Prior to this morning’s vote, the issue of what constituted an alteration to the message board originally installed in 1971 in honor of the city’s centennial appeared to be front and center.

Chervis Isom, representing the John Hand Condo Owners Association, suggested the vinyl signs advertising Pepsi placed over the structure more than two years ago was “a major alteration to the original, non-conforming sign.”

“What they did was radically change the character of the sign. They changed it from a message board to a billboard with a static sign,” said Isom.

“There were messages of public service all day long, and it didn’t operate at night. This thing has spotlights on it. That’s a major alteration as far as I’m concerned,” he continued.

Several committee members asked for clarification as to what constitutes an alteration. There was also a suggestion a plan be submitted outlining how and when the sign would be restored.

Richard Mauk, serving as committee chair for the case, asked Alton Parker of Spain & Gillion if exterior lights were added to the existing structure in order to accommodate the installation of the Pepsi signs. Parker said he could not say when they were added. Mauk later asked if there were any plans to restore the sign to its original usage (as was the understanding when the previous proposal was originally presented by its then owner, Harbert Realty). Parker and 84 Outdoor general counsel Cheri Bomar informed the committee there were no plans to restore the sign.

UAB has contracted to pay $300,000 to design and install a double-sided sign for a period of one year with the option to extend the lease period.

The motion for disapproval on the grounds a static billboard “is an inappropriate solution to a historic sign.” was made by committee member Don Cosper after a 15-minute executive session with Jim Stanley from the city’s legal department.

There is no word as to whether or not any additional legal action will take place. The cease and desist originally sent to 84 Outdoor is said to still be in effect.

The developer, Retail Specialists, and the architect, Bill Segrest of Williams Blackstock Architects, must still return to the committee to receive final approval for the building’s design.  Segrest told the committee he and the developer still hope to incorporate parts of the existing limestone facade into the new structure, though they did not want to promise to do so as of yet in case it was not able to be salvaged during the demolition process. If it cannot be salvaged, it was stated efforts would be made to reference distinct architectural elements in the new design.

Rocky’s had originally announced plans to relocate before demolition started via an article in the Birmingham Business Journal last April. A recent interview with AL.com stated a new location has not been secured as of yet. It was also suggested it will most likely re-open along one of the metro area’s other commercial corridors at a later date if they choose to do so. The current location will close on Saturday, March 19. Another tenant of the existing building, Stillwater Pub, closed on January 31, announcing the date last August.

They hope to start demolition next month, with construction starting this summer and the building ready for occupancy in summer 2017.

RELATED: Proposed Southside mixed-use redevelopment draws attention, 4.8.2015

City officials reached out to 84 Outdoor by letter (of the cease and desist variety) after learning about the plans to replace the existing vinyl signs covering the electric scrolling installation atop Two North Twentieth via a story published on March 2 by AL.com. They met with them on Tuesday and subsequently added them to this morning’s agenda to give the committee a chance to offer input on its design.

It has been just over two years since the advertisement was first installed. (We have a recap of previous reports about appearances by “The Sign” on the Design Review agenda available on Dear Birmingham.) A follow-up report by AL.com’s Kelly Poe said UAB will be paying $300,000 for a one-year lease of the two-sided sign.

James Stanley, an attorney with the City of Birmingham, informed committee members the sign is considered a non-conforming billboard for zoning purposes. Based on this designation, the new owner does not have to seek approval of any replacement of the advertising on the sign so long as the sign is not expanded in size and there was no need to replace its structure. 84 Outdoor can choose (as it did) to bring those proposed designs to the committee to seek input and opinion as they are considered, but they do not need their approval for installation.

The design as presented this morning has several downtown destinations represented in simulated black and white photos, including the Alabama Theatre; the City Federal building; the Empire Building; Harbert Plaza; Railroad Park; Sloss Furnaces; Vulcan; and the soon to be lit Magic City sign along the Rotary Trail on Southside. A green UAB logo would sit in the middle of it. The design would be closer to what had been suggested by the committee while working with Harbert Realty on what they originally asked to be considered temporary signage more than two years ago.

The committee asked the applicants to come back for the next regularly scheduled meeting on March 23 to give them an opportunity to review the proposed design.

