back(can't pull the name off the top of my head). I believe they are throwing a party at the hotel this spring sometime as a grand opening. As soon as it is open I will be having dinner there or something as an excise to go in and look around.

[ExpatBaman]

Man, that is one seriously good-looking building.

[austin356]

The Hotel will open on ~May 12th and the tower will open around the same time.

RSA has revealed about 60% of the tower is leased and that they are still courting some un-named possible companies that might involve a regional relocation.

IMO 60% is not bad. It is really not bad for the goals of the owner, since he is in it for the very long term and can soak up years of losses for future profits, if it came down to it. Hopefully RSA is taking the longer but better road of finding quality, stable tenants that can take up a min. 1 floor each. This can reduce turnover cost, since each interior is custom made, when leasing expires and tenants move out.

[Exodus]

That crown is looking good:tup:

[Ex-Ithacan]

Congrats Mobile, that's one heck of an addition to the downtown skyline. Great looking building.

[BamaGrad04]

They hotel isn't taking reservation before July 2nd, now, according to their website: http://marriott.com/hotels/travel/mobbr-the-battle-house-a-renaissance-hotel/

[nimsjus]

I think 60% sounds pretty good too. Especially considering they did not really court alot of other current downtown companies. My biggest fear was a mass exodus from the Amsouth Building for RSA, but that really has not happened. I think Bronner has enough nationwide connections that he will eventually land the last few prospects. They only need to fill 12-16 floors and they have been trying to sell the top two floors to restaurants/bars rather than offices(I would be the first person in line to eat in that restaraunt regardless of what they served). Most decent size tenants(lawfirms/coporations) would take up 1-2 floors so it would only take a handfull of tenants to have 100% occupancy.

[Exodus]

I can't wait to get down there. I will visit in April or May, and officialy move in June. Mobile will be increasing its population this summer by 4 when my wife and I, and two kids arrive this summer:)

[Bama_75]

Yay Exodus!! Welcome!

[CottonCity251]

Yay Exodus!! Welcome!
:cheers:

[Exodus]

Thanks for the welcome you two. I start the fall semester at Springhill.

[Musicisright]

Why is the RSA Tower website down?

I hope the project's still a go... ;)

[CottonCity251]

Why is the RSA Tower website down?

I hope the project's still a go... ;)

I hope they are reconstructing the site for the opening that is coming up.

[elb401]

I want to see some inside pictures really bad!!

[Verve]

I want to see some inside pictures really bad!!

I happened to drive by the Battle House on early Saturday morning and you could get a great look at the interior since it was all lit up. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me.

Maybe someone will get us some interior shots of both buildings soon.

[erm1981]

Great info Perve!

[Musicisright]

I want to see some inside pictures really bad!!

My brother is going to be putting together office furniture sometime this month on the 17th & 18th floors of the tower and I am going to make him take pictures of the interior.

[elb401]

great!!:D

[Musicisright]

Here's a different RSA Tower webcam (http://flhurricane.com/jjohnston/).

[GenTso]

Thanks for the welcome you two. I start the fall semester at Springhill.

I'm a Spring Hill student myself. I graduate in May. You getting a grad degree?

[spookyapp]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/padresfan311/i.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/padresfan311/h.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/padresfan311/f.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/padresfan311/e.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/padresfan311/d.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/padresfan311/c.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/padresfan311/b.jpg

[Ex-Ithacan]

I like the angle on the last pic. Seems to bunch the talls together better.

[Exodus]

Some of the best Mobile pics I've seen:tup:

[nimsjus]

Here are some pictures of the RSA Tower and Battlehouse Hotel I took over the weekend.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/nimsjus/IMG_2615.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/nimsjus/IMG_2614.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/nimsjus/IMG_2614.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/nimsjus/IMG_2611.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/nimsjus/IMG_2610.jpg
http://http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/nimsjus/IMG_2609.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/nimsjus/IMG_2601.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/nimsjus/IMG_2572.jpg

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ That last shot is great, thanks.

