Tag Archives: Business

Council committee to consider Fire Station No. 22 sale

IMG_3168. JCMcdavid/FlickrToday’s Birmingham City Council Budget and Finance committee meeting is possibly going to be a little more crowded than usual.

The committee meeting takes place at 4 p.m. on the 3rd floor Birmingham City Hall in its administrative wing. Among the items on today’s agenda is a contract to sell the former Fire Station No. 22 to a developer who wants to replace the Spanish Revival structure with a Walgreens. The Birmingham News reports that the property is currently being offered by the city for $200,000.

The fact that the contract has not been approved as of yet by the City Council may partially explain why the presentation made to the city’s Design Review Committee was conceptual on April 29.

Citizens upset with the decision have turned to FacebookTwitter and blog posts in hopes that City Councilors would listen to “constructive alternatives” to the current proposal. The committee’s recommendation will be considered by the full council, which must still make a decision on the matter.

Photo: IMG_3168. JCMcdavid/Flickr

Dunkin is running in Pelham

Pelham's running on DunkinThis morning the line went out the door while another line was going around the building.

The photo shows both of those lines as they looked at 6 a.m. this morning.

Yes, metro Birmingham’s first Dunkin’ Donuts in some time opened at 5 a.m. this morning to a crowd of transplants and other fans. The Boston, MA based donut chain had first announced plans to open as many as 72 locations back in 2007 with a final plan for 21 announced last March.

According to The Birmingham News, Pelham’s finest had to stop by to let them know that motorists were upset by the traffic backup along Highway 119. Don’t worry, it’ll be open until 10 p.m. today. You may even get a chance to run into someone you already know over there around lunchtime…

Photo: Pelham’s running on Dunkin. acnatta/Flickr.

Source: BBVA Compass outsources IT help desk

bbva compass signWe’ve learned that BBVA Compass plans to announce that it will be outsourcing its IT (information technology) help desk. The decision would affect between 25-40 of the multinational bank’s employees in Birmingham, AL. Those employees would have the option of applying for work with the firm that has been awarded the account but would only be guaranteed no more than 60 days of work.

The story sounds similar to one that occurred last fall in Decatur, AL when 35 employees were told they would be laid off by the end of the year. Some of those jobs were moved to Texas with others outsourced to Atento, a unit of a Spain-based telecommunications and technology giant. By the way, BBVA Compass’ parent company is based in Spain.

We’ll update as more information becomes available.

Milestone Books appears to be closing

Milestone Books logoThe word from Birmingham’s {head}:sub/head is that the Vestavia Hills independent bookstore Milestone Books, open for nearly six years, has announced its intention to close. Owner Linda Brown’s email to patrons (posted in its entirety on the popular book blog maintained by former Terminal contributor Travis Bryant) includes a caveat that led to the choice of words for our headline – if someone is interested in acquiring the assets of the store, they’ve got until January 17 to contact her. Otherwise, the inventory sale begins the following day.

Emageon sale complete; layoffs follow

The long planned acquisition of Emageon by Boston-based AMICAS, Inc. was completed on April 3. As part of the purchase agreement, Emageon’s board of directors resigned their posts (scroll down). Shareholders concerned about the details of the merger filed a lawsuit in Boston early last month. A settlement agreement was reached on March 27 according to The Birmingham News.

Yesterday, employees at the Emageon’s Birmingham headquarters learned that it would be closing. According to buzz on Twitter beginning yesterday afternoon, they also learned of more than 100 planned layoffs (many in Birmingham) to take place by September 30.

CAWBC Scholarship deadline extended

We’ve just received word that the deadline for applications for The Elizabeth Conwell Schlarb Foundation for Women Entrepreneurs‘ Scholarship Fund has been extended until next Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m.

We’ve got some information about the scholarship up from the post announcing the original deadline.

Ritz Camera files for bankruptcy

Ritz Camera Centers, Inc., which at more than 1,ooo locations in 45 states, presumably makes it the world’s largest camera chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. Locally, the company operates as Wolf Camera, with six locations in the metro Birmingham area and 10 overall statewide.

Its online component, Ritz Interactive, is a separate company, though the announcement is sure to have an impact on the e-commerce side of things. Ritz Camera Centers serves as the web company’s largest supplier.

They still plan to operate during the restructuring.