For some time now, as a part of our platform, we have had the privilege of repurposing several historic buildings in the CBD. Each has its own past, ranging from a fabricating plant to a century-old Chevrolet store as well as a bus station. They all sat in prime locations, underutilized and containing a wealth of history. Our goal is to preserve the bones of the building and its character while breathing new life and making them relevant again. As I discussed in this recent post about adaptive reuse, it’s some of the most rewarding work we do.
We are currently working on The Yielding in downtown Birmingham, a former department store that we are converting to 40 apartments and 12,000 sf of commercial space. Our project team shared this image of one of the beams in the building, and I couldn’t help but think of its roots. The building itself is 115 years old, and counting the rings, the tree that became this beam might have been seedling in Lewis and Clark’s time. Old growth wood is dense, strong and just beautiful to look at. We were pleased to preserve it and a unique part of downtown’s fabric.
