the-compact
Design Review Board Thursday, July 16, 2026 · 52 min

City of Birmingham Design Review Board Meeting on July 15, 2026

Transcript

Click any timestamp to jump the video to that moment. Auto-transcribed; expect occasional errors on proper nouns.

  1. 26 first up is roll call just a moment for change over here yeah thanks mary j of course i think you just pull i think you pull yeah or what okay i'll go next week thank you okay uh next up we have approval of the minutes of april 15th 2026. i move to approve the minutes from uh what was that april 15th april 15th i'll second it all in favor thank you uh first design review and only design review today is for uh i've got them wrong there we go 555 south old woodward we all turn it over to you thanks and um i have the plans on or the report on page five of your packet and plans on page nine if anybody needs that information so let's go to the plans actually oh yeah so um what you have here tonight is basically a um a signage package for the 555 building on south old woodward so they've submitted a design review application that um is pretty much like i said entirely signage um it it's for several new signs some of them are to identify the building itself and then some of them are to identify and draw attention to the or direct to the entrances of the public parking

  2. approve the minutes from uh what was that april 15th april 15th i'll second it all in favor thank you uh first design review and only design review today is for uh i've got them wrong there we go 555 south old woodward we all turn it over to you thanks and um i have the plans on or the report on page five of your packet and plans on page nine if anybody needs that information so let's go to the plans actually oh yeah so um what you have here tonight is basically a um a signage package for the 555 building on south old woodward so they've submitted a design review application that um is pretty much like i said entirely signage um it it's for several new signs some of them are to identify the building itself and then some of them are to identify and draw attention to the or direct to the entrances of the public parking that's available there on site um you um so i put a detailed table in here that tells you um about each sign the type of sign where it's located and what the square footage is and and sort of totaled that up for you there of course that this table doesn't have all the signage on the site because there is also a lot of commercial retail signage on the site so in your package you there you It's there is provided by the applicant a detailed sign table that has all the signage on the site which is what we consider when we look at new signage the total of everything and so you may or may not if you've been on the board a while you may recall that you back in 2018 probably saw something really similar to what you're seeing tonight it was a similar sign package also with address identification and public parking signs and so that was at that time approved with a couple of variances needed they did need variances for the

  3. them are to identify and draw attention to the or direct to the entrances of the public parking that's available there on site um you um so i put a detailed table in here that tells you um about each sign the type of sign where it's located and what the square footage is and and sort of totaled that up for you there of course that this table doesn't have all the signage on the site because there is also a lot of commercial retail signage on the site so in your package you there you It's there is provided by the applicant a detailed sign table that has all the signage on the site which is what we consider when we look at new signage the total of everything and so you may or may not if you've been on the board a while you may recall that you back in 2018 probably saw something really similar to what you're seeing tonight it was a similar sign package also with address identification and public parking signs and so that was at that time approved with a couple of variances needed they did need variances for the they they needed and got a variance for to be able to use the 1.5 multiplier that we use to create the combined sign allowance for buildings with addresses on Woodward so if you're all aware if an address is on if a building has an address on Woodward when we decide that combined sign allowance for that building we multiply the linear building frontage by 1.5 times whereas everywhere else in the city all other addresses get one times and so they requested in 2018 or sorry the board of zoning appeals was in January of 2019 they requested and received the variance to to use the 1.5 times as they are located on woodward physically uh but their main entrances and their address is not woodward um but it is it is a very very large uh two buildings here we we kind of consider it two buildings though they are connected um they also got a variance at the time um to be able to uh the the two um 555 signs that are on the building proposed those are technically

  4. time approved with a couple of variances needed they did need variances for the they they needed and got a variance for to be able to use the 1.5 multiplier that we use to create the combined sign allowance for buildings with addresses on Woodward so if you're all aware if an address is on if a building has an address on Woodward when we decide that combined sign allowance for that building we multiply the linear building frontage by 1.5 times whereas everywhere else in the city all other addresses get one times and so they requested in 2018 or sorry the board of zoning appeals was in January of 2019 they requested and received the variance to to use the 1.5 times as they are located on woodward physically uh but their main entrances and their address is not woodward um but it is it is a very very large uh two buildings here we we kind of consider it two buildings though they are connected um they also got a variance at the time um to be able to uh the the two um 555 signs that are on the building proposed those are technically considered building identification signs they are in locations that we wouldn't approve um typical commercial signage but they are eligible for building identification signs which can be in other locations however building identification signs are not able to be illuminated and so at that time in 2019 they also got a variance to be able to uh illuminate the building identification signs um and so like i said you're seeing a very similar sign package they have changed it has changed it's not the same um i think the number of signs may be the same um but the the sizes and um scales have maybe changed slightly as well as the the style i would say of some of the signage um and so they're just simply looking to now implement this with like i said a little bit of style change so they're seeking you another approval from you guys on the design and then they will as I stated in the packet they will have to again seek variances the the building conditions so the conditions that the

  5. um to be able to uh the the two um 555 signs that are on the building proposed those are technically considered building identification signs they are in locations that we wouldn't approve um typical commercial signage but they are eligible for building identification signs which can be in other locations however building identification signs are not able to be illuminated and so at that time in 2019 they also got a variance to be able to uh illuminate the building identification signs um and so like i said you're seeing a very similar sign package they have changed it has changed it's not the same um i think the number of signs may be the same um but the the sizes and um scales have maybe changed slightly as well as the the style i would say of some of the signage um and so they're just simply looking to now implement this with like i said a little bit of style change so they're seeking you another approval from you guys on the design and then they will as I stated in the packet they will have to again seek variances the the building conditions so the conditions that the variances were tied to which tied to the building have not changed however they tied the variances to the plans which have changed so therefore they will have to seek the same variances again and that's for the 1.5 times and as well as for the elimination and then there was also a sign where I noted that the height that they're proposing also doesn't meet our standards so they would either need to reduce that or also add that variance on to request so with that I did recommend approval with those three conditions that they seek or that they obtain the three variances or bring the proposal into compliance and the applicants here tonight and I'm happy to answer questions or you can hear from the applicant as well okay I guess let's start with questions for Leah do we have questions for the city go ahead um this is an easy one I guess I apologize for not finding it but the ground signs are they located so you can hear from the park in the county and what the park is doing but it is key to the

  6. they will have to again seek variances the the building conditions so the conditions that the variances were tied to which tied to the building have not changed however they tied the variances to the plans which have changed so therefore they will have to seek the same variances again and that's for the 1.5 times and as well as for the elimination and then there was also a sign where I noted that the height that they're proposing also doesn't meet our standards so they would either need to reduce that or also add that variance on to request so with that I did recommend approval with those three conditions that they seek or that they obtain the three variances or bring the proposal into compliance and the applicants here tonight and I'm happy to answer questions or you can hear from the applicant as well okay I guess let's start with questions for Leah do we have questions for the city go ahead um this is an easy one I guess I apologize for not finding it but the ground signs are they located so you can hear from the park in the county and what the park is doing but it is key to the so they're not within the 25 foot parallel I guess right angle that would be on the corner the police wanted them so that any car that was approaching a corner you know could make sure they could see clearly and I guess I was sort of struggling with where these were exactly the ground signs so they have noted them on the plans that one is at the southwest corner of the building so it looks like it would be like towards the edge of their property as it abuts I don't know what the name of this eight and five are the two eight and five yes and so that one's then on on the front so is eight far enough back far enough back with regards to a police request yeah the police request was that you take wherever the corner is go back 25 feet in both directions draw a line to create a right-angled triangle and the sign that can't be in that area make sure there