Unfortunately, the BhamPepsiSign Twitter account doesn’t exist anymore, so the sign could not be reached for comment.

The original post follows below:

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Late Thursday afternoon the Birmingham City Council officially announced a special called meeting of its Committee of the Whole for Friday at 2 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting takes place just three days after the city’s legislative body voted to put in place a 30-day moratorium on funding for all capital projects underway in the city (as reported by AL.com), with a few notable exceptions — including renovations at Legion Field and the new intermodal transit facility currently under construction. A review of the committee meeting’s preliminary agenda for the meeting shows the only item under New Business as a “capital projects update.”

A press release sent out this afternoon in advance of the presentation to the council by the mayor’s office included the following quote from council president Johnathan Austin:

“As City Councilors we must be continually updated on all projects that utilize public funds to ensure that we are making the best decisions for our constituents. While we are excited about new growth opportunities that certain capital projects may present it is prudent that we are cautious about approving funding for items that we have minimal knowledge about.”

A report filed by WBRC’s Vanessa Araiza on Wednesday pointed to cost overruns related to Regions Field as a major reason for the delay. The council voted on Tuesday to approve paying the remaining expenses to Robins & Morton and A.G. Gaston Construction over a seven-year period. Members of the City Council also alluded to receiving some monthly reports covering progress while not receiving others, despite claims from the mayor’s office to the contrary. The reports are not accessible currently via the city’s official website, though the monthly report for the city’s street and storm sewer improvements program for the period ending December 31, 2014 is available online in part due to a report filed for ABC 33/40 in late January.

The current fiscal year’s capital budget is available on the city’s website via the budget office.

A report on the company’s Alabama Newscenter website (as well as a post to the project’s website) states construction is expected to begin this fall, taking approximately one year to complete. The approval includes streetscape, furniture, and landscaping for the city block located between 18^th and 19^th Streets along 1^st Avenue South.

The plaza’s the main entrance, located on the block’s southwest corner, will mimic the Red Mountain Expressway‘s “cut” using limestone and iron ore and matching the berm height of its existing neighbor to the west. Those materials will be used with sandstone to create a seeping fountain. The resulting main plaza could be used as an amphitheater. A scrim fountain will double as a reflecting pool, lining up with the taller of the steam plant’s two smokestacks and serving as the centerpiece of an allée. A water feature will run through a perennial plant garden along the site’s southeastern edge.

The portion of Powell Street passing directly in front of the building, vacated by the city of Birmingham earlier this year, will have bollards installed at its western end. It will still be accessible from 19^th Street, providing access to a “food truck grove” and some off-street parking. The plans also call for a small covered pavilion and restrooms. Several sections throughout the site are designated for allowing outdoor dining. A “stack garden” will run along the northern edge of the structure, providing visitors access to a unique, elevated view of the railroad tracks and the surrounding area during business hours.

While a rendering showing an overview of the project site shows a landscaped parking lot along the northern edge of Railroad Park, a representative from the utility stated it was included as conceptual. The site does sit immediately south of the intermodal transit facility currently under construction along Morris Avenue. The plan presented today does call for a reduction of parking along 1^st Avenue South – partially to accommodate the allée – though the remaining spaces will remain angled.

It will also be the first opportunity for Dr. G. to offer her thoughts on the school system’s official release from nearly three years of state oversight.

The Hueytown native has more than 24 years of professional experience, including recently serving as the deputy superintendent of school operations and interim superintendent of Macon, Georgia’s Bibb County School District. Castlin-Gacutan is scheduled to begin work here in Birmingham on July 1. She sat down for several interviews shortly after the announcement of her appointment, including this one with WBHM’s Sherrel Stewart and this one with AMG’s Madison Underwood.

Photo: via Birmingham City Schools website.

The two metal pieces were part of the Terminal Station’s frontispiece and were available via an auction house in Leeds. The nonprofit made a plea (one shared to this website’s fan page as well) on June 5, the day of the auction, using the popular social platform asking for anyone who could to consider purchasing the decorative ornaments and then donating them to the museum. Unfortunately, the center’s spending limit for that evening was $4,000; the pieces sold for $8,000 (including auction house fees) to a private collector.

