My, Hasn't It Grown! RSA Battlehouse Tower Update

[elb401]

agree...cooper T's sucks. I don't think that the possiblitlity of the parking deck will effect the condos. the contractors first have to remove the asbestus (SP forgive me) and they are still negotiating on the air rights. I think they will be moving along soon. oh your right about it being stupid to have it so close to the bay....the first place that floods!

[pkp]

As long as its elevated and the back up power is safe, I don't know if it would make that much of a difference. Any flooding we would have would be a momentary event - not prolonged.

[Exodus]

I'm sitting at my sister in laws house right now in Citronelle, and I took a tour of both universities yesterday. Sprinhhill is a little more expensive, but I'm willing to do what it takes to go there. I was just more impressed with it than USA, besides, I'm going to stay with my current major which is Graphics, and Springhill has what I'm looking for. I really do appreciate the advice from everyone though. BTW, tHE RSA Tower freaking rocks, I can see it from Springhills campus

[elb401]

its great...I've taken my girlfriend up there a few times at night. Its a really cool view of most of the city!

[Alxx611]

awesome. Didnt know you could see it from there. Then again, I've seen the RSA Tower from as far as Davidson High School. You can see the AmSouth Building just under it too.

[Line_and_Grade]

I was on the lay-out crew from floor 20-27. March 2005 to June 2005 and my hat is off the the guys finishing that one.

[Scottybo]

I've seen it on Hwy 90 going towards Downtown coming down that hill just before I-65 and noticed it at Dauphin and I-65 as well.

[elb401]

I was coming home from Auburn yesterday and you can clearly see the Mobile skyline from the dolly Parton bridge (I-65 bridge crossing the Mobile river delta). You can also see it from Point Clear.

[nimsjus]

Nice article in the press register that clears up some of the hear say we have discussed over the past couple of months. As far as I know it is the only recent info to be released publicly.

http://www.al.com/business/mobileregister/index.ssf?/base/business/1154856373240210.xml&coll=3

[Musicisright]

"A helicopter will be used to position an 80-foot spire on top of the building's 180-foot crown, probably sometime during the second week of September, he said."

I will be there with a camera in my hands.

[Scottybo]

So far three major tenants have confirmed that they have signed leases in the office tower: the corporate headquarters for International Shipholding Corp.; the law firm of Hand Arendall; and AmSouth Bank.

Ok, so the Amsouth Bank Building is 2 blocks away (if that), and they're moving into the RSA Tower? Sounds odd.

[elb401]

Why does that sound odd....the building they are in is a piece!

[nimsjus]

Not to mention that Amsouth wont exist pretty soon(bought out by Regions who also owns a building downtown). Their merger is going to have a huge impact on Mobile banking. They have to make major cuts in our area due to their large market share. As for downtown the company has two buildings named for them and they both have office space in each. Once combined it would seem like they will require less space and no need for multiple named buildings. It could really effect occupancy rates for Amsouth, RSA and Regions buildings.

[pkp]

Originally Posted by nimsjus

Not to mention that Amsouth wont exist pretty soon(bought out by Regions who also owns a building downtown). Their merger is going to have a huge impact on Mobile banking. They have to make major cuts in our area due to their large market share. As for downtown the company has two buildings named for them and they both have office space in each. Once combined it would seem like they will require less space and no need for multiple named buildings. It could really effect occupancy rates for Amsouth, RSA and Regions buildings.

True. I work for the company, but details are slow coming. The good news is that any assets that the feds force to be divested will be sold - the branch, the loan/deposit, everything, which means that job losses should be minimal. Mostly just a name change.

As far as the buildings go, I could see there being a presence in the Regions building and the RSA tower. Regions actually owns the tower (I work in it), while AmSouth simply leases a few floors and has the naming rights. Regions even leases space in the Wachovia buidling for its 401K operations. I think we can surely see an exit from the AmSouth building, but that's not to say a new player doesn't come into town and use it as their local headquarters for their newly acquired South AL branch network.

[elb401]

Thats true banktrust seems to be getting bigger in Mobile now.