[g-man435]

Great pics. Love that tower. :)

[CottonCity251]

Wonderful pictures!

[Musicisright]

Cool pictures. I love the base of the tower just as much as the top of it. What's the gold thing by the steps in the third from last picture? Looks like a fire feature, but I doubt it :)

[Exodus]

Great pics, love the cannons:tup:

[BamaGrad04]

Nice shots, especially the last one. :tup:

[nimsjus]

Cool pictures. I love the base of the tower just as much as the top of it. What's the gold thing by the steps in the third from last picture? Looks like a fire feature, but I doubt it :)

I definitely thought they were light fixtures of some sort. There are similar features on either side of the door. One fixture is behind the tree and the other just to the left of the lamp post. They are very Gotham City to me and I like that alot. I didn't notice them on other sides of the building, but I'm sure they were there.

[Musicisright]

^Oh, ok.

I've been meaning to ask, what the heck is this going to be? And are they still planning on putting a crown on Riverview?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/padresfan311/e.jpg

[BamaGrad04]

:previous: It will be the new grand entrance to the Rennaissance when it reopens.

[austin356]

:previous: It will be the new grand entrance to the Rennaissance when it reopens.



:upload_71700:

[BamaGrad04]

:rolleyes:

[ExpatBaman]

I definitely thought they were light fixtures of some sort. There are similar features on either side of the door. One fixture is behind the tree and the other just to the left of the lamp post. They are very Gotham City to me and I like that alot. I didn't notice them on other sides of the building, but I'm sure they were there.
Most of the RSA buildings in Montgomery have those too. I'm not sure if they're lighted or not.

[RSAHort]

Most of the RSA buildings in Montgomery have those too. I'm not sure if they're lighted or not.


I can't see the pics for some reason but if it is what I think it is then they are lighted from underneath. The building managers call the torcheres. There aren't any lights in the torcheres themselves.

**Yep, I can see the pics fine from home. They are torcheres and there should be a light at the very base of the 'pedestal' shining up on the bottom of the gold bowl.

[CottonCity251]

Courtesy of the Mobile Press Register, the article says what you see now is what you will get, except for the night lighting of the building.


Is it done yet? The answer is yes, says RSA Tower architect
Saturday, April 14, 2007
By DAN MURTAUGH
Staff Reporter

With the RSA Battle House Tower, what you see now is pretty much what you're going to get, at least during the day, according to officials involved with the project.

The building has its temporary certificate of occupancy, and its first tenant -- International Shipholding Inc. -- will open for business there Monday, according to Joe Toole, director of real estate for the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

"The building is essentially finished," he said.

Still, some gawkers have gazed up, looked at where the solid base of the building joins the open steel framework of the Gotham City-meets-Eiffel Tower top, and wondered to themselves: Is it done yet?

The simple answer: Yes.

And, no, windows won't fill up the empty spaces of the upper reaches.

The project architect, Jack Blake of the Atlanta firm Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, said the building's crown will remain pretty much as it is now.

The open top was designed to let people look through the structure and give it an "airy look," Blake said.

The only changes to look for are that the green canopies, which are made of chemically treated copper, will become even greener as the months pass by, Blake said.

And if a viewer isn't awed in the daylight, there is one aspect of the building still hidden from the public, Blake said.

"I don't want to give it away yet, but there is going to be some specialty lighting, both on the building itself and the crown, and it's going to be quite spectacular," he said.

The only hint Blake would give is that the lighting will change with the seasons.

"The building is on the river, it's close to the bay, it's close to the Gulf," he said. "For those reasons we wanted it to be a beacon, a lantern, and the crown is going to act that way, like a lighthouse."

Although construction has neared the end after beginning in November 2003 and being delayed by hurricanes and other factors, there won't be any ribbon-cutting or ceremonies when International Shipholding Inc. workers head to the office Monday.

Toole said the 745-foot-tall, 35-story tower will be open only to tenants for now. It will be in May, when the Battle House Hotel opens, that the tower's lobby will open to the public, he said.

