NCAAbbs

This is very great news. Key to note this is the largest building in Birmingham to be set for renovation and conversion to residential units... even larger than the Cabana or City Federal. 100 more downtown residential units. Also, for STL knowledge, a tax credit is being considered for Pizitz :D
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Sloss plans homes for Pizitz

Sunday, June 12, 2005
MICHAEL TOMBERLIN
News staff writer

Sloss Real Estate Group is finalizing a plan to buy the vacant Pizitz department store and put as many as 100 residences there, a project that could accelerate the pace of downtown redevelopment projects.

Sloss has been analyzing the building at 1821 Second Ave. North as it puts together a financing and development plan that calls for creating commercial space on the ground floor and residences on upper floors.

Though a price tag has not been put on the project, the cost is expected to approach the $35 million figure mentioned when owners Bayer Properties proposed renovating the Pizitz into offices a few years ago.

"It's going to be a major investment downtown," said Leigh Ferguson, Sloss' director of urban living. "We have put together a team to try to do the best job we possibly can to make that building a catalytic part of the future of Birmingham to continue the momentum of what is happening downtown."

Constructed in 1923, the eight-story building that was home to Pizitz family's department store is a downtown landmark. The 225,000-square-foot structure has been empty for at least seven years and ranks as downtown's largest vacant building - bigger than the 27-story, 170,000-square-foot City Federal and the 20-story, 158,000-square-foot Cabana Hotel. Both are being eyed by developers for condos.

"The Pizitz is a real icon that we hope would be put back on the positive side of the ledger," said Fran Godchaux, vice president of Operation New Birmingham, a group that aids in downtown redevelopment.

Jill Deer, a principal with Bayer Properties, said getting the Pizitz into the hands of a developer experienced in major restoration projects has been a goal. "We think a lot of Leigh Ferguson and the Sloss Group and their ability to make an important project like this a success," she said.

Sloss has been active with downtown projects. It teamed with an Atlanta firm on the 11-story, $50 million One Federal Place, the most expensive downtown office project in years. The firm worked with another Atlanta developer on Park Place, the $110 million Hope VI project that is transforming 12 city blocks.

Sloss Lofts, meanwhile, manages 92 downtown apartments in Fix Play Lofts, Lofts at Goodall Brown and Watts Tower.

Ferguson said he believes the Pizitz could satisfy a growing demand for downtown living.

"We think there is a real opportunity there to do something that is really, really nice but you don't have to be a multi-millionaire to afford," he said.

Tax credits:

Sloss will seek federal historic tax credits and the incentives the city and county reserve for restoration projects.

"What we have now is a building that is not generating much in the way of taxes and it's an eyesore," Ferguson said. "This is a collective deal that will take all of us reaching and stretching to make this thing what it can be. Everybody who invests ... should be able to get a return on their investment."

Ferguson said the historic tax credits, which can offset 20 percent of the project's cost on federal taxes, are an important piece of the puzzle.

"We're looking at it as being a potential historic tax credit development which establishes some fairly serious criteria on how the construction re-development occurs," he said. "But we feel this is a piece of our architectural history here that needs to be preserved."

Incentives such as the historic tax credit require the residential units to be rented as apartments and not sold as condominiums for a set period of time. Ferguson said whether the Pizitz units will eventually be sold as condominiums has not been decided.

Likewise, Ferguson said plans for the ground floor have not been decided. Shops, offices, restaurants or residences are possibilities.

With McWane Center across the street, the restored Alabama Theatre a block away and other projects in the works, Ferguson said he hopes a rejuvenated Pizitz will add vibrancy to the area.

"That part of downtown can benefit from having active street use 16 to 18 hours a day as opposed to just businesses during the daytime," he said.

Ferguson, who has been handling such developments for 30 years in Chattanooga and other cities, said the Pizitz has great potential. "This, to me, is one of the most unique, most promising and most exciting opportunities I've ever come across."

Let's hope Sloss doesn't butcher this like they've done to my building.

I can remember going to the downtown Pizitz store every Christmas.

Now they're going to make apartments. How times change...

The exodus to suburbia has a lot to answer for.

Just what I always wanted...being awakened by the booming bass of the IMAX theater at 8:00AM

You can't hear the IMAX theater when you're standing outside the McWane Center. I am certain you will not be able to hear it when you're in an apartment across the street.

LJBlazerFan Wrote:You can't hear the IMAX theater when you're standing outside the McWane Center. I am certain you will not be able to hear it when you're in an apartment across the street.