  7. so they're not within the 25 foot parallel I guess right angle that would be on the corner the police wanted them so that any car that was approaching a corner you know could make sure they could see clearly and I guess I was sort of struggling with where these were exactly the ground signs so they have noted them on the plans that one is at the southwest corner of the building so it looks like it would be like towards the edge of their property as it abuts I don't know what the name of this eight and five are the two eight and five yes and so that one's then on on the front so is eight far enough back far enough back with regards to a police request yeah the police request was that you take wherever the corner is go back 25 feet in both directions draw a line to create a right-angled triangle and the sign that can't be in that area make sure there was clear visibility for anyone that okay I'm not familiar with a police request that's been there for several years now is your concern that there's a sign within that well I can't I can't tell I mean that's yeah it's not it's not in our zoning ordinance so we didn't evaluate for that i guess i'm not i don't understand where the request is made is this from the 2018 process no it's general it's just a general comment that when you put ground signs at corners that you know you go back 25 feet in both directions and then strike a line and this the ground sign can't be in that area it needs to be outside that area you know it looks like it's far enough back if i look at where i think it is if you look at the bays inside the building they're about 20 feet on roughly well that's right i mean i think it's okay i was just asking the question is it okay i was so from a zoning ordinance standpoint which is how i evaluated it we we don't have a requirement in our zoning ordinance for the 25 foot clearance yeah i think we would have to go based

  8. right-angled triangle and the sign that can't be in that area make sure there was clear visibility for anyone that okay I'm not familiar with a police request that's been there for several years now is your concern that there's a sign within that well I can't I can't tell I mean that's yeah it's not it's not in our zoning ordinance so we didn't evaluate for that i guess i'm not i don't understand where the request is made is this from the 2018 process no it's general it's just a general comment that when you put ground signs at corners that you know you go back 25 feet in both directions and then strike a line and this the ground sign can't be in that area it needs to be outside that area you know it looks like it's far enough back if i look at where i think it is if you look at the bays inside the building they're about 20 feet on roughly well that's right i mean i think it's okay i was just asking the question is it okay i was so from a zoning ordinance standpoint which is how i evaluated it we we don't have a requirement in our zoning ordinance for the 25 foot clearance yeah i think we would have to go based on that i'll definitely i'm gonna definitely ask around about that that request it's not something i'm aware of one question that i had there's a there's a um ground sign that's outside along woodward avenue that says 555 do you know if that was included it's near like the north end of the south building so it's included you um under other existing signage so they weren't um when i took a look at the sign package here tonight they weren't um proposing any changes to that that one's existing so they're not proposing any change or replacement to that sign so i didn't list it in the content of the proposed signs for tonight but under other existing signage as far as the calculations that's where it was included okay and my other question would be um so the the total possible sign area for the building is 750.75 square feet it's not it's about 500 something oh it's the five so if they were to receive a

  9. requirement in our zoning ordinance for the 25 foot clearance yeah i think we would have to go based on that i'll definitely i'm gonna definitely ask around about that that request it's not something i'm aware of one question that i had there's a there's a um ground sign that's outside along woodward avenue that says 555 do you know if that was included it's near like the north end of the south building so it's included you um under other existing signage so they weren't um when i took a look at the sign package here tonight they weren't um proposing any changes to that that one's existing so they're not proposing any change or replacement to that sign so i didn't list it in the content of the proposed signs for tonight but under other existing signage as far as the calculations that's where it was included okay and my other question would be um so the the total possible sign area for the building is 750.75 square feet it's not it's about 500 something oh it's the five so if they were to receive a variance for 1.5 times it would be uh probably the number that you're saying um but it's actually yeah seven so the variance established at that time the combined sign area of 750.75 square feet for the building i believe they do intend to seek the same variance uh without the variance their um combined sign allowance would be equal to the linear building frontage which is about 500. okay and my other question is does this account for the the areas where there are vacant signs where there have been signs in the past but there might be vacant retail yeah so if they were to receive the 750.75 uh combined sign allowance if they receive that variance again that would include all signage on the building any tenants that come in the future is that calculated into the existing number which existing number uh sorry the table that's other existing signage yes no it's just simply what exists on the building okay so there are so like if uh if something's

  10. square feet it's not it's about 500 something oh it's the five so if they were to receive a variance for 1.5 times it would be uh probably the number that you're saying um but it's actually yeah seven so the variance established at that time the combined sign area of 750.75 square feet for the building i believe they do intend to seek the same variance uh without the variance their um combined sign allowance would be equal to the linear building frontage which is about 500. okay and my other question is does this account for the the areas where there are vacant signs where there have been signs in the past but there might be vacant retail yeah so if they were to receive the 750.75 uh combined sign allowance if they receive that variance again that would include all signage on the building any tenants that come in the future is that calculated into the existing number which existing number uh sorry the table that's other existing signage yes no it's just simply what exists on the building okay so there are so like if uh if something's vacant now and a and a tenant were to come in and need signage then that would then get added on top of the other existing signage okay normally when someone's brought a sign plan forward they've sort of scoped out where they would like the retail signage and what it would look like you know whether it's pinned letters or punch through or whatever it may be or colored or whatever so that um in the future when new retail came in you could very quickly administratively approve it because it matched the sign plan if it didn't match the sign plan then you'd come to us to see if we would agree that you know it works um i i don't sense that's the case this is really way finding signage primarily not retail signage at all yeah so i believe i think um When you do hear from the applicant, he may be able to better explain, and I apologize if it didn't come through in the package. I believe where they did provide the example of the New York Paris Art Gallery, which is the newest sign there,

  11. yes no it's just simply what exists on the building okay so there are so like if uh if something's vacant now and a and a tenant were to come in and need signage then that would then get added on top of the other existing signage okay normally when someone's brought a sign plan forward they've sort of scoped out where they would like the retail signage and what it would look like you know whether it's pinned letters or punch through or whatever it may be or colored or whatever so that um in the future when new retail came in you could very quickly administratively approve it because it matched the sign plan if it didn't match the sign plan then you'd come to us to see if we would agree that you know it works um i i don't sense that's the case this is really way finding signage primarily not retail signage at all yeah so i believe i think um When you do hear from the applicant, he may be able to better explain, and I apologize if it didn't come through in the package. I believe where they did provide the example of the New York Paris Art Gallery, which is the newest sign there, I believe that is the intention, is that all future, based on our conversations, that future retail signage to follow would be done in the same style, which is the same style as the proposed signage tonight, so for a consistent aesthetic to the building. But every sign that comes afterwards would be individually and administratively approved, regardless of a sign plan. Really? You don't bring any signs to us anymore? No, I'm saying if they have a sign plan, we still individually approve each sign as it gets right on. And if you have additional signs, they're going to bump up against some limit, and at some point then you can't approve that sign because it exceeds the number that you agree to, correct? Correct, yeah, and I would say we are at that limit, like, just currently without the, there's been times that we've been bumping that limit with the variants, the 750 they currently have, so.

