Former SCI building set for makeover
Breland Cos. will redevelop the site as office center
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
The most recognizable symbol of Huntsville's 1960s boom is getting a major facelift.
The Sanmina-SCI building on Clinton Avenue, known as the Clinton building or simply "the building with the flags," is undergoing a multimillion-dollar renovation.
Officials with Breland Cos. planned to formally announce their redevelopment plans in a news conference today.
Breland bought the eight-story building from electronics manufacturer Sanmina-SCI several months ago and started gutting the interior Monday.
Architectural plans refer to the new development as the 2101 Clinton Commerce Center.
Mike Culbreath, chief operations officer for Breland, said the office building, which has been vacant for a couple of years, seemed ripe to be transformed into office space for sale or for lease.
"It caught our attention because of the location," Culbreath said, referring to its proximity to downtown and quick access to Interstate 565 and Memorial Parkway. The project seemed timely with the city's emphasis on downtown revitalization, he said.
Mayor Loretta Spencer said the redevelopment is further proof that downtown is strong and vibrant.
"Its revitalization continues to take new roads and this effort to remodel an existing building is an exciting development," she said. "I appreciate Breland's commitment to downtown and hope that other companies will find ways to invest in the area as well."
Culbreath said the renovation will extend from "the ground to the top." That means removing asbestos, installing a new heating and air conditioning system, replacing electrical lines, reconfiguring office space, building a new lobby and outfitting the building with computer lines, security systems and other modern features.
The building is located on the southwest corner of Memorial Parkway and Clinton Avenue and includes 4.5 acres for surface parking. An artist's rendering shows a planned new main entrance and fountain on the west side of the building where the old Huntsville News operated until 1996. The News building will be demolished.
Culbreath said the main structure and foundation appear in good shape, so demolishing the building and starting over wasn't necessary. Besides, preserving the building just seemed like the right thing to do. "It's part of Huntsville's historic skyline," he said. The makeover will cost $10 million to $12 million.
Original blueprints show the building was constructed in 1964 for use as a federal building. Through the years, it has housed some of Huntsville's largest companies at one time or another, including Intergraph Corp., SAIC, SCI and Sanmina-SCI. SCI bought the building from government contractor SAIC in 1987. The building was put up for sale in summer 2003.
For years, the tall, white building displayed flags from different countries around its roof line. The banners were part of an SCI system that ranked the annual financial performance of the company's worldwide plants. The rankings dictated where a given flag was mounted each year.
Culbreath said Breland Cos. has no plans to remount the flagpoles.
Breland is the lead developer, Hay Buchanan is the architect, John Hayden of the Concourse Group is handling the real estate/marketing for the new building, and Garver Engineering is the civil engineer.
© 2005 The Huntsville Times
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