258 replies to this topic

[dc35064]

GA Tech stadium and The Georgia Dome are both in downtown Atlanta.

Edited by dc35064, 04 August 2008 - 01:47 PM.

[rtkenmore]

dc35064, on Aug 4 2008, 02:46 PM, said:

GA Tech stadium and The Georgia Dome are both in downtown Atlanta.

You're right...  But also keep in mind the first and foremost reason the Georgia Dome was built???  As a permanent home for the Atlanta Falcons.  It's also connected to the Georgia World Congress Center which is one of the largest convention centers in the southeast and regularly host very, very large scale conventions that Birmingham will quite honestly never host.

And not to sound argumenative, but mentioning GA Tech just proves my point.  You have a university that has one and half times the land area as UAB with a stadium that has been in existence since 1913 at its present site.  The university itself has been around since the late 1800's.  UAB has only been in existence since 1969.

Although mentioning GA Tech does bring me to think about Georgia State University who is starting a new football program and will be playing in the Georgia Dome for all their home games.  GSU is going to be in the same situation as UAB with a very fixed amount of land available to the university and additional land at a very scarce amount at very premium prices.

Going back to something Leonard said, I could actually see UAB ultimately moving baseball off campus to possibly a city park or Regions Park (heck, play baseball at historic Rickwood Field - I mean how cool would that be) so that that large land area can at some point be developed further into Academic, Residential and Research space for the university.

Off topic, but I'd actually like to see a very quiant and intimate ball park eventually built as part of the BJCC and have the Birmingham Barons ACTUALLY play in Birmingham.  Downtown ballparks are reviving lots of downtown areas around the country.  We simply have to look to our north in Chattanooga to see that.  The new park in Chattanooga has done wonders to help continue growing the downtown area and nightlife choices there.

[where_am_I]

Birmingham Business Leadership Group's study for the proposed dome stadium in Birmingham has selected the BJCC location downtown as the best place to build the dome.    Mayor Langford states that he supports the group's recommendation for the BJCC site.

http://www.bizjourna...25/daily36.html

Edited by where_am_I, 29 August 2008 - 05:43 PM.

[rtkenmore]

where_am_I, on Aug 29 2008, 06:42 PM, said:

Birmingham Business Leadership Group's study for the proposed dome stadium in Birmingham has selected the BJCC location downtown as the best place to build the dome.    Mayor Langford states that he supports the group's recommendation for the BJCC site.

http://www.bizjourna...25/daily36.html

Well duh...

It was always an asanine idea to place the dome anywhere else besides the BJCC.  The racecourse was only considered because LaLa and McGregor are in bed together financially...

[kayman]

Well, there seems to be some new developments with the Forge.  1) Comedian Jeff Foxworthy has signed on to open a restauarant in the complex.  2) Performa Entertainment has confirmed that they are just 2 weeks away from finalizing their funding to break ground on the Forge.

[kayman]

I've recently received word from the Birmingham Business Journal that it will likely 2010 before first establishment at The Forge.

[Southron]

An advisory panel for the BJCC narrowed a list of nine potential design firms down to two for the $500 million domed stadium.  St. Louis-based HOK Inc. and Dallas-based HKS Inc. are the two finalists for the project.

BJCC panel picks 2 finalists to design dome

[kayman]

Southron, on Dec 6 2008, 01:56 PM, said:

An advisory panel for the BJCC narrowed a list of nine potential design firms down to two for the $500 million domed stadium.  St. Louis-based HOK Inc. and Dallas-based HKS Inc. are the two finalists for the project.

BJCC panel picks 2 finalists to design dome

Interesting, considering the word on the dome stadium has been mum as of late aside from this announcement.  Honestly, I thought that since tax revenues from the 2007-08 fiscal year were lower than than projection that this project would have been in limbo.  Anyways, it good to see progress.

[Southron]

HOK and HKS made their dome project pitches Friday to the BJCC board.  One of the two firms may be chosen for the project as early as this coming week.  A couple of renderings of the HOK proposal are posted below.  Has anyone seen anything from HKS?

Finalists to design Birmingham's proposed dome make their pitches





atrium

[Southron]

BJCC board members voted unanimously to select HOK Inc. to design the dome.  Last week HOK was the only firm to provide images and a model of its proposed design.  Officials estimate it would take 12 to 18 months to finish the design and another 32 months to build, with construction beginning as early as July 2010.

Mayor Langford said he will ask the city council next week to commit it's part of the financing for the project.  It'll be interesting to see how that goes with the council next week.

BJCC picks HOK to design proposed dome

[kayman]

Also yesterday the City officials announced the landing of the first round of the Davis Cup, which is the largest US tennis tourney outside of the US Open.  Birmingham beat out cities like Las Vegas, Greenville, and San Antonio competing for the landing this major sporting event.  It will take place at the BJCC from March 6-8, 2009.  Major tennis stars such as Roger Feder will likely be competing, so this will be a major opportunity for Birmingham to gain nationwide as well as worldwide exposure.

[kayman]

Southron, on Dec 18 2008, 11:58 AM, said:

BJCC board members voted unanimously to select HOK Inc. to design the dome.  Last week HOK was the only firm to provide images and a model of its proposed design.  Officials estimate it would take 12 to 18 months to finish the design and another 32 months to build, with construction beginning as early as July 2010.

Mayor Langford said he will ask the city council next week to commit it's part of the financing for the project.  It'll be interesting to see how that goes with the council next week.

BJCC picks HOK to design proposed dome

After examining the plans and design sketches today while on lunch break, I wouldn't exactly call this a "dome" anymore since the roof of the facility is flat.  Honestly, Birmingham does need a more space at the BJCC, so I've changed the title from "dome" to "multipurpose facility" which it truly going to be.

I believe it will likely pass, but the fact that construction is still nearly 18-24 months away at the earliest.

[Southron]

Developer John Elkington of Performa said he is scaling back plans for the entertainment district because he can't get a loan for the project.  It will now be built in phases, with the first phase along Richard Arrington Boulevard from 22nd to 23rd Street using tenants appealing more to lenders. The second block would be completed once more financing is secured.

Developer rolls back scale of BJCC entertainment district

[kayman]

This is probably a very wise idea considering how screwed up the credit markets are because of the slump in the economy.  In addition it would probably wiser for them to build it in phases to see how successful this project is before they construct an entire complex where it has more empty storefronts than tenants.  Also I've yet to hear anything about a second hotel to anchor this place as originally planned, so starting smaller is smarter.

[bhamsly]

What do you guys think of The Forge not opening at the BJCC? I personally like the idea of The Forge looking at the Lakeview District or the RRP area, but I am not of a fan of them considering Homewood as a possible location. It would be cool if the plan to relocate the Southtown residents to a newer development actually went through, and The Forge located there. It could be a connection for Lakeview and Five Points South.

http://www.al.com/bu.../....xml&coll=2

Edited by bhamsly, 21 April 2009 - 12:29 AM.

[kayman]

Well, all I can say is I kind of saw this coming since there has been no groundwork as planned last fall.  The Forge will likely get built elsewhere in the region, most likely in the City either in the Railroad Park District or Lakeview, which are both on the Southside where the majority of the entertainment options are located.  Homewood has piss-poor luck with stuff like that just look at SoHo Square which has basically dried up within 2 years of it opening, so if Performa had any sense they will avoid that option.  I'm not even trying to knock Homewood because in most aspects they do things right where Birmingham has messed up.  The BJCC board would be better off waiting until the expansion is constructed and completed and let a district organically form around it.

[where_am_I]

Since the BJCC voted not to give an extension to Performa to develop The Forge entertainment district, they are preparing to develop it on their own, possibly using Performa's help to do so. Let's get the ball rollin!



http://blog.al.com/b...lo_on_ente.html

[Southron]

In April the Design Review Committee approved the Westin hotel and the Marketplace entertainment district. Ground was broken in January and construction should take about 18 months.

Thoughts on the design?


Good read on the project here:  Bhamarchitect's Blog

Older articles:  
$70 million hotel, retail plan proposed near Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex
Birmingham Mayor William Bell, BJCC officials break ground for hotel, entertainment district project

[Southron]

Work is underway at the site of the Westin Hotel and Marketplace entertainment district. The projects are set for completion by October 2012.

Hotel, entertainment district on target for October 2012 construction completion