Birmingham Development News

[The 251]

come on.. we all know theres no way this is going to happen. Langford needs to put some time into thinking about how to pay off those sewer bonds instead of fantasizing about the olympics. I really dont think any gulf-state cities have a legit chance at this

[| BRAVO |]

Yes, this is being thoroughly discussed in its very own thread.

Originally Posted by The 251

come on.. we all know theres no way this is going to happen. Langford needs to put some time into thinking about how to pay off those sewer bonds instead of fantasizing about the olympics. I really dont think any gulf-state cities have a legit chance at this

[10101000]

How is B-ham today???

[Blazer85]

Demolition of former Parisian warehouse near Carraway begins
Posted by Joseph D. Bryant -- Birmingham News June 26, 2008 8:48 AM

Crews this morning began demolition of a former Parisian warehouse at Carraway Boulevard and 12th Avenue North in North Birmingham.

Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford came to the site of the abandoned building and said the property will be given to the South Korean firm that's investing $15 million to help nearby Physicians Medical Center Carraway and wants to invest millions to reviatlize the Norwood community.

Officials of the company, Shinsegae USA, say they eventually want to use the property for a hotel.

[| BRAVO |]

Originally Posted by (Tim)

How is B-ham today???

It's cool. Well, actually it's hot.

I'm putting together a 6 month review of what's going on around greater Birmingham.
Keep a look out for it.

[10101000]

Awesome, I will, thanks.

[Blazer85]

Not sure what type of hotel this will be exactly, but I think this is a good move. We're in need of hotel space near the BJCC anyway... and this is also close enough to Carraway Hospital that it would be of benefit to them as well.

Korean investment company to build hotel in Birmingham, Langford says
Posted by Joseph D. Bryant -- Birmingham News June 26, 2008 9:43 AM

The Korean investment company spending $15 million on Physicians Carraway Medical Center plans to build a hotel near the site off Carraway Boulevard, Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford said today.

Langford made the announcement this morning as city crews began demolition of two burned warehouses that are owned by the city.

"We struck the deal on the spot," Langford said after meeting with officials with Shinsegae USA. "One thing is just feeding another. I'm going to give them the property and they're going to build a hotel."

The 2.5-acre property is a few blocks from the hospital.

Shinsegae also hopes to buy other property surrounding Physicians Carraway and develop condominiums, among other projects, company officials said.

Crews from the city's Public Works Department this morning began demolishing the old Parisian's warehouse on Carraway Boulevard, a day after the vacant building was damaged by a fire.

"It needs to come down, it's just an abandoned building," said Public Works Director Rickey Kennedy.

The building housed a Dolly Madison bakery warehouse before Parisian used it as a corporate office.

The process of clearing the property could take two to three weeks, Kennedy said.

Battalion Chief C.W. Mardis of the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service said Wednesday morning's fire was intentionally set.

I also noticed that there is now a crane on the site of the future Residence Inn that's across from the DoubleTree.

[dfwtiger]

Birmingham school board members: Willing to sell headquarters, unwilling to give it to city

Posted (on Birmingham News Website) by Kristin Oberholzer -- Birmingham News June 26, 2008 8:47 PM
A majority of Birmingham Board of Education members said tonight they are "open" to selling the board's headquarters at Park Place, but do not want to give the building to the city to pay off a $3 million loan from April 2007.



Board President W.J. Maye said the board plans to explore options other than those given by Mayor Larry Langford, who requested three weeks ago by letter to buy the building from the board.

Langford said the city would then sell the building to a developer and give the school board the money from the sale.

"We don't mind selling the place, but we want to be the ones to sell it, and we need a place to go first," Maye said.

Other board members agreed.

"We need to let the mayor know we don't need them to sell the building for us," said board member Phyllis Wyne.

Maye said the offered price given by the city only reflected the appraisal of the building, and excluded costs like moving housed technology and personnel changes.