You can't? I know I did.

When I went and saw the NASCAR film, I left and walked around the museum some, and when I walked out the front door to leave about 15 minutes later, when the next IMAX film had just started, I most definitely heard the bass bumping.

LJBlazerFan Wrote:Well, when I attended the premiere of that movie, they were having a dinner on the patio area along 19th Street.

My friends and I were out there eating during the first showing. You couldn't hear a thing.

Looks like one of us needs a hearing aid.

Is there such a thing as a thinking aid? :rofl:

UAB Band Dad Wrote:Is there such a thing as a thinking aid? :rofl:

Aderall :)

Hmm, I live downtown and walk by the McWane Center daily and I've never heard a thing.

I do wish they hadn't torn Newberry's down for the IMAX, though. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

JustinMarkVII Wrote:Hmm, I live downtown and walk by the McWane Center daily and I've never heard a thing.

I do wish they hadn't torn Newberry's down for the IMAX, though. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Why do you think that was a stupid idea?

JustinMarkVII Wrote:Hmm, I live downtown and walk by the McWane Center daily and I've never heard a thing.

I do wish they hadn't torn Newberry's down for the IMAX, though. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Weird. I must have superhuman hearing. At first, I thought it was a radio in a car or something, but I stood there for a moment to listen, and I'm positive it was the IMAX.

Was Newberry's a restaurant?

Quote:Also, for STL knowledge, a tax credit is being considered for Pizitz 

There should be no consideration...it should be automatic. At least they are inching one step closer to doing the right thing.

Actually, the tax credits can be a horrible, HORRIBLE idea that hinder these developments. That's why projects like City Federal, Cabana, and others are proceeding without them. The restrictions placed upon the developers strangle their flexibility when renovating a structure, and frankly, it sucks. Trust me, I live in a building that used these tax credits. They're only good when used to get the ball rolling, so to speak.

Quote:Why do you think that was a stupid idea?

Because Newberry's was the last large downtown store that was still open in 1995 when the city condemned the structure for the IMAX dome.

Missouri has used more tax credits than any other state and since 2000 over $500 million has been spent on residences in downtown STL. The tax credits are not a bad thing to intice people a bit more to move downtown. After all, most of the buildings would've just sat empty..instead they have people living in them and then spending money in the surrounding area AND the residents now have to pay a 1% income tax for living in the city.

In STL, they are making their money back in a big way with these historical tax credits.

JustinMarkVII Wrote:

Quote:Why do you think that was a stupid idea?

Because Newberry's was the last large downtown store that was still open in 1995 when the city condemned the structure for the IMAX dome.

U'r still not telling me why it was a bad idea to make it into an IMAX threater.

Was the store still in business?

STLouis Blazer Wrote:Missouri has used more tax credits than any other state and since 2000 over $500 million has been spent on residences in downtown STL. The tax credits are not a bad thing to intice people a bit more to move downtown. After all, most of the buildings would've just sat empty..instead they have people living in them and then spending money in the surrounding area AND the residents now have to pay a 1% income tax for living in the city.

In STL, they are making their money back in a big way with these historical tax credits.

True enough, but as I said, they're a good stepping stone to get the ball rolling on development. They shouldn't be used as a permanent crutch for rehabilitation, though.

HiddenDragon, yes, the store was still in business. A piece of our history gone.

That's why most of them are only abated for a period of 4-10 years. I've seen a few for 10 years but most of them are only about 4-5. My condo has an abatement until 2009.

Getting the ball rolling is the hardest part when you are talking about revitalizing an area. The economic impact makes up for the tax credit by at least 10 fold.

What is causing this massive drive in downtown development recently?

^ A few developers took a little bit of a chance. Based on the response, however, others have joined in. Most developers have been interested for a while in redevelopment downtown, but most were too weary to take the risk. The announcement of the conversion of City Federal has been huge... and this is not the end of the announcements. Many more are too come, but you'll begin to see more developments in the retail sector that will compliment all the residential developments.

Quote:What is causing this massive drive in downtown development recently?

Are you referring to Bham or nationwide?

Nationwide has been happening for about 5 years now because people want to live in the city, they don't want to maintain a house, they don't want the long commutes to work, and they don't want to buy an older house near the city but they want a "new" residence. City governments also want to revitalize their once bustling downtown areas and the best way to do that is with attractions and residents.

I think many people in Bham waited to see how it panned out in other cities and then once they saw the potential a developer came in and started a big project (like 85 said) and it went from there.