  12. I believe where they did provide the example of the New York Paris Art Gallery, which is the newest sign there, I believe that is the intention, is that all future, based on our conversations, that future retail signage to follow would be done in the same style, which is the same style as the proposed signage tonight, so for a consistent aesthetic to the building. But every sign that comes afterwards would be individually and administratively approved, regardless of a sign plan. Really? You don't bring any signs to us anymore? No, I'm saying if they have a sign plan, we still individually approve each sign as it gets right on. And if you have additional signs, they're going to bump up against some limit, and at some point then you can't approve that sign because it exceeds the number that you agree to, correct? Correct, yeah, and I would say we are at that limit, like, just currently without the, there's been times that we've been bumping that limit with the variants, the 750 they currently have, so. but with what we have here tonight we felt that with the total and existing proposed for this current design with the 598 that's existing and proposed based on this design package if they do get the same variance that they would have plenty of I guess available signage then between the 750 and the 598 for the additional retail and I would just say with this building it's a really unique building in that my experience with the signs there has been there's like frequent combining and dividing of tenants spaces so the the amount and the size of the signage does change frequently I think it's also not worthy that the sign man is challenging yeah given that it's got like this subterranean level yeah essentially kind of like one sign ban that's kind of two yeah and there is at

  13. but with what we have here tonight we felt that with the total and existing proposed for this current design with the 598 that's existing and proposed based on this design package if they do get the same variance that they would have plenty of I guess available signage then between the 750 and the 598 for the additional retail and I would just say with this building it's a really unique building in that my experience with the signs there has been there's like frequent combining and dividing of tenants spaces so the the amount and the size of the signage does change frequently I think it's also not worthy that the sign man is challenging yeah given that it's got like this subterranean level yeah essentially kind of like one sign ban that's kind of two yeah and there is at least one sign that's below the first floor on the south building in the kind of bottom right corner not in the side man uh uh I'm not sure how the approval process went I don't think we saw it so the city may have seen it okay but we can talk to the outcome about that when they're up here just get some insights on it we have other questions for the city so to me it does look like more of a way finding signage application more than anything and it just looks to me like the 555 is moving around on the building I guess I'm trying to understand why it needs is it because of the tree canopy blocking the current 555 that it needs to move up it does seem to be very prominent and also the other location on page 11 the 1a if you're on the street going to this building do you need another sign and are you really going to see it on the above the second and a half floor I guess I would like to

  14. level yeah essentially kind of like one sign ban that's kind of two yeah and there is at least one sign that's below the first floor on the south building in the kind of bottom right corner not in the side man uh uh I'm not sure how the approval process went I don't think we saw it so the city may have seen it okay but we can talk to the outcome about that when they're up here just get some insights on it we have other questions for the city so to me it does look like more of a way finding signage application more than anything and it just looks to me like the 555 is moving around on the building I guess I'm trying to understand why it needs is it because of the tree canopy blocking the current 555 that it needs to move up it does seem to be very prominent and also the other location on page 11 the 1a if you're on the street going to this building do you need another sign and are you really going to see it on the above the second and a half floor I guess I would like to understand some of the logic behind some of this moving around of signs why don't we bring up the applicants or applicants we can ask some questions hello again welcome back John Gardner Luca box Eagleman Gardner Architects of course it's yeah Thank you. I may a little bit of background history expanding a little bit on Leah's commentary back in 2008 2019 sign package very similar to this was submitted design review board approved that so that the sign package could go on to zoning board of appeals requesting the 1.5 square feet per linear feet due to the unique nature of this building where there are two levels on Woodward Avenue there's the concourse in the garden level below therefore the practical

  15. see it on the above the second and a half floor I guess I would like to understand some of the logic behind some of this moving around of signs why don't we bring up the applicants or applicants we can ask some questions hello again welcome back John Gardner Luca box Eagleman Gardner Architects of course it's yeah Thank you. I may a little bit of background history expanding a little bit on Leah's commentary back in 2008 2019 sign package very similar to this was submitted design review board approved that so that the sign package could go on to zoning board of appeals requesting the 1.5 square feet per linear feet due to the unique nature of this building where there are two levels on Woodward Avenue there's the concourse in the garden level below therefore the practical difficulty that was expressed and zoning board of appeals approved at that time in January of 2009 and then along came the pandemic and everything is we all went through ground to a halt and this was never picked up again by the owner Jack Reinhardt of 555 is here to answer any questions from the owner's standpoint as well so anyway they've now this is arisen once again had preliminary meetings with nick dupuy planning director regarding this and the best way to approach this and it was nick's uh idea and a good one as i thought was try not to uh because it's it's confusing try not to refer back to the signs the various signs that were presented back in 2018 2019 and say that okay this is what we were proposing back then and this is what we're

  16. Avenue there's the concourse in the garden level below therefore the practical difficulty that was expressed and zoning board of appeals approved at that time in January of 2009 and then along came the pandemic and everything is we all went through ground to a halt and this was never picked up again by the owner Jack Reinhardt of 555 is here to answer any questions from the owner's standpoint as well so anyway they've now this is arisen once again had preliminary meetings with nick dupuy planning director regarding this and the best way to approach this and it was nick's uh idea and a good one as i thought was try not to uh because it's it's confusing try not to refer back to the signs the various signs that were presented back in 2018 2019 and say that okay this is what we were proposing back then and this is what we're proposing now and all this is a new one and this is an old one that we're doing again treated as a new project and this is what is being presented uh and as it as such being a new signage package a new project and the old package was tied or the variance was tied to the previous package that was submitted so that's all past history except for the fact that uh michael was part of that uh group at that time for the design review board so he remembers what happened but now we're presenting as it as a new and you are correct much of this is way finding uh the observation was correct that you made about the 555 science from the south. And it was presented by Bob Ziegleman at that time of Luke and Bob Ziegleman Gardner that the sign in its current position, the 555 numbers on the south end of the building are being blocked by the trees. And the trees are even larger now. So the proposal for those

  17. 2019 and say that okay this is what we were proposing back then and this is what we're proposing now and all this is a new one and this is an old one that we're doing again treated as a new project and this is what is being presented uh and as it as such being a new signage package a new project and the old package was tied or the variance was tied to the previous package that was submitted so that's all past history except for the fact that uh michael was part of that uh group at that time for the design review board so he remembers what happened but now we're presenting as it as a new and you are correct much of this is way finding uh the observation was correct that you made about the 555 science from the south. And it was presented by Bob Ziegleman at that time of Luke and Bob Ziegleman Gardner that the sign in its current position, the 555 numbers on the south end of the building are being blocked by the trees. And the trees are even larger now. So the proposal for those 555 letters is to go into the fourth band down. This building is divided vertically into various bands which align with the floors of the building. So the idea is to raise that up and illuminate it from behind. It's illuminated from behind in that that lighting shines on the building surface itself as a soft glow. So the letters are silhouetted off from the face of the building. And then that vertical lighting element, which is number six, which is a maintenance item, was a vertical light that was approved. Now here I'm contradicting myself. I'm going back to 2019, so I apologize. But anyway, the transformers have burned out in that those need to be replaced again. So the sign on identification sign that is on the off.

  18. are being blocked by the trees. And the trees are even larger now. So the proposal for those 555 letters is to go into the fourth band down. This building is divided vertically into various bands which align with the floors of the building. So the idea is to raise that up and illuminate it from behind. It's illuminated from behind in that that lighting shines on the building surface itself as a soft glow. So the letters are silhouetted off from the face of the building. And then that vertical lighting element, which is number six, which is a maintenance item, was a vertical light that was approved. Now here I'm contradicting myself. I'm going back to 2019, so I apologize. But anyway, the transformers have burned out in that those need to be replaced again. So the sign on identification sign that is on the off. building which is the north building above the Huntington Bank sign which Jack can elaborate on the history of that location for Huntington Bank who's a prominent tenant in the north building but those the identification for that building and being the office building our architectural offices in the 555 but we're over on the south building we are constantly answering the door every day people looking for doctors offices over in the 555 office building asking directions they're there for the first time wayfinding in our own personal experience is a necessary thing for this project because we're we're traffic cops we're architects and we're traffic cops every day so part of this new package is to as you have observed help with the wayfinding help people find their way around this prominent building complex

  19. building which is the north building above the Huntington Bank sign which Jack can elaborate on the history of that location for Huntington Bank who's a prominent tenant in the north building but those the identification for that building and being the office building our architectural offices in the 555 but we're over on the south building we are constantly answering the door every day people looking for doctors offices over in the 555 office building asking directions they're there for the first time wayfinding in our own personal experience is a necessary thing for this project because we're we're traffic cops we're architects and we're traffic cops every day so part of this new package is to as you have observed help with the wayfinding help people find their way around this prominent building complex Jack would you like to add anything the only thing I would say is the only thing I would say is the only thing I would say is I'm sorry. I'm Jack Reinhardt. I'm the managing partner of 555. When we were negotiating our lease with Huntington Bank, the only way they would sign the lease is they wanted their names front and center. That's where 555 was. So we had to sacrifice our address in order to give them their nameplate coming into the building. So that's why we put in the sign package to give us a variance to let us get our address back. And it is, this building is very confusing. You know, Mike's there. I don't think he experienced it the way a lot of people have, but it is, and we have apartments in the south end. We've got commercial, two levels of commercial, 400 parking spots, and, you know, three floors of office, and so, and telecom on the roof. And so we have a lot of visitors. So we think it is important. We're trying to identify the property for the public. And, you know, we've got all these Uber Eats and DoorDash, they're freaking running around

  20. around this prominent building complex Jack would you like to add anything the only thing I would say is the only thing I would say is the only thing I would say is I'm sorry. I'm Jack Reinhardt. I'm the managing partner of 555. When we were negotiating our lease with Huntington Bank, the only way they would sign the lease is they wanted their names front and center. That's where 555 was. So we had to sacrifice our address in order to give them their nameplate coming into the building. So that's why we put in the sign package to give us a variance to let us get our address back. And it is, this building is very confusing. You know, Mike's there. I don't think he experienced it the way a lot of people have, but it is, and we have apartments in the south end. We've got commercial, two levels of commercial, 400 parking spots, and, you know, three floors of office, and so, and telecom on the roof. And so we have a lot of visitors. So we think it is important. We're trying to identify the property for the public. And, you know, we've got all these Uber Eats and DoorDash, they're freaking running around the building all the time, trying to figure out where to deliver things. So I think it's important. And I guess if we have to go in front of the border zone appeals again, we will, because it's, it's, uh, it helps the public out and actually helps guys like John out. Yep. Do you have any other questions for me? Would anybody like to start? One other thing I will say, signage on the building is 53 years. old 52 years old it's not been changed in 52 years i wasn't involved back then but i've been involved in a number of years i've been a managing partner for too many years um and being about around the building every day a lot of it is just not functional like we have 555 parking i took off the 555 and say let's make it public parking because it is public parking a lot of people identify 555 parking they think you have to be part of the 555 to park there so and and the other thing is to create visibility because the way the parking lot and the parking deck is now when you're heading down south woodward you go right by it every time because you really have to take a right and take a right to get in the parking deck and the signage it just isn't there for the parking i think that's pretty critical the rest of it is more you know trees in the way or something else is you

  21. Uber Eats and DoorDash, they're freaking running around the building all the time, trying to figure out where to deliver things. So I think it's important. And I guess if we have to go in front of the border zone appeals again, we will, because it's, it's, uh, it helps the public out and actually helps guys like John out. Yep. Do you have any other questions for me? Would anybody like to start? One other thing I will say, signage on the building is 53 years. old 52 years old it's not been changed in 52 years i wasn't involved back then but i've been involved in a number of years i've been a managing partner for too many years um and being about around the building every day a lot of it is just not functional like we have 555 parking i took off the 555 and say let's make it public parking because it is public parking a lot of people identify 555 parking they think you have to be part of the 555 to park there so and and the other thing is to create visibility because the way the parking lot and the parking deck is now when you're heading down south woodward you go right by it every time because you really have to take a right and take a right to get in the parking deck and the signage it just isn't there for the parking i think that's pretty critical the rest of it is more you know trees in the way or something else is you what we're trying to do like 555 what they did it was you no it wasn't you but they just put uh i'm trying to think on the identified residences they had 555 residents well everybody thinks it's condominiums it's apartments so we changed it to 555 apartments so we're trying to help the public understand the functionality of the building that makes sense i think the questions that i had around the total square footage was determining will there be enough available square footage once all of this is in to continue to add sign for businesses and if that's been considered well we really have as john pointed out we we're unlike most buildings in birmingham we have two levels of retail so this the perhaps into a linear foot is just inherently unreasonable and unfair that's why we i think we got the 1.5 variance last time and i think we'll get it again yeah yeah and i guess my question is even considering a 1.5 variance it looks like they're that you are butting up right

  22. think that's pretty critical the rest of it is more you know trees in the way or something else is you what we're trying to do like 555 what they did it was you no it wasn't you but they just put uh i'm trying to think on the identified residences they had 555 residents well everybody thinks it's condominiums it's apartments so we changed it to 555 apartments so we're trying to help the public understand the functionality of the building that makes sense i think the questions that i had around the total square footage was determining will there be enough available square footage once all of this is in to continue to add sign for businesses and if that's been considered well we really have as john pointed out we we're unlike most buildings in birmingham we have two levels of retail so this the perhaps into a linear foot is just inherently unreasonable and unfair that's why we i think we got the 1.5 variance last time and i think we'll get it again yeah yeah and i guess my question is even considering a 1.5 variance it looks like they're that you are butting up right against the maximum with just the current signage am i interpreting that right can i just add something to that so just to clarify and maybe i should have said in my report yes they are as as it stands today and um and yes they were the last time this package came through um one thing staff did a little bit differently not to compare then versus now when we evaluated this particular uh sign design plan we were provided with um specifically for the public parking signs um because they did not put 555 public parking they did not there's no branding it's simply a sign that says public parking um nick that's something nick and i discussed to really like should they really be charged square footage for literally a sign that says public parking and so that's why if you if you would look at the chart provided by the applicant in the packet where they come right up to the 750 why we as staff have a different number for total existing and proposed