[| BRAVO |]

I'm planning to make several posts over the next week summarizing development news from the last six months in and around Greater Birmingham. I've tried to include everything I could possibly think of and throw in a few pics of construction progress. Feel free to point out any mistakes or omissions. The posts will be broken down according to type of development: Office, residential, hotels, hospitals, etc...

Alright... Here goes.

[| BRAVO |]

BAYER PROPERTIES PLANS SOUTHSIDE OFFICE PROJECT
Plans call for a Class A office building covering 150,000 to 165,000 square feet on the site of Bayer's existing Arlington Avenue headquarters,
which will be razed. The building will include five to six floors as well as underground and grade-level parking in an investment that is expected
to exceed $20 million. Expect this structure to have high visibility from the Red Mountain Expressway.



PIZITZ BUILDING
Office, retail and possibly residential space is on the drawing board for the Pizitz building. Pre-leasing dictates the project's timetable,
Bayer hopes to see the building open by late 2010 or early 2011.



FLORENTINE BUILDING
Plans call for carefully cleaning the terra cotta, marble and limestone facade of the building, putting an Italian restaurant, a bakery and
floral shop on the first floor and opening up the second floor as event space with a full commercial kitchen.



BURGER-PHILLIPS BUILDING
The six-story structure at 1914 Third Avenue North is being transformed into 35 loft apartments by developer Carruthers Real Estate Co.
Retail or office space is planned for the first floor of the building



FAMOUS THEATER
Developer and architect Nolanda Bearden plans to create the first set of lofts in the historically black business district and renovate the
80-year-old theater's first floor into offices.



COLONIAL BROOKWOOD CENTER
Rumor has it Colonial is planning a 12-15 story tower at the site of the Vincent’s Market adjacent to their wildly successful
8 story office building. There have also been rumblings that a high-profile national department store
will be taking the ground level.



HALLMAN HILL
http://www.hallmanhill.com/
The $100 million condominium and retail project in Homewood began construction and is scheduled to be complete by spring 2009.




LEER TOWER
www.leercondos.com
Construction of the $25 million renovation at Second Avenue North and 17th Street supposedly began in February and completion is
expected in summer 2009




2600 HIGHLAND
www.2600highlandavenue.com
Completion of the 11-story, $19 million project located on the corner of Highland Avenue and 26th Street was completed in April 2008.



BLOCK 121
Corporate Realty's plans to develop a $33 million urban apartment and retail complex - 258 apartments, 18,000 sf of retail and a 400 space
parking deck.



UNIVERSITY HOUSE BIRMINGHAM
Rumor is the developer of University House is planning an upscale development at the intersection of 1st Avenue South and 14th Strret
to coincide with the construction of Railroad Reservation Park.



ENSLEY TOWER
Veristar Development Services announced plans for the restoration of a historic Ensley building and convert it into apartments for senior citizens
Veristar seeks control of the building from the city as it seeks funding and tax credits to begin the process of overhauling the 80-year-old,
10-story art deco building.



PARK PLACE DOWNTOWN
I haven’t been been able to find any sources that say Park Place is expanding - but there seems to be new construction? Anybody?

[UrbanLover]

I believe the expansion in your photo is the senior housing component, always scheduled as Phase 3 (?) of the development. The final phase includes retail and owner-occupied housing, though I am not sure of the status of that part.

[10101000]

OMG, that is awesome!

[| BRAVO |]

Hotel projects topping $194 million are slated for downtown Birmingham. If all the projects are completed, at least 1,309 hotel rooms will be
added downtown, along with 1,280 renovated ones.



RESIDENCE INN
Construction began on a new 129-room Residence Inn on 20th Street South, the project is a $25 million investment.




THE GASTON
The planned $40 million investment on Fifth Avenue includes an upscale hotel, retail, meeting space and lofts to Civil Rights district.
The developer is also considering enlarging the project to include property around the motel.



DOWNTOWN RENAISSANCE
Construction began to double the size of a downtown parking deck to accommodate the $50 million hotel.
The Marriott Renaissance is to include 255 rooms, spa and restaurant will be located in the 17 story Regions Tower.




