The Montgomery Building

[Spartanburg Guy]

Lots of progress today.  Concrete stripped on the top of both the west and south side of the building.

[westsider28]

Awesome view from the 10th floor! (from The Montgomery Building Instagram page)

[Spartanburg Guy]

Concrete now stripped on floors 7-10.

 

[roads-scholar]

Have any of the new panels been installed yet?

[Spartanburg Guy]

I don't think so.  If I understand correctly, they are putting insulation stuff in before doing that.

Edited June 2, 2017 by Spartanburg Guy

[westsider28]

As I understand it, all the old panels will be stripped before any new ones go up.  They first need to put up aluminum 2x4s and insulation to support the new panels (hollow bricks served that purpose originally, but are being removed w/the old panels).  You can already see where they've put up that framing at the top, in the shape of the original roofline (yellow stuff).  They probably want to restore the copper bays before putting up the new panels, too.

Edited June 2, 2017 by westsider28

[westsider28]

Here's a link to an awesome drone flyaround video of MB progress by ACPhotoWorks.  Screenshot:

P.S. - Does anyone know how to embed a video in a post?

Edited June 7, 2017 by westsider28
Efforts to embed video failed...

[westsider28]

Panel removal is down to the 2nd/3rd floors.  The aluminum framing doesn't have any window holes at the moment, which seems a bit odd, but I guess they'll add those later.

[westsider28]

Progress photo I took Friday evening:

[westsider28]

Good progress update article in the H-J this morning.  Interior framing on the apartments is underway, as well as floor cutting for a new interior stairwell.  The fire escape on the back is also being removed.  The new exterior panels will go up flat ones first, then the decorative ones.  The windows will go in last.  Planned completion is October 2018.  There are plenty of cool photos included in the article.

Here's some of the interior framing for the apartment units:

[Spartanburg Guy]

Is the yellow the insulation?

 

[Spartanburg Guy]

More yellow insulation has gone up, covering about half of the building now.  I took this picture 2 days ago so I suspect even more has gone up since.

 

Edited July 30, 2017 by Spartanburg Guy

[westsider28]

As you may have seen, the Herald-Journal had some aerial photos taken of the Montgomery Building a few days ago.

[Spartanburg Guy]

Most of the windows have been removed from the east face of the building.  Already looks a ton better.

 

[westsider28]

A flat grey coating has been added to the top of the north side of the building.  I assume that's another undercoat layer before the panels go up.  Speaking of panels, there's one section up on the south side of the building.  However, don't get too excited, because I'm pretty sure it's the same section that was put up on the north side as a test before this project really even started.  You can tell by the pattern that it's meant to be over the smaller window to the right, not the center window.  Still interesting.  Also, window openings in the 3rd floor framing have now been built.

[roads-scholar]

From the southwest corner of Church and St. John Street.   Most of the old exterior cladding has been removed from ground floor.   

[Spartanburg Guy]

The yellow insulation on the west face is now being painted white.

[westsider28]

The Herald-Journal has an update on the Carolina Theatre (with some great photos).  Preservation SC has been bringing in experts to do interior surveys and figure out exactly what the original features were like (paint colors, etc).  Once that's all known, they will place historic easements on the theatre to protect its significance.  The detailed assessment of the theater will be completed by the end of October before setting a fundraising goal or restoration budget.  The primary intent will be to attract investment capital to help put the theater space back in use.  Once the theater is opened up to potential developers, it initially would be on a lease basis.

Also, two truckloads of exterior panels arrived yesterday, so hopefully they'll be going up soon!

[hub-city]

Drove by the building this morning and it looks like they are starting to put some panels on.  They have started at the front corner near the church.

[westsider28]

Went by this evening and saw that, too.  Exciting!

Here's a fantastic and extensive article about this project and it's impact on the momentum of downtown.  The developer says they're about 1/3 of the way done.  I also noticed a change from what we've heard in the past: now floors two and three will be office space (previously just 2nd floor), so floors 4-10 will be apartments (resulting in a decrease in units from 72 to 63).  I wonder if this is related to the increase in apartments planned downtown, particularly the 200-unit project nearby. (more competition reduces feasibility of more units?)  Or is the office market that strong?  Anyway, interesting tweak.

[roads-scholar]

11 hours ago, westsider28 said:

Went by this evening and saw that, too.  Exciting!

Here's a fantastic and extensive article about this project and it's impact on the momentum of downtown.  The developer says they're about 1/3 of the way done.  I also noticed a change from what we've heard in the past: now floors two and three will be office space (previously just 2nd floor), so floors 4-10 will be apartments (resulting in a decrease in units from 72 to 63).  I wonder if this is related to the increase in apartments planned downtown, particularly the 200-unit project nearby. (more competition reduces feasibility of more units?)  Or is the office market that strong?  Anyway, interesting tweak.

Excellent article with some fascinating history too.

[westsider28]

Here's a photo from yesterday of the new panels going up on the corner of the 5th & 6th floors.

[westsider28]

ICYMI: H-J article about the replica panels going up now.  The plain panels will go up on floors 5-8 first.  Then the decorative panels will go up on floors 1-4 then 9-10.  Every new panel should be in place on the building next spring.  Also, most of the apartment units have been framed.  Good photos (and a video) in the article as well.

[westsider28]

Exterior panel progress today.  Two windows have been put in as well.

[westsider28]

The first retail tenant has been announced, and it's a second location for Little River Roasting!  It will take a 921 sq ft space, have outdoor seating, and open in fall 2018.

Begun, the coffee shop wars have. (*said in Yoda voice*)

Edited December 12, 2017 by westsider28