  23. question is even considering a 1.5 variance it looks like they're that you are butting up right against the maximum with just the current signage am i interpreting that right can i just add something to that so just to clarify and maybe i should have said in my report yes they are as as it stands today and um and yes they were the last time this package came through um one thing staff did a little bit differently not to compare then versus now when we evaluated this particular uh sign design plan we were provided with um specifically for the public parking signs um because they did not put 555 public parking they did not there's no branding it's simply a sign that says public parking um nick that's something nick and i discussed to really like should they really be charged square footage for literally a sign that says public parking and so that's why if you if you would look at the chart provided by the applicant in the packet where they come right up to the 750 why we as staff have a different number for total existing and proposed in our package is because we didn't count the square footage of signs that literally only said public parking we felt like that was directional informational signage therefore we as staff we're hoping for the relief of a little bit of extra leeway there for the commercial signage because right now where you count the public parking signs you count all the commercial you count everything else it is a really difficult task when a new tenant comes in and spaces are combined and spaces are separated it can be really difficult for staff to evaluate and like both to evaluate and keep up with the changes and keep a consistent record and then also to ensure that there is like square footage available for their two levels of of of retail so we felt confident um um like with with our new calculations that there would be that leeway but that they still need the 1.5 variance to be able to have that if that makes sense i hope that's not confusing you

  24. right up to the 750 why we as staff have a different number for total existing and proposed in our package is because we didn't count the square footage of signs that literally only said public parking we felt like that was directional informational signage therefore we as staff we're hoping for the relief of a little bit of extra leeway there for the commercial signage because right now where you count the public parking signs you count all the commercial you count everything else it is a really difficult task when a new tenant comes in and spaces are combined and spaces are separated it can be really difficult for staff to evaluate and like both to evaluate and keep up with the changes and keep a consistent record and then also to ensure that there is like square footage available for their two levels of of of retail so we felt confident um um like with with our new calculations that there would be that leeway but that they still need the 1.5 variance to be able to have that if that makes sense i hope that's not confusing you the issues which ones did you exclude because there's one that says 555 apartments you didn't exclude that no of course not it's literally public parking yeah just the one sign they have they have four that say for public parking okay and we've done that in the past so that's fine yeah I mean typically if if I see a sign plan that has like public parking with no branding whatsoever I tell them it doesn't even really belong on the church that's just wayfinding it's just advertising anything I think the concern you and I go is you don't want to end up at some point telling some potential person that's moving into an area that I'm sorry you can't have any signage because we're at our maximum right now I mean you don't want that to happen of course right so if you get real close and start bumping into it it's gonna happen so it just it seems like you're heading for a cliff sort of yelling I can fly well if I can clarify that I'm sorry I can't hear you I'm sorry I said if I can clarify that for you we were a hundred percent occupied last summer John doesn't have

  25. the issues which ones did you exclude because there's one that says 555 apartments you didn't exclude that no of course not it's literally public parking yeah just the one sign they have they have four that say for public parking okay and we've done that in the past so that's fine yeah I mean typically if if I see a sign plan that has like public parking with no branding whatsoever I tell them it doesn't even really belong on the church that's just wayfinding it's just advertising anything I think the concern you and I go is you don't want to end up at some point telling some potential person that's moving into an area that I'm sorry you can't have any signage because we're at our maximum right now I mean you don't want that to happen of course right so if you get real close and start bumping into it it's gonna happen so it just it seems like you're heading for a cliff sort of yelling I can fly well if I can clarify that I'm sorry I can't hear you I'm sorry I said if I can clarify that for you we were a hundred percent occupied last summer John doesn't have sign up but I'm sure that's been approved so we've got all the retail signs we need okay so somebody comes in they'll be limited to the extent possibly of what the existing sign was if they want to replace it be able to go a little bit more based on the calculation but we have all the signs in the building so that shouldn't do you feel comfortable that you've got it covered yeah i'm pretty comfortable yes and our side this is approved is is in the calculation do you know even though it hasn't been put up yet okay i believe there is a sign on below the below the garden level a white sign on the stone stone stone stone stone field okay so that's included in this okay yeah we have other questions other sign questions before we move on from that other concerns to raise any other topics from anybody i would just say that it's a handsome package and i think that should be our paramount

  26. that for you we were a hundred percent occupied last summer John doesn't have sign up but I'm sure that's been approved so we've got all the retail signs we need okay so somebody comes in they'll be limited to the extent possibly of what the existing sign was if they want to replace it be able to go a little bit more based on the calculation but we have all the signs in the building so that shouldn't do you feel comfortable that you've got it covered yeah i'm pretty comfortable yes and our side this is approved is is in the calculation do you know even though it hasn't been put up yet okay i believe there is a sign on below the below the garden level a white sign on the stone stone stone stone stone field okay so that's included in this okay yeah we have other questions other sign questions before we move on from that other concerns to raise any other topics from anybody i would just say that it's a handsome package and i think that should be our paramount focus here and they're gonna have to you know get to the zoning board and it'll hash out all of those sort of technical issues about sizes and areas and all that stuff but i think in terms of just you look at the lettering you look at the locations you look at the whole package it's it's not just plastered with stuff. It just seems like it's a very elegant and appropriate package for a building in Birmingham. Yeah, I would agree. I think you made a good case for the need for more wayfinding. I think that's easy for us to understand. Really that was our primary objective was wayfinding in this whole process and updating the cosmetic look of some of us. That's 52 years old. To answer this gentleman's question about the differences in the sign or the similarities, Leah, just to reinforce her answer, is that

  27. i would just say that it's a handsome package and i think that should be our paramount focus here and they're gonna have to you know get to the zoning board and it'll hash out all of those sort of technical issues about sizes and areas and all that stuff but i think in terms of just you look at the lettering you look at the locations you look at the whole package it's it's not just plastered with stuff. It just seems like it's a very elegant and appropriate package for a building in Birmingham. Yeah, I would agree. I think you made a good case for the need for more wayfinding. I think that's easy for us to understand. Really that was our primary objective was wayfinding in this whole process and updating the cosmetic look of some of us. That's 52 years old. To answer this gentleman's question about the differences in the sign or the similarities, Leah, just to reinforce her answer, is that as the architects of the renovation, the redo of the 555 building in its entirely, it was part of our design approach that that sign band that you see exhibited here and finally executed for the first time in the New York Paris Art Gallery would be the building standard and that over time the tenants would pick up on that so that there was a uniformity as you were talking about over time and it won't won't take place all at once. We know that it will take place over time and that certain tenants. may react negatively to that, but that's, you know, a future issue that will be dealt with. But that, just to assure you, that is the goal, that that template for New York parents is what we hope will be the building standard. Let me add one thing, and that is that we have some tenants that are part of a franchise. And as much as we want them to put our signage in, by contract, they have to use the franchise owner's sign.

  28. differences in the sign or the similarities, Leah, just to reinforce her answer, is that as the architects of the renovation, the redo of the 555 building in its entirely, it was part of our design approach that that sign band that you see exhibited here and finally executed for the first time in the New York Paris Art Gallery would be the building standard and that over time the tenants would pick up on that so that there was a uniformity as you were talking about over time and it won't won't take place all at once. We know that it will take place over time and that certain tenants. may react negatively to that, but that's, you know, a future issue that will be dealt with. But that, just to assure you, that is the goal, that that template for New York parents is what we hope will be the building standard. Let me add one thing, and that is that we have some tenants that are part of a franchise. And as much as we want them to put our signage in, by contract, they have to use the franchise owner's sign. So we'll never have a uniform across the whole thing. It just won't happen. Yeah, understood. I do think the idea of a sign plan came up, and I do feel like it's unrealistic, given the building and the combined ability of the building. All right. Would anybody like to make a motion here? I'll give it a shot here. All right. Based on the requirements of Article 7, Section 7.09, the Planning Department recommends that the Design Review Board approve the design review application for 555 South Old Woodward. And the sample motion, the language is motioned to accept the findings of the Planning Department in the report dated July 8, 2026, in reference to the requirements of Article 7, Section 7.09. All right. approve the design review application for 555 South Old Woodward Avenue with the following conditions the applicant will revise the plans to meet the original combined sign allowance or obtain a variance to utilize 1.5 times

