Construction Party Fetes Building of Diamond View II
CBC President & CEO Jim Goodmon shares his excitement about the changes going on in downtown Durham. |
Cold and wind couldn’t keep the crowd away from downtown Durham on Thursday, April 5, 2007. The occasion? The celebration of the construction on Diamond View II.
About 150 people gathered on the patio of Diamond View I for the ceremony. As the steel beams of Diamond View II loomed in the background, the group heard messages from city and county leaders and the first two anchor tenants for the building, in addition the CBC President & CEO Jim Goodmon.
“We’re rolling, we’re moving along,” said Goodmon of the construction.
CBC has been a big part of the revitalization of downtown Durham, beginning with the expansion of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park when the team converted to Triple-A in 1998. Then came the construction of Diamond View I and the ongoing restoration of the American Tobacco Campus across Blackwell Street.
“American Tobacco is a great example of what a public-private partnership can produce,” said Durham County Commissioners Chair Ellen Reckhow. “In my mind this project is truly extraordinary. It has gone well beyond our earlier expectations and has been a catalyst for other public & private projects.”
The ribbon cutting for Diamond View II will take place in 2008. Two anchor tenants have already been signed. Representatives from both Smith Breeden Associates and KeySource Commercial Bank spoke of their excitement about being in the building and in downtown Durham.
Diamond View II will be a five-story building, facing the 3rd base line at the DBAP. Construction is slated to be complete in 2008. |
President & CEO of Smith Breeden Eugene Flood, Jr. said “We chose a place where our presence would make a difference in the community,” in speaking of their future move to downtown Durham in Diamond View II. |
Guests signed a 30’ long ceremonial white beam which a crane hoisted to its place on the building at the end of the program. Fireworks capped off the presