Blazer85

Good news. An $11.3M renovation/restoration of Birmingham's Lyric Theatre is planned. To read the story, go here: http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stor.../26/story1.html

Here's another rendering of The Standard from a different angle.

40M mixed-use project slated for midtown (near the future Railroad Reservation Park). It will bear the name "The Standard." VERY nice looking if you ask me.

July stats are out.... 2005 Passenger Traffic Info for BHM INTL From Jan 1, 2005- August 1, 2005: -Passenger Traffic YTD: 1,808,103 -Monthly Average: 258,300 -Projected Year Total Passenger Traffic: 3,099,603* *Assuming the current monthly average is maintained. ------------------------------------------------------ Year-to-date, BHM INTL is approx. 200,000 passengers ahead of where we were last year at the same time.

No improvements in those areas are expected just yet. Most of the airports focus will be in adding the additional 2,000ft to the runway, creating more commercial apron space, and minor improvements to the terminal itself.

There were two proposals for towers. One about 800ft and the other about 675ft. The 800ft tower proposal has been scrapped or at the very least put on the backburner because they realized the market for that type of building isnt here yet. The 675ft tower is still a real proposal I think, but havent heard anything new on it. There's supposedly a 27-story tower that's closer to reality than the 675ft tower, however. We'll keep you posted.

Not 100% certain, but I do expect that to be the case.

300 new mixed-income units have been approved for the area around the Civil Rights District. 100 or so would be available for those needing rent assistance. The remaining units would be available at market price. This will be Phase II of the Hope VI project in BHM. Pennrose Properties LLC (Philadelphia) and Formation Methods LLC (Birmingham) were the master developers chosen to work on the project.

Well, we do owe alot of our traffic increases to Southwest Airlines, but hardly any of those flights go through Atlanta. Alot of Birmingham's Delta traffic passes through Atlanta though. Here's a sample breakdown of our traffic. Total passenger traffic at BHM for July 2005 was 280,000. Roughly 100,000 were Southwest passengers, 80,000 were Delta, and the remaining 100,000 were divided up among the remaining airlines (Northwest, Continental, US Airways, etc etc).

Yes... and prior to Sept 11th, BHM INTL was set for a record year of over 3 million passengers, but as with most airports, we suffered a major setback and are now just beginning to catch back up with the passenger traffic we were experiencing in early 2001.

UPDATE 2005 Passenger Traffic Info for BHM INTL From Jan 1, 2005- July 1, 2005: -Passenger Traffic YTD: 1,522,144 -Monthly Average: 253,691 -Projected Year Total Passenger Traffic: 3,044,288* ---------------------------------------------------- * Assuming the current monthly average is maintained.

That situation is kind of like Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa is less than an hour away from BHM and Jefferson Co. and Tuscaloosa Co. border each other. Tuscaloosa does have its own news, but many of its residents rely on BHM media for their news. Tuscaloosa Co. and Jefferson Co. are still independent enough to be considered separate, but frankly, I consider Tuscaloosa Co. alot more a part of metro BHM than Chilton Co. If ever added to the BHM Metro, Tuscaloosa Co. would add about 170,000 to our total. What are the populations of Auburn/Opelika and Columbus separately and then together?

Looks like finally the Cherry Ave-Coalburg Rd section of I-22 made it through the letting period without being withdrawn. Maybe the bid will actually be awarded so work can begin on that segment. Also important to note that $8 million more was recently secured for the Northern Beltline.

What hospital do you work at, Jaylon?

And since I told you about those buildings, there are minor rumblings that an 800ft tower COULD be in Birmingham's future.

I'm not sure if the guy I heard it from is reliable or not. He apparently gets paid by people to seek out sites for future projects, but he's not in real estate or a developer. In any event, he's looking for a full block downtown to buy, demolish, and build up on. He apparently has submitted a proposal to the FAA for an 800ft tower, but feels like they probably would knock some off the height. I dont know how reliable the source is as this guy just popped up recently. If I hear anything further, I'll let you know.

Rumblings now of an 800ft tower in BHM's future. Not a sure bet right now though.

Not really in the city of Mobile, but it is along the coast, and consequently, part of metro Mobile. Plans have been announced for a $52 million, 25-story luxury condominium in Orange Beach. Construction is expected to begin in December.

I live in Gardendale, but I didnt graduate from GHS. I graduated from Shades Valley/JCIB.

Work on Leer and the City Federal has already begun.

A midrise building of some sort is expected to be built in a site near the Daniel Building.

BHAM INTL was just award $4 million in federal assistance to upgrade facilities and help with the expansion of the airport runway.

Good list Birmingham's skyline will be quite different by 2010 I would say. A potential 45-story building, a 27-story building, a 25-story building, and several other 25+ story buildings that could become a reality.

My source has informed me that, if approved, construction is slated to take just 18 months.

BTW, here are some numbers from 2004 about our office market. Definitely filling our space out better than many other southeastern cities. Total Downtown Occupancy Rate: 87.5% Class A Downtown Occupancy Rate: 88.5%