  29. And as much as we want them to put our signage in, by contract, they have to use the franchise owner's sign. So we'll never have a uniform across the whole thing. It just won't happen. Yeah, understood. I do think the idea of a sign plan came up, and I do feel like it's unrealistic, given the building and the combined ability of the building. All right. Would anybody like to make a motion here? I'll give it a shot here. All right. Based on the requirements of Article 7, Section 7.09, the Planning Department recommends that the Design Review Board approve the design review application for 555 South Old Woodward. And the sample motion, the language is motioned to accept the findings of the Planning Department in the report dated July 8, 2026, in reference to the requirements of Article 7, Section 7.09. All right. approve the design review application for 555 South Old Woodward Avenue with the following conditions the applicant will revise the plans to meet the original combined sign allowance or obtain a variance to utilize 1.5 times the linear building frontage as the combined sign allowance the applicant must reduce the height of the signs 1a and 7 to meet the ordinance or obtain a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals the applicant must remove the illumination from signs 1a and 7 to meet the ordinance or obtain a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals and the applicant must comply with the requests of all city departments just a quick question for you Liz apologies we're gonna address the wall art separately correct okay thank you I would second that motion and also as a comment we do sometimes practice giving your just our recommendation as a board to the Board of Zoning Appeals if we support a particular project yeah so I would be willing to make such a recommendation is that going to be part of the motion or is it is it just a recommendation after the motion do you guys usually include the recommendation in your motion I believe it's been in the mid

  30. original combined sign allowance or obtain a variance to utilize 1.5 times the linear building frontage as the combined sign allowance the applicant must reduce the height of the signs 1a and 7 to meet the ordinance or obtain a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals the applicant must remove the illumination from signs 1a and 7 to meet the ordinance or obtain a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals and the applicant must comply with the requests of all city departments just a quick question for you Liz apologies we're gonna address the wall art separately correct okay thank you I would second that motion and also as a comment we do sometimes practice giving your just our recommendation as a board to the Board of Zoning Appeals if we support a particular project yeah so I would be willing to make such a recommendation is that going to be part of the motion or is it is it just a recommendation after the motion do you guys usually include the recommendation in your motion I believe it's been in the mid in the past yeah I think that's just yeah we can do that in just a second okay agree any Commissioner comment or board comment on the motion any public comment on the motion all in favor please if you would just part of hearing the last recommendation that you made can you repeat that just so you understand what what we so the approval that we're giving is conditional and you're getting the variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals for the 1.5 times the linear square footage we as a board if we support a particular project we have in the past given a recommendation toward it's it's not binding but if it's basically a recommendation to the Board of Zoning Appeals to approve your case saying that we support what you're trying to we can't really approve the right the variants no I understand okay I think thank you it's in your favor I would say no I just didn't catch all of it so thank you for repeating it all right again all in

  31. in the past yeah I think that's just yeah we can do that in just a second okay agree any Commissioner comment or board comment on the motion any public comment on the motion all in favor please if you would just part of hearing the last recommendation that you made can you repeat that just so you understand what what we so the approval that we're giving is conditional and you're getting the variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals for the 1.5 times the linear square footage we as a board if we support a particular project we have in the past given a recommendation toward it's it's not binding but if it's basically a recommendation to the Board of Zoning Appeals to approve your case saying that we support what you're trying to we can't really approve the right the variants no I understand okay I think thank you it's in your favor I would say no I just didn't catch all of it so thank you for repeating it all right again all in favor all I guess all right thank you all right I'll do the wall art please now fun hi everyone I haven't met a lot of you my name is Summer Aldrin Ahrens I'm I'm city planner here been here a few times but not in front of everyone so excited to see you all on page 28 of the packet you will see a rendering for a mural I was out sick last end of last week and I was writing the memo so it didn't get in until Monday so it's on your chair essentially we have a wall art application for a mural in the 555 building that has actually already been completed this mural has already been executed I feel like it's important note to say when the applicant became aware that there was a wall art process that they had to go through they very rapidly submitted the appropriate documentation to both the Public Arts Board and to the DRB the Public Arts Board meeting pertaining to this mural occurred right before this one at 6 o'clock so you're getting the fresh information right away the Public Arts Board motion or recommended approval to the DRB for this mural the applicant is here to discuss again those I think both the artist and the applicant an owner of the building

  32. I just didn't catch all of it so thank you for repeating it all right again all in favor all I guess all right thank you all right I'll do the wall art please now fun hi everyone I haven't met a lot of you my name is Summer Aldrin Ahrens I'm I'm city planner here been here a few times but not in front of everyone so excited to see you all on page 28 of the packet you will see a rendering for a mural I was out sick last end of last week and I was writing the memo so it didn't get in until Monday so it's on your chair essentially we have a wall art application for a mural in the 555 building that has actually already been completed this mural has already been executed I feel like it's important note to say when the applicant became aware that there was a wall art process that they had to go through they very rapidly submitted the appropriate documentation to both the Public Arts Board and to the DRB the Public Arts Board meeting pertaining to this mural occurred right before this one at 6 o'clock so you're getting the fresh information right away the Public Arts Board motion or recommended approval to the DRB for this mural the applicant is here to discuss again those I think both the artist and the applicant an owner of the building to discuss the intentions behind the mural and some more artistic things thereof it's definitely a personal passion project of the owner and I'm sure he would be excited to talk to you more the location of it is in the cul-de-sac so the entrance and exit for the residences of the 555 building so it's not on the exterior or any exterior wall it's on a via between Birmingham pub and the entrance to the residences so it's a via walkway that is open to the public and walkable for the public, but it's not an outward-facing wall. I can hand it over to the applicant. Can you clarify which ones we're looking at in the package? Because I see six of them, but I think you're talking about one. So the page 28 is the mural that's proposed. So that is the mural that has been painted. What are the other ones? Nick included them as artists. It's other works from our artists. So prior works. I think that one's very nice. Thank you. Any other questions before we speak to the applicants? No. All right. If you could introduce yourself again and be appreciated. My name is Jack Reinhardt. I'm the managing partner of the 555 and this is the artist, Toni Kertzels. Victoria Kertzels, but Tori.

  33. again those I think both the artist and the applicant an owner of the building to discuss the intentions behind the mural and some more artistic things thereof it's definitely a personal passion project of the owner and I'm sure he would be excited to talk to you more the location of it is in the cul-de-sac so the entrance and exit for the residences of the 555 building so it's not on the exterior or any exterior wall it's on a via between Birmingham pub and the entrance to the residences so it's a via walkway that is open to the public and walkable for the public, but it's not an outward-facing wall. I can hand it over to the applicant. Can you clarify which ones we're looking at in the package? Because I see six of them, but I think you're talking about one. So the page 28 is the mural that's proposed. So that is the mural that has been painted. What are the other ones? Nick included them as artists. It's other works from our artists. So prior works. I think that one's very nice. Thank you. Any other questions before we speak to the applicants? No. All right. If you could introduce yourself again and be appreciated. My name is Jack Reinhardt. I'm the managing partner of the 555 and this is the artist, Toni Kertzels. Victoria Kertzels, but Tori. I go by Tori. She's the artist. This is something that I had a vision on for a long time. I just had to figure it out, but I wanted something. I had three goals. I wanted to celebrate downtown Birmingham and its iconic restaurants and just like, hey, this is Birmingham, okay? And we had a perfect spot for it just outside the apartments. It's indented. It's about 14 feet by 12 feet. And I also wanted to create something for my residents when they walk out in the morning. This is the first thing they see. Something that's, you know, uplifting and exciting. And hey, this is, I'm in downtown Birmingham. So about six months ago, my general manager that was here, he contacted a number of people that had done murals and oil oak and various places. And we asked them to submit their ideas. And most of them I wasn't terribly excited about. And Tori had about three of them. And the one thing she had was Birmingham with flowers all around it. And I thought, well, she's got Birmingham. That's the statement I want to make.