And after the lobby opens, the building will be a "secure facility," Toole said, so that anyone who wants to go anywhere inside the tower other than the lobby will have to be a tenant or be doing business with a tenant.

Blake said he was in Mobile on Wednesday and the building essentially looks complete, although workers still have a few minor tweaks to make.

On Thursday, heavy equipment was still stationed outside the building's base, some sidewalk tiles had yet to be laid, and some electrical work appeared unfinished.

Seven flagpoles are still bereft, but they will eventually lead people's eyes north along Water Street to the hotel's main entrance, steel doors that sit under a curved steel awning, Blake said.

"The base is very important," Blake said. "It meets the ground and relates to the people walking. It gives the building a human scale down at the bottom."

[Alxx611]

It looks so unfinished to me. Its gonna drive me crazy...


http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b375/Alxx611/downtown/rsa.jpg

[dirtybird]

Maybe it will look better over time. I remember people in Atlanta complaining that the Bank of America building's spire looked unfinished. Now I can't imagine it any other way.

[rickydavisfan21]

yea but Bank of America in Atlanta looks intentional. This just looks terrible. This makes me pretty unhappy. I wondered why this was moving so slow, and now I have my answer, because it was finished the entire time. Bad call on the part of the architect, hopefully they will realize their mistake and clad the rest in glass.

[atl2phx]

hmmm, not what i expected to see for the finished product. the 'open' skin looks like an afterthought....it might pay off depending on how the night illumination works. i will say the open structure does seem to tie to old mobile in a way....recalls the iron works seen in street level railings, etc...

[Exodus]

It's starting to sink in that Mobile will have such a great building.

[Musicisright]

Yeah, I was kind of bummed when I read that it's pretty much finished. Hopefully it'll grow on everybody.

I get very, very excited reading this quote:

"I don't want to give it away yet, but there is going to be some specialty lighting, both on the building itself and the crown, and it's going to be quite spectacular," he said.

The only hint Blake would give is that the lighting will change with the seasons.

"The building is on the river, it's close to the bay, it's close to the Gulf," he said. "For those reasons we wanted it to be a beacon, a lantern, and the crown is going to act that way, like a lighthouse."

[Musicisright]

By the way, the crown on the rendering doesn't look "airy"...

http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07161/3034rsa_towerwb.jpg

[rickydavisfan21]

I imagine it will look better when the copper "greens" a lil more. Also it is unfair to judge it from a view that we most of us will never see, the view from a helicopter, or another office building. It should be judged from the ground and from a distance, and from those respects its pretty damn good. I actually get get the airy feel from the rendering.

[Alxx611]

yea I see the airy feeling in the rendering too.

I guess its mainly the fact that the have the first floor of the spire cladded but not the rest. If they kept that bottom section of the spire uncladded, then it wouldn't bother me as much.

But yea, can't wait to see it at night in the future. I remember during Mardi Gras it was partly lit purple and the body of the building's light made kind of a cross.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Give it a chance. Besides, most cities would LOVE to have a building like that as a dominant downtown structure (cough-cough, Huntsville ;) ).

[Exodus]

Cough cough, Birmingham, Montgomery, Nashville, New Orleans ;)

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ :haha:

cough-cough, Ithaca :yes:

[Musicisright]

I'll be posting the pictures of the interior of the tower as soon as my brother emails them to me. They're pretty cool.

[Verve]

For those of you who work or visit downtown, now that the sidewalk in front of the hotel is more accessible, you can get a sneak peek in the lobby of the Battle House hotel. The bar area is very nice and has some great decor. They still have workers putting the finishing touches on the outside so they may continue to block the sidewalk from time to time. I will take my camera with me the next time and see if I can get a few shots.

