Downtown Apartments Units in the works (Birmingham, Vestavia Hills: fit in, 2013, rental)

[mcalumni01]

Firestone Building, Leer Tower among buildings targeted for multifamily - Birmingham Business Journal

not including the ones in the work around region field and the theatre district and 2nd Ave N

[raj kapoor]

More great news, especially the Thomas Jefferson, and the Firestone. (I have particularly been apprehensive about the Firestone and its arte moderne design being lost, especially right on Twentieth Street: and this one includes a possible grocery in what I believe to be a perfect location.)

pinch me,
raj

[mcalumni01]

the need for more residential living choices downtown is through the roof. more and more people are waiting on lofts, apartments, condos, etc. to be built or renovated buildings converted into those to be developed. developers who are spending millions to do this ain't doing this to take a loss. so the demands for them are so high for the downtown area that eventually retails and other business will occur as well. the thing is that you hear a announcements but no actions afterward. so if they can get the bulldozers and cranes and construction going, other people with other businesses for downtown will get started as well.

[bluebeard]

I would consider condos more, if they didn't tend to overprice the HOA fees so ridiculously. Its funny, I have no attachment to single-family homes. Its just that financially they make more sense given the excessive fees.

[mcalumni01]

leer tower apartments would be NICE!! with a view of region field, railroad park, children hospital on one side and downtown skyline on the other side

[Tourian]

So that about covers all the notoriously empty high rise buildings right? Every empty tower of note has a plan with some backing now, right?

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by Tourian

So that about covers all the notoriously empty high rise buildings right? Every empty tower of note has a plan with some backing now, right?

The Empire may still be up in the air. The developer wanted it to be lower income. There it stands at the most important intersection downtown, as one of the loveliest buildings of its era. I believe the business community has balked. I hope this does not go through. Housing for the poor is a good initiative but it should not be front and center.

raj

[cpg35223]

I think the coolest thing of all about this is that, eventually, it will lead to there being one long unbroken downtown area from I-59/20 to Five Points. It used to be that Midtown was a deadzone. Now it's turning into the heart of a very cool transformation of the entire area.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by raj kapoor

The Empire may still be up in the air. The developer wanted it to be lower income. There it stands at the most important intersection downtown, as one of the loveliest buildings of its era. I believe the business community has balked. I hope this does not go through. Housing for the poor is a good initiative but it should not be front and center.

raj

I totally agree. I think something like that should be just the opposite and be very high end condos complete with a doorman and valet and adjacent parking garage. The business community should balk. So hopefully that developer comes to their senses and changes their plans or sells the building.

[raj kapoor]

Originally Posted by Tourian

I totally agree. I think something like that should be just the opposite and be very high end condos complete with a doorman and valet and adjacent parking garage. The business community should balk. So hopefully that developer comes to their senses and changes their plans or sells the building.

This is what is scary about being on the investment bullseye. Most of these companies are from cities across the country and don't see how these buildings fit into the fabric of the city. To someone from St. Louis, the Empire is just an old empty building that if they throw a little bit of money at it, the FED will provide up front rental for 'qualified' tenants who then turn it into a vertical garbage dump. This happened to plenty of buildings in Detroit.

On a local level we need to be less thankful for every dollar someone offers us and we should be making the ground rules about use and zoning which should apply as well downtown as it would if you tried to do the same thing in Vestavia Hills.

We have been fortunate so far. I still don't know the status of the Brown-Marx bldg. , do you? (my last knowledge was that the firm's track record in Atlanta was abysmal and garnered him a bad rep)

I just want to live long enough to see those barriers around Pizitz come down.

raj