  34. the managing partner of the 555 and this is the artist, Toni Kertzels. Victoria Kertzels, but Tori. I go by Tori. She's the artist. This is something that I had a vision on for a long time. I just had to figure it out, but I wanted something. I had three goals. I wanted to celebrate downtown Birmingham and its iconic restaurants and just like, hey, this is Birmingham, okay? And we had a perfect spot for it just outside the apartments. It's indented. It's about 14 feet by 12 feet. And I also wanted to create something for my residents when they walk out in the morning. This is the first thing they see. Something that's, you know, uplifting and exciting. And hey, this is, I'm in downtown Birmingham. So about six months ago, my general manager that was here, he contacted a number of people that had done murals and oil oak and various places. And we asked them to submit their ideas. And most of them I wasn't terribly excited about. And Tori had about three of them. And the one thing she had was Birmingham with flowers all around it. And I thought, well, she's got Birmingham. That's the statement I want to make. So I couldn't work with this. So then I said, well, you've got to put some of the downtown buildings in. And she put 555 in. I said, no, I don't want 555. They're at 555. So she then put in Hyde Park. I told her, you've got to put in 220. And then she put in the Chevy. And she said, green crews. And I said, well, you've got to tell everybody when it started. So we put in since 1995. And then with Birmingham, I said, well, why don't you put a fountain there in front, which we did. And then we said, well, let's put some people by the fountain, which we did. And then I wanted a dog. And originally we had it here. And I go, now that's too far away. She put a dog here. My former partner was Humane Society for 30 years on the board. He loved gold retrievers. And his son said, hey, can you put dad's dog in there? And I said, sure, we've got a dog anyway. So we put the gold retriever in there. And then afterwards, I said, well, you've got to have at least three or four restaurants. So when they walk out, they say, hey, where are we going? Hyde Park, G20, which is a great restaurant at the Dachshund. And so I had that done. And as part of my idea of creating something that's uplifting and exciting,

  35. That's the statement I want to make. So I couldn't work with this. So then I said, well, you've got to put some of the downtown buildings in. And she put 555 in. I said, no, I don't want 555. They're at 555. So she then put in Hyde Park. I told her, you've got to put in 220. And then she put in the Chevy. And she said, green crews. And I said, well, you've got to tell everybody when it started. So we put in since 1995. And then with Birmingham, I said, well, why don't you put a fountain there in front, which we did. And then we said, well, let's put some people by the fountain, which we did. And then I wanted a dog. And originally we had it here. And I go, now that's too far away. She put a dog here. My former partner was Humane Society for 30 years on the board. He loved gold retrievers. And his son said, hey, can you put dad's dog in there? And I said, sure, we've got a dog anyway. So we put the gold retriever in there. And then afterwards, I said, well, you've got to have at least three or four restaurants. So when they walk out, they say, hey, where are we going? Hyde Park, G20, which is a great restaurant at the Dachshund. And so I had that done. And as part of my idea of creating something that's uplifting and exciting, the Eagles are considered the greatest rock band ever. They had a separate magazine devoted to it by Time. And one of their famous songs is Take It Easy, okay? And one line was standing in the corner in Winslow, Arizona. What a great day it is. What a fine day it is. Well, that is the fellow that wrote the song. That's Winslow, Arizona. That's Jackson Brown. And he got stuck. And so I made a copy of that, and she painted that in because we had a little bit of room there. And he got stuck singing it or writing it, and he had Glenn Prye, who was the leader of the Eagles. He picked it up. His next line was, a girl, my lord, and a flatbed forward, slow him down to take a look at me. And then he continued the rest of the song. But it's their top song. So it was great. I thought it was great. We were able to put that in there if somebody really understands what it is. I also have a very, very long-time good friend. He's done a million favors for me, and he's one of the most jealous people I know. And he loves his black anthem, Rolls Royce. And he's done a million favors. Thank you.

  36. And as part of my idea of creating something that's uplifting and exciting, the Eagles are considered the greatest rock band ever. They had a separate magazine devoted to it by Time. And one of their famous songs is Take It Easy, okay? And one line was standing in the corner in Winslow, Arizona. What a great day it is. What a fine day it is. Well, that is the fellow that wrote the song. That's Winslow, Arizona. That's Jackson Brown. And he got stuck. And so I made a copy of that, and she painted that in because we had a little bit of room there. And he got stuck singing it or writing it, and he had Glenn Prye, who was the leader of the Eagles. He picked it up. His next line was, a girl, my lord, and a flatbed forward, slow him down to take a look at me. And then he continued the rest of the song. But it's their top song. So it was great. I thought it was great. We were able to put that in there if somebody really understands what it is. I also have a very, very long-time good friend. He's done a million favors for me, and he's one of the most jealous people I know. And he loves his black anthem, Rolls Royce. And he's done a million favors. Thank you. And I said, hey, can you fit that in there? And so we, the one thing is I didn't have, then I went and showed it to a friend of mine, and I always wanted to get street side in here, and I just couldn't work it in without it being kind of unnatural. And so in the end, after it was done, one of my last things, I said, look, put street side here with an arrow. So we managed to get street side in the corner. I showed this American flag. We made that more prominent because I wanted to really kind of celebrate that. And originally, one of the things I was considering was just having this great big sunrise as you walked out, but it just wasn't enough. So I had her put the sunrise here, which came out great. In the end, I wanted to make it a little bit bigger, but she'd already sealed it, so I couldn't touch it. She was great. I had like 15 different renderings. Every time I had an idea, I'd call her and say, hey, can you do this? So then I showed this to a friend of mine, and he looked at it, and he goes, oh, one other thing down here we have created on America's 250 anniversary.

  37. And I said, hey, can you fit that in there? And so we, the one thing is I didn't have, then I went and showed it to a friend of mine, and I always wanted to get street side in here, and I just couldn't work it in without it being kind of unnatural. And so in the end, after it was done, one of my last things, I said, look, put street side here with an arrow. So we managed to get street side in the corner. I showed this American flag. We made that more prominent because I wanted to really kind of celebrate that. And originally, one of the things I was considering was just having this great big sunrise as you walked out, but it just wasn't enough. So I had her put the sunrise here, which came out great. In the end, I wanted to make it a little bit bigger, but she'd already sealed it, so I couldn't touch it. She was great. I had like 15 different renderings. Every time I had an idea, I'd call her and say, hey, can you do this? So then I showed this to a friend of mine, and he looked at it, and he goes, oh, one other thing down here we have created on America's 250 anniversary. People wondered, well, when was this made? Well, that's an easy way to just make it very clear to somebody. So he said to me, well, you know, if this is 250th anniversary, America, where's the eagle? And I thought, how did I miss the eagle? So we played around with the eagle here, here, and I said, that's got to be on top of the decks, and they always take the apex, and so, you know, that's kind of how it went. We put the fountain in, and there's a few, a lot of other odds and ends, but in the end, when she's got, you know, the kind of Birmingham trees, very colorful, some of the stuff. I don't want to take full time, but she was great. She really was great. To work with, and so, in the end, I, from my perspective, I accomplished what I was hoping to accomplish, I'm satisfied with it, so, and she was great to work with. So if you have any questions for Tori or me. Yeah, it's an incredible homage. I'm excited, an incredible homage to Birmingham. Yeah. I'm excited to take my kids, now that I know all the pieces, and do, like, a bingo card. Yeah. Any comments?