Incidentally, while the center did move from its former home on 1st Avenue North in October 2013, it does still exist. Its offices are currently housed in the Pythian Building on 18th Street North, across from the currently-under-multi-million-dollar-renovation Lyric Theater. Display cases containing portions of its collections can be seen in the Pythian’s lobby; at the Tutwiler Hotel; and at the Alabama Theatre. Plus, they apparently still have the virtual tour of its former home available for you to peruse.

But first, they’ll navigate the modified traffic pattern:

The highlights? You won’t be able to drive through the complex using Richard Arrington, Jr., Boulevard; it’ll be closed between 9^th Avenue North and 22^nd Street, North. By the way, 9^th Avenue North will be operating as a one-way street heading westbound while 19^th Street will be operating as a one-way northbound between 9^th and 11^th Avenues North.

Concert attendees and theater-goers may get a chance to rub elbows with those attending the kickoff of the 2015 Art on the Rocks! after-hours series at the Birmingham Museum of Art, attendees of the Y’all Connect digital storytelling concert looking for a bite to eat, baseball fans heading to Regions Field to watch the Barons take on the Chattanooga Lookouts, or moviegoers heading to the Alabama Theatre to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

… and then there’s Saturday.

Barons fans will be milling about downtown and Parkside once again (first pitch is at 6:30 p.m.), as will those attending the Deontay Wilder WBC Heavyweight Title bout against Eric Molina at Bartow Arena. UAB has released the parking plan posted above in advance of Saturday’s event to help folks know where they can and cannot park.

It would have marked the first offers of direct-flight service to the two destinations from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport since Southwest Airlines discontinued serving them in 2013. A similar lack of support within the market was cited by the airline and in a subsequent AL.com report when the plans were announced in late 2012.

Silver also announced plans to not offer direct service between Orlando, FL and Savannah, GA on June 11 (service was set to begin June 23). (though Savannah was already celebrating the return of seasonal direct-flight service via Allegiant Air to several cities in Ohio). It was not the first time the company intended to expand its footprint only to delay and eventually suspend the plans. January saw Silver announce its intention to offer service from St. Pete Clearwater International Airport to Fort Lauderdale and Key West beginning in March. The change in plans (first delaying them, eventually backing out completely) came shortly after the company announced several new appointments: chief financial officer, chief operating officer, and vice president of airports and customer service.

According to an interview the Sun Sentinel conducted with company CEO Sami Teittinen in February, it’s been refocusing its efforts on Florida and the Bahamas in recent months. There is still a presence in the metro Washington, DC area, but it has seen its own share of issues and concerns recently (though efforts to remedy others appear to be working).

Reports filed by the Birmingham Business Journal (BBJ) and AL.com confirmed two existing businesses — Rocky’s Pizza and Stillwater Pub — will need to close if the project proceeds. Pictures of pre-leasing signs placed in the former Waite’s space had already been appearing on Facebook before the announcement. A piece filed by Bryan Davis on the BBJ’s website April 8 says Rocky’s plans to re-open; efforts have not been made by this website to contact Stillwater Pub, though a post was made to their fan page on Facebook Tuesday afternoon stating in part:

Remember that Stillwater is about the people. It’s not a building or even particularly a name, it’s us. Thanks for always being there and supporting us as usual and we will be at it tonight, so come on by! Know that we love you all.

It is mathematically possible for both businesses to return to a completed project based on the 12,000+ square foot portion of the ground floor retail space being labeled as available for subdivision. There will be 35 dedicated off-street parking spaces for those patronizing the eventual retail tenants in addition to dedicated space for residents. The entrance to the residential lofts will be from the off-street parking lot. The press release named Bill Segrest of Williams Blackstock Architects as the architect and DeeDee Everitt of Retail Specialists, LLC as responsible for managing leasing of the retail space. It also stated that the developers hoped to use as much of the limestone facade as possible in the redevelopment of the property “[t]o give a nod towards nostalgia.”

The project still needs to go through the city’s permitting process before construction can begin, including a presentation before the city’s Design Review Committee. Members were informed at the end of their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 8 that the proposal would need to come before them for approval as it does sit in a design review district.