ALOFT
Ground was broken for Homewood's $20 million, five-story Aloft Hotel in the heart of downtown Homewood. Opening is scheduled for March 2009




HYATT PLACE SOUTHSIDE
The 150-room $26.5 million Hyatt Place Hotel situated at 20th Street South and Fourth Avenue broke ground early this year.






FEDERAL RESERVE BUILDING
We still hope to see a start of construction on the 18-20 story hotel/office project by Melaver. Construction Fences and project banners are in place.
www.birminghamfed.com




CARRAWAY HOTEL
Langford announced the Korean company investing in the Norwood community are planning a hotel at the site
of the former Parisian Warehouse.

[| BRAVO |]

RAILROAD RESERVATION PARK
www.railroadpark.org
Birmingham work crews removed century old cobblestone at the site of the Railroad Reservation Park in preparation for construction of the 21 acre first phase of the project. Eventually, the park could extend east all the way to Sloss Furnaces, creating a linear park that would spur even more residential and commercial development. Completing all the phases envisioned for the park could cost $50 million.





RUFFNER MOUNTAIN NATURE PRESERVE
www.bham.net/ruffner
Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve continues plans for an Environmentally Friendly LEED Certified Green “Treetop Visitor’s Center” and plans to expand the park by 500 to 700 acres. This will make RMNP one of America's largest urban nature preserves at around 1,511 to 1,711 acres



RED MOUNTAIN PARK
www.redmountainpark.org
The Red Mountain Park Commission is allowing a series of tours of the grounds to allow supporters to get a feel for the location and scale of the land. The planned park consists of 1,100 acres—an area larger than New York's Central Park--- the Park Commissions plans for the development of park amenities include 18 miles of biking and hiking trails, 16 soccer fields, 5 softball fields, picnic areas, and a 20-acre lake. The property provides the opportunity to connect a 64-mile network of greenways that would allow a person to bicycle from Bessemer to Mountain Brook
without ever encountering vehicular traffic.



BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
George Barber is planning to nearly double the size of his world-renowned motorcycle museum and add a motocross track. Ground likely will be broken next year on an expansion that would add at least 100,000 square feet to the museum and enable the display of hundreds more motorcycles.
The existing 140,000-square-foot museum allows for the display of less than half of Barber's 1,200-bike collection, widely regarded as the world's best.



ALABAMA ADVENTURE
Southland Entertainment sold Alabama Adventure and is now focusing on developing an adjacent 157-acre parcel where it has proposed building a hotel/indoor water park, a possible RV park and other commercial and retail developments.



McWANE SCIENCE CENTER
McWane is celebrating the the installation of “Linear Motion”. Mounted to the facade of the building - the sculpture interacts with passer-bys on the sidewalk by moving in a linear-waving motion.

[| BRAVO |]

BENJAMIN RUSSELL HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN
The Children’s Hospital of Alabama announced plans for a 12 story, $450 million expansion project at 17th Street and 5th Avenue South. Anticipated completion for the renamed facility is slated for 2012.




PHYSICIANS‘ MEDICAL CENTER CARRAWAY
It was announced in June that a team of Korean Investors were pumping $15 million into the hospital. The team also announced plans to invest in the Norwood community by building condos and renovating the former McArthur Elementary School as a facility for training Korean nurses.



UAB WOMEN AND INFANTS’ CENTER
The project has been estimated at $140 million and will have 10 floors and cover 630,000 square feet. It is expected to be complete by the end of 2009.




FEDERAL DIGITAL HOSPITAL
Developer Daniel Corp. struck a deal with HealthSouth and bought the U.S. 280 campus. There hasn’t been any news lately regarding the proposed Military Hospital.



TRINITY MEDICAL CENTER
The state approved Trinity’s application to relocate its hospital from Montclair Road in eastern Birmingham to Irondale at Interstate 459 and Grants Mill Road. It proposes to use 454 beds out of its current 560-bed license after the move.