[Musicisright]

:D Some kick ass shots taken inside the crown. These are Michael Mastro (http://www.michaelmastro.com/photo_rsa-spire.html)'s. I just found them through Google.



http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1199_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1211_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1214_site.jpg

I love the green copper

http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1220_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1236_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1240_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1241_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1249_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1259_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1269_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1366_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1280_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1283_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1289_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1303_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1313_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1325_site.jpg


http://xs414.xs.to/xs414/07166/A08X1331_site.jpg

[Blazer85]

Great find, Musicisright.

I personally think this "airy"ness is pretty... bad. Maybe we'll all come to realize some benefit to leaving it open at some later time, but from the way it seems now, it looks unfinished and just... not very good. And I agree, in the rendering, it doesn't appear that the crown was going to be "airy" or at least certainly nowhere near as "airy" as it is now.

[AlabamaGuy2007]

Well, I'm giving the airy crown hope I guess. I think it'll look cool. I think that glass my sorta detract from how much the lights will play with the skeleton of the spire. We'll just have to see I guess.

[Exodus]

That is great ! I hope they leave the wrap around landings and let the public go up there. What a concept that would be.

[PhillyRising]

I think the building looks fine the way it is. The airy crown sets it apart and makes the building distinctive. It's hiding the building mechanicals and they could have done something really hideous instead like topping it with a big concrete box....see Waterfront Towers in Philly for example.

Mobile should be quite proud in having a tower of this high caliber!

[Musicisright]

Thanks, everybody. Is anybody else seeing only red X's for those pictures? Maybe it's just my computer...


Here are the pictures my brother took inside the tower! These are all taken from floors 16-18 about two weeks ago.

First the views:

http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4858re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4872re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4883re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4897re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4873re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4862re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4886re.JPG


Parking garage/health spa with swimming pools at top

http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4891re.JPG


Now the inside of the tower:

http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4877re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4878re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4893re.JPG


Nice view

http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4896re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4894re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4895re.JPG


http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4875re.JPG


A nearly complete floor:

http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/DSCF4899re.JPG


And a bonus pano of downtown I took tonight! There are more in this thread (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=129849) I just made.

http://xs114.xs.to/xs114/07160/_MG_6217panore1.JPG

[DallasTexan]

eww, that completed floor looks very 1981.

[Musicisright]

Your face looks like 1981.

[DallasTexan]

Your mom looks like my face.

[Musicisright]

Ouch, dude. Just ouch.

[nimsjus]

International Shipholding makes move
Sunday, April 22, 2007By KAIJA WILKINSONBusiness Reporter
International Shipholding Corp. marks a milestone this week during its shareholders meeting Tuesday at its new corporate headquarters in the RSA Battle House Tower. During the meeting, 81-year-old Erik F. Johnsen, one of the company's founders, plans to retire as chairman, and his son, Erik L. Johnsen, 49, would be named president.

Erik L. Johnsen's cousin, Niels Johnsen, 61, will become chairman and chief executive.

Other than these key executive changes and the election of nine directors, Erik L. Johnsen said it will be business as usual for the company, which was founded in New Orleans in 1947 as Central Gulf Steamship Corp.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and what could have been a death-blow to its CG Railway Inc. subsidiary, the company announced last summer it would pull up its roots and make a fresh start in Mobile.

CG is a rail-on-barge service connecting Mexico to the Gulf Coast. The state of Alabama and the Alabama State Port Authority agreed to build a new $26 million terminal for the service as a key part of the incentives deal that lured International Shipholding.

Last weekend, 106 International Shipholding employees moved into their new digs in the on 17th and 18th floors of the RSA building. For at least a while, their only neighbors will be construction workers, since the company is the first tenant in the landmark Mobile building.

Settling into his new office late last week, the younger Johnsen said the move was, "thankfully," uneventful, and right now he's simply hoping that the employees get settled in Mobile and adjusted to a new environment fairly quickly.

"I think business goes along the same as it has always gone, but you're just going to a different office, a different house, a different apartment, and just learning the city," which he added is not so very different from New Orleans.

What he likes best about Mobile, he said, are "the people and the positive attitude toward business development."

Next month International Shipholding will finally get to unveil its newly expanded CG Railway terminal at the state docks, something hurricane issues delayed for three years.