  38. oh, one other thing down here we have created on America's 250 anniversary. People wondered, well, when was this made? Well, that's an easy way to just make it very clear to somebody. So he said to me, well, you know, if this is 250th anniversary, America, where's the eagle? And I thought, how did I miss the eagle? So we played around with the eagle here, here, and I said, that's got to be on top of the decks, and they always take the apex, and so, you know, that's kind of how it went. We put the fountain in, and there's a few, a lot of other odds and ends, but in the end, when she's got, you know, the kind of Birmingham trees, very colorful, some of the stuff. I don't want to take full time, but she was great. She really was great. To work with, and so, in the end, I, from my perspective, I accomplished what I was hoping to accomplish, I'm satisfied with it, so, and she was great to work with. So if you have any questions for Tori or me. Yeah, it's an incredible homage. I'm excited, an incredible homage to Birmingham. Yeah. I'm excited to take my kids, now that I know all the pieces, and do, like, a bingo card. Yeah. Any comments? We're having kind of a, we worked with the downtown shopping district, and that's, once we found out we had to apply, the only way they would work with us, and we did apply, and so we deferred the, and we're going to do an unveiling, just because it's the only really legitimate mural in downtown Birmingham, and so we're going to do that on July 23rd, and everybody's naturally invited, if you want to stop by, and we're going to have a little music, somebody's going to do a plan. I was like, did you get the eagles to come? That would be iconic. I've seen the eagles. I've seen the eagles at the Spear in Las Vegas. And if anybody can get out there and see them, it's the most spectacular show you'll ever see as far as the concert. Great. Any comments from the board? The only question I have is the rendering and what is executed is slightly different. Do we have an extra slide? Like slide 27 looks like it's out in the building and there's no eagle. That's also a rendering. Oh, so that's just a CGI rendering. Gotcha. There was also many. There's snow in the picture. So the eagles there.

  39. We're having kind of a, we worked with the downtown shopping district, and that's, once we found out we had to apply, the only way they would work with us, and we did apply, and so we deferred the, and we're going to do an unveiling, just because it's the only really legitimate mural in downtown Birmingham, and so we're going to do that on July 23rd, and everybody's naturally invited, if you want to stop by, and we're going to have a little music, somebody's going to do a plan. I was like, did you get the eagles to come? That would be iconic. I've seen the eagles. I've seen the eagles at the Spear in Las Vegas. And if anybody can get out there and see them, it's the most spectacular show you'll ever see as far as the concert. Great. Any comments from the board? The only question I have is the rendering and what is executed is slightly different. Do we have an extra slide? Like slide 27 looks like it's out in the building and there's no eagle. That's also a rendering. Oh, so that's just a CGI rendering. Gotcha. There was also many. There's snow in the picture. So the eagles there. Okay. Would you say that the slide 28 is as close to reality as it is? It's beautiful. It looks just like that. She did a great job. Thank you. The one note that staff had for the PAB is obviously we do not want it to become a trend that we see retroactive wall art applications come through or any exterior modification. So we just wanted to make it a point. Obviously, the applicant here, as soon as they became aware, it was a lack of knowledge in this case, not a malicious act. But we wanted to make it clear that we would like to see these things come through prior to actual paint on wall in the future. Yep. Well, it never occurred to me that I needed anything on this because it's private. It's between a cul-de-sac. you can't see it from Big Woodward or Little Woodward and so but then one's playing album well thank you I think that's all the questions Julie have comment no I think it looks fantastic would you like to come up as well I'll make it quick I'm Carlos Gonzalez I'm the general manager at the 555 I usually try to stay quiet but this question had come up a couple of times so I want to clarify and it's about why the eagle shows in some pictures and

  40. Okay. Would you say that the slide 28 is as close to reality as it is? It's beautiful. It looks just like that. She did a great job. Thank you. The one note that staff had for the PAB is obviously we do not want it to become a trend that we see retroactive wall art applications come through or any exterior modification. So we just wanted to make it a point. Obviously, the applicant here, as soon as they became aware, it was a lack of knowledge in this case, not a malicious act. But we wanted to make it clear that we would like to see these things come through prior to actual paint on wall in the future. Yep. Well, it never occurred to me that I needed anything on this because it's private. It's between a cul-de-sac. you can't see it from Big Woodward or Little Woodward and so but then one's playing album well thank you I think that's all the questions Julie have comment no I think it looks fantastic would you like to come up as well I'll make it quick I'm Carlos Gonzalez I'm the general manager at the 555 I usually try to stay quiet but this question had come up a couple of times so I want to clarify and it's about why the eagle shows in some pictures and some not in the process of the different rendering and she was doing there are certain items like the dog and the eagle that what she sent to us was just like a little snapshot of the corner so we receive it as soon as we find out we needed to do the application I submitted the latest and greatest I had the whole picture and then I asked her to do everything together so I could submit the best digital so that's why you see two different renderings it was a matter of submitting as fast as possible and then the second one was to give you a complete picture but it is completed and the only reason you don't have the final not digital picture is because it is still covered for the unveiling so people don't see it until the end so I hope that answers a lot of those questions and I'll go back to my quiet place in this envelope I also have an invite for the unveiling I think I have enough for everybody that is here you're all more than welcome I'll put it in this table if you don't mind thank you any final comments from the board we have some new you you you you Thank you. that would like to make a motion sure I would move that we approve the proposed your own four five five five second any more comment on the motion any public

  41. so I want to clarify and it's about why the eagle shows in some pictures and some not in the process of the different rendering and she was doing there are certain items like the dog and the eagle that what she sent to us was just like a little snapshot of the corner so we receive it as soon as we find out we needed to do the application I submitted the latest and greatest I had the whole picture and then I asked her to do everything together so I could submit the best digital so that's why you see two different renderings it was a matter of submitting as fast as possible and then the second one was to give you a complete picture but it is completed and the only reason you don't have the final not digital picture is because it is still covered for the unveiling so people don't see it until the end so I hope that answers a lot of those questions and I'll go back to my quiet place in this envelope I also have an invite for the unveiling I think I have enough for everybody that is here you're all more than welcome I'll put it in this table if you don't mind thank you any final comments from the board we have some new you you you you Thank you. that would like to make a motion sure I would move that we approve the proposed your own four five five five second any more comment on the motion any public comment on the motion all in favor all right all right thank you very much we appreciate that you guys have had a long night sounds like all right and we all turn it back over to you I believe we are covering the demolition ordinance next I think we're good you know like to make a motion to adjourn motion to adjourn second all in favor all right all right thank you guys you you