SHELBY BAPTIST MEDICAL CENTER
Construction continues on a $96.4 million bed-tower project with completion projected for July 2009.



BROOKWOOD MEDICAL CENTER
Plans include a 10 story tower to be constructed within the next few years.

[| BRAVO |]

THE SUMMIT
Bayer plans to add 50,000 square feet of retail space, with two floors of office space above it. Construction is expected to start this spring, with opening
slated for late 2009 or early 2010


PICKWICK PLACE in Five Points South is set to get a $1.5 million facelift from its owners, as a palpable shift in energy brings renewed life to the neighborhood


THE RIVERCHASE GALLERIA
Rumor is The Galleria is gearing up for a major renovation inside and out to ready for Nordstrom in 2012



And... the glorified strip mall rundown


COLONIAL PROMENADE FULTONDALE
Opened with anchors Target, BestBuy, Ashley Furniture and JC Penney is scheduled to open in late 2008.


COLONIAL PROMENADE TANNEHILL is slated to open in late 2008 also with anchors Target, Publix, JC Penney and a theater.


THE GROVE in Hoover is slated to open in Summer 2009 with confirmed tenants SuperTarget, Lowe's, Kohl's and Books-A-Million.

[| BRAVO |]

Happy Fourth of July... if anybody is out there.

[| BRAVO |]

BJCC

Board members of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex approved a plan to begin soliciting bids for an architecture firm to design a proposed
domed stadium. Eight firms from across the country and Australia have showed interest.

Other happenings at the existing facility include:
-- Construction of a skywalk from the The Sheraton to the North Exhibit Hall
-- Renovation of the Concert Hall is anticipated for August
-- Renovation of the Arena are slated for the near future

THE FORGE - ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT
Performa plans to break ground on The Forge pending approved financing - Good Luck.
Confirmed tenants at The Forge include:
American Idol winner Ruben Studdard - Club 205
American Idol winner Taylor Hicks - Blues Club
The owners of O'Henry's Coffee and the Comedy Club at The Stardome said they are considering opening in the downtown Birmingham entertainment district.


Also, the BJCC announced plans to erect the Magic City sign over 23rd street.



FAIR PARK
Langford announced plans for a $90 million project to transform Fair Park into a sports-themed residential and athletics village at Five Points West.
The development includes a Marriott, Foot Locker and Aldi.



HISTORIC OVERPASSES
Birmingham celebrated completion of the restoration of the historic 1931 overpasses at 20th, 19th, 18th and14th Streets.




14TH STREET/ENTREPRENEURIAL DISTRICT
Announcements were made that the city's 14th St. corridor is scheduled to get a makeover with construction beginning in mid 2008. Plans include improvements for park
and streetscape improvements in and around the district, as well as special signs that denote the area, like those in the Loft District.
Birmingham's Entrepreneurial District is the site of at least $47 million in planned, ongoing or new developments, a trend that downtown advocates expect to grow with last years opening of the expanded business incubator, Innovation Depot.



SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
Birmingham’s first LEED Certified structure opened in early 2008 and features a rooftop garden that will be the largest among government buildings in the Southeast. The "green roof" will consist of up to 85,000 square feet of drought-tolerant vegetation planted in a four- to six-inch layer of soil, a technique
that reduces heat absorbed by a building and slows the flow of runoff into storm water systems.



17TH STREET IMPROVEMENTS
Children's Hospital has been working with 17th Street occupants and GA Studios to develop a redevelopment plan along 17th Street between their campus and the Railroad Reservaiton Park.
UAB and Children's also are cooperating in locating a linear park between their two medical facilities on the southern end of the corridor.

[Randy Sandford]

Originally Posted by | BRAVO |

Happy Fourth of July... if anybody is out there.

I'm here now. Just got back from a 6-day trip to Chicago last night.

[| BRAVO |]

Originally Posted by Randy Sandford

I'm here now. Just got back from a 6-day trip to Chicago last night.

Fun! Did you enjoy your trip?