Launched at Choctaw Point in 2000, it was relocated to New Orleans in 2005 when it was displaced by construction of Mobile's $300 million container terminal. But when Hurricane Katrina altered the shipping channel the New Orleans facility relied upon, the CG operation came back to Mobile. The service will have double the capacity it had at Choctaw Point, thanks to a redesigned terminal and vessels.

Johnsen said he's confident both of his double-decker vessels will quickly be filled with rail cars. "Obviously if they weren't, we'd be making a big mistake," he said. "We think the market is there to add capacity."

The terminal will be formally dedicated sometime this summer, he said.

Johnsen said the makeup of the company has shifted somewhat over the past year, with its fleet shrinking from 42 to 26 vessels thanks in large part to International Shipholding's sale last fall of cement subsidiary Belden Shipholding PTE LTD.

Other vessels were sold for scrap, Johnsen said.

International Shipholding also has 15 wholly owned subsidiaries and a stake in three joint ventures.

"We're selling some of the older ships and intend clearly to replace them in the future, so we're really in a sort of transition of getting rid of some of the older stuff, looking at new ventures, and clearly setting ourselves up for the future," Johnsen said.

Such moves are helping International Shipholding toward its goal of getting back on track financially. The company, traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ISH, posted a healthy fourth-quarter 2006 profit of $21.7 million, or $3.56 per share, on revenue of $58.8 million. In the fourth quarter of 2005, which was affected by Katrina, it lost $825,000, or 13 cents per share, on revenue of $62 million.

The company still needs to add nearly 30 to its staff here, but Johnsen said he has been pleased with the quality and professionalism of the hires thus far. Most, he said, are either local or natives of Alabama who wanted to come home.

Having a major international shipping company based in Mobile adds to the momentum being generated by such developments as the container terminal, said Jimmy Lyons, Alabama State Port Authority director.

Lyons pointed out that International Shipholding owns what's left of former Mobile powerhouse Waterman Steamship Co., and the company's move here means added prestige for Mobile and the port.

"Before all the consolidation in the maritime industry we used to have a lot more stevedoring companies, a lot more agents," Lyons said. "But International Shipholding brings a major player, and that coupled with a lot of other things gives us a lot more notoriety, a lot more attention around the world."

[Scottybo]

Anyone know an official date for the lighting of the spire?

[Musicisright]

No, but I'd say it will be sometime soon seeing as they're done with the exterior.

Then again, with all the delays they've had, it could be a while.

[nimsjus]

From the Press-Register
RSA project has foot in two centuries
Gleaming new tower not considered part of Lower Dauphin Historic District, but restored adjacent Battle House Hotel is -- as is half the connector building linking the two Sunday, April 29, 2007By KATHY JUMPERReal Estate Editor
When it comes to downtown Mobile, even when something's new, it could still be historic.

The circa 1909 Battle House Hotel is in the Lower Dauphin Historic District, and the adjacent brand-new, 35-story glass and steel RSA Battle House Tower is not, according to the Mobile Historic Development Commission.

The 4½-year, $200 million project funded by the Retirement Systems of Alabama blends one of the city's oldest hotels with the state's tallest building. Half of the new connector building linking the two buildings is in the historic district, so it is considered historic.

Members of the city's Architectural Review Board said that, early on, RSA and the board struck a balance and have had a good working relationship.

RSA bought the vacant, 1836 Coley building on St. Francis Street, at the rear of the Battle House, in 2002. It was one of the parcels to be used for the project's nine-story parking deck. The two-story commercial building was listed as one of 11 buildings or sites in the state as Places in Peril in 2002 by the Alabama Historical Commission and Alabama Preservation Alliance in Montgomery.

RSA said that it would dismantle the building and re-erect the Coley building's cast-iron and brick facade (which had been changed in 1870) as part of the parking garage project. "We didn't want them to dismantle it at all, but that was a fight we weren't going to win," said Bunky Ralph, chairman of the review board. "They came to us and asked us," to approve the plan, which the board did.