[Alxx611]

A helicopter will be used to position an 80-foot spire on top of the building's 180-foot crown, probably sometime during the second week of September, he said."

I will be there with a camera in my hands.

I will too, but I won't hold my breath that this will happen in September. First they said Dec.2 2005, then spring 2006, then July 07, now this. I wont be suprised if its delayed again.

[RSAHort]

http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/business/1154856373240210.xml?mobileregister?breal&coll=3

Looking in on the
Sunday, August 06, 2006
By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor
Work can begin Oct. 1 on interior finishes for tenants in the 35-story RSA Battle House Tower downtown, and the offices should be ready for occupancy by Feb. 1, according to Ron Blount, project director for the Retirement Systems of Alabama.

The tenant contractor will work on the office build-outs at night so as not to interfere with the tower crews working on the building during the day, he said.

Most of the hotel rooms are almost finished and will soon be carpeted and furnished, according to Blount. There are 250 rooms in the Battle House Hotel on Royal Street and additional rooms scattered among the first seven floors of the adjacent 745-foot-high office tower.

While some guest rooms could be ready by the end of the year, the circa 1909 Battle House Hotel won't be open for business until sometime in the first quarter of 2007, he said. It will operate as a Marriott Renaissance Hotel when it opens.

RSA has invested $162 million in developing the hotel and the state's tallest office tower at Water and Dauphin streets. The project employed about 600 just after the job started four years ago, but that number should drop to 150 or less by the end of the year, Blount said.

"The job is moving well, and we should be out of here by late fall," said Pete Faulkner, project manager for Archer Western Contractors of Atlanta, the firm building the core and shell of the tower.

A helicopter will be used to position an 80-foot spire on top of the building's 180-foot crown, probably sometime during the second week of September, he said. Crews are now finishing all the steel and aluminum on the crown, which rests on the building's 41st floor.

The interior of the crown structure will be used for maintenance and building operations. Only the building's first 35 floors are designed to be occupied by tenants.

The tower architects will be inspecting the interiors for the first time this week, allowing the office floors to be turned over to the tenant contractors, Faulkner said.

RSA officials have said that at least 55 percent of the tower's 500,000 square feet of space has been leased.

So far three major tenants have confirmed that they have signed leases in the office tower: the corporate headquarters for International Shipholding Corp.; the law firm of Hand Arendall; and AmSouth Bank. Other tenants include an office for RSA management and the corporate office for RSA-affiliate Point Clear Hotels & Resorts, which operates the Riverview Plaza Hotel downtown, The Grand Hotel in Point Clear and, soon, the Battle House Hotel.

The 35th floor has not been leased, Blount said. A restaurant had looked at the space, but no deal was worked out, he said.

Archer Western is also working on the public space on the first three floors of the project, including meeting space and space adjacent to the ballroom in the Battle House.

"It's the main lobbies of the building, and it's very nice space with marble and granite floors," Faulkner said. "It's truly a first-class building."

About 75 percent of the 1,000-space parking deck is complete, and that work should finish by year's end, according to Tom Clutter of White-Spunner Construction, the contractor for the interior finishes to the hotel and the private parking center.

Designs are still being drawn for the spa and health club to be built on the top of the parking deck at St. Francis Street, Clutter said.

Still, completion could be delayed depending on the hurricane season, according to Blount. All the furnishings and fixtures for the hotel are being stored in a warehouse in Atlanta "out of the hurricane zone," he said.

The original scheduled called for the Battle House Hotel to open in early 2006 with the tower following by mid-year. David Bronner, chief of the RSA and manager of the state's pension fund, is anxious for the project to be finished, Blount said.

"But he knows what we're facing," Blount added. "And we've had five hurricanes, two tropical storms and a foundation problem that had to be solved."

[RSAHort]

Woops...just noticed this was already posted.

[elb401]

its cool....just keeps us from going back a page.

[Alxx611]

A semi-cool, month old Night-time pic:

If its hard to see anything in the pic, turn off the lights in your room, and the buildings in the pic are more visible:





Its a shame it turned out so dark, considering downtown looks suprisingly well-lit up at night.