RSA spent almost half a million to take the building down brick by brick and restore the facade, according to Al St. Clair, now director of the Alabama Cruise Terminal, who worked with the city to bring the RSA project here.

"It makes the garage in the historic district, but they have made some exceptions because of the signage on Water Street," St. Clair said. The review board, he added, was "very cooperative and tried hard to make this work."

Review board member Tilmon Brown, a local builder, was glad to see RSA rebuild Coley's facade. "From my standpoint, Mobilians have destroyed enough buildings downtown," said Brown, who has renovated several buildings downtown, including the St. Emanuel Place loft apartments at 127 Dauphin St., which open this week.

The lighting, landscaping and the signage on the RSA tower had to blend with the historic integrity of the Battle House, according to the review board.

"Even though you are dealing with a new modern structure, you want everything to complement the historic Battle House," said John Lawler, a city attorney who oversees the board. "You want to try to make it a little more conservative rather than the garish way it was treated on Airport Boulevard."

RSA also in essence rebuilt the 238-room Battle House, according to David Bronner, chief of RSA, the state's $28 billion pension funds. Much of the flooring and interiors were trashed or destroyed, and had to be redone or replicated, he said.

"That's what you get into when you do a restoration," he said.

/cut/2/cPhotos by BILL STARLING/Staff PhotographerAerial shots show the RSA Battle House Tower on March 22 and the tower's crown April 13.

[nimsjus]

Battle House opening events set
Posted by pcloos May 01, 2007 5:08 PM
Closed since 1974, the Battle House Hotel -- a downtown Mobile landmark -- will reopen with public festivities on Saturday, May 12, officials announced today. The grand reopening will also help christen the RSA Battle House Tower, Alabama's tallest office building, which is opening next door to the hotel.

The festivities actually begin Friday, May 11, with a black tie gala to benefit several local arts organizations. While that event is sold out, the public can watch as RSA head David Bronner and others officially light the RSA Battle House Tower at approximately 8:45 p.m.

On Saturday, it will be Battle House Day in the city of Mobile from 3-7 p.m. Downtown Mobile will be transformed into the 1920s and 30s with antique cars, big bands, dance demonstrations from local dance studios and residents strolling in historic attire.

Events will happen in Bienville Square and tours of the Battle House will be offered. Bands will be playing in front of the Battle House and in Bienville Square. Guests are asked to park in the Civic Center parking lot and to ride the shuttle.

Free hot dogs and ice cream will be served in Bienville Square at the event sponsored by the city of Mobile

[SouthSky]

^I'm trying my damnedest to get down there for that... should be a good time. (camera in hand)

[Musicisright]

How freakin' cool is that. I will definitely be there with my camera.

I can't believe the crown is going to finally be lit!

[Exodus]

Shit, I'm going to miss it by 4 days:(

[Musicisright]

Here's an article from the front page of today's Press Register that basically says the same thing:


Public can see refurbished Battle House Hotel on May 12
Wednesday, May 02, 2007 By JEFF AMY Staff Reporter

For anyone who wants to get a tour of the newly refurbished Battle House Hotel, May 12 is the day.

From 3 to 7 p.m. that Saturday, guides will lead the public through the long-shuttered landmark.

At 8:45 p.m. May 11, the spire on the adjoining RSA Battle House Tower will be lighted during a private charity benefit.

The free tours will be part of "Battle House Day," a city government celebration of the opening of the hotel and office building.

Bill Lang, spokesman for Retirement Systems of Alabama subsidiary PCH resorts, said people who want to take the tour can line up at the front door of the hotel at 26 N. Royal St.

Lang said the tour will include only the hotel and not the adjoining office building.

"I don't know if there will be tours of the tower in the future," Lang said.

Because the only public spaces of the 35-story tower are on the bottom three floors, public opportunities to see the top of the state's tallest building may be scarce.

City spokeswoman Barbara Drummond said the city hoped to expand the May 12 tours to include the tower, but Lang said RSA officials had rejected that plan.

Besides the tours, various groups will be trying to summon some of the hotel's history by recreating scenes of the 1920s and 1930s in Bienville Square and near the hotel.

That effort will include a display of antique cars, musical performances by three bands that are longtime fixtures of the Mobile scene and dancing demonstrations. The city will also be giving out free refreshments in the square and running a shuttle service from a remote parking lot.

The hotel will receive its first guests the night of May 11 after a $250 a plate dinner to benefit five arts organizations: the Center for the Living Arts, the Mobile Ballet, the Mobile Museum of Art, the Mobile Opera and the Mobile Symphony Orchestra.

Donors to the arts organizations were invited to the sold-out event, said Carol Hunter, who is helping coordinate it. About 600 are expected to attend, and Hunter said the organizations should share $100,000 or more from the proceeds.

Before the guests sit down to dinner, they will walk out onto Royal Street, where RSA chief David Bronner and others will light the tower.

Lang and Hunter said members of the public not attending the benefit can watch the ceremony from Royal Street. If the weather is clear, the spire will be visible from many parts of the area.

The state pension fund has invested more than $200 million in the hotel and office building.

[CottonCity251]

Finally!

[CottonCity251]

Great find, Musicisright.

I personally think this "airy"ness is pretty... bad. Maybe we'll all come to realize some benefit to leaving it open at some later time, but from the way it seems now, it looks unfinished and just... not very good. And I agree, in the rendering, it doesn't appear that the crown was going to be "airy" or at least certainly nowhere near as "airy" as it is now.

We don't expect you to say anything good anyway.

[Musicisright]

Be nice now.

Actually the "airy"ness is already starting to grow on me, and probably plays an important role in how the crown will be lit.

[nimsjus]

Is anyone going to be able to get some pictures on Friday night? I would love to see it lit up, but I have to stay in Auburn until the 12th. I guess I'll see it for myself a day late.

[Musicisright]

Don't you worry. I will be there to get some pictures Friday night.

[spookyapp]

I am hoping to get some pictures of the lighting and of the inside of the Battlehouse. Luckily, I get to leave Auburn the day of the lighting!

[Muskavon]

Edit...nevermind....just saw the lighting is NEXT Friday. My post was pointless considering that fact.

[Scottybo]

My camera has a decent video feature and I will be there waiting if I get there in time to take video of the lighting.

[SouthSky]

I thought someone would be interested in seeing this. It's a 360 degree image of the redone lobby of the Battle House Hotel. I believe there's one of a ballroom also.

http://www.al.com/press-register/video/index.ssf?battlelobby

[SouthSky]

This sounds awesome... I NEED to get down there to see this.


"The updated originals are grounded with carpet in the same "ocean blues, midday reds and sun-kissed golds," that make up the color scheme of the Riverview Plaza Hotel, but with a slightly softer palette, hotel officials said. Overall, the decor and eclectic furnishings recall the old days of France, laced with the fabrics and textures of England and imbued with the vibrant colors of Spain, Africa and the Caribbean, hotel officials said in a news release.


Guests walk into a lobby top by a domed skylight. In the four corners of the grand lobby are reliefs of the three kings instrumental at different points in Mobile's history: King George III of England; King Louis XIV of France and King Ferdinand I of Spain. President George Washington occupies the final corner." - Mobile Register, May 6, 2007



http://www.al.com/living/press-register/index.ssf?/base/living/117844332765390.xml&coll=3

[Exodus]

4 days and counting:)

[Musicisright]

Here's a picture of the main lobby of the Battle House from the link SouthSky posted above. I like the carpet, unlike a lot of people. What do y'all think?

http://xs115.xs.to/xs115/07192/bh1.png

[g-man435]

^^You know there's a problem when a city no bigger than Raleigh and even smaller than that gets a skyscraper more than double the height of the tallest building in South Carolina. Also, the carpet looks like something out of a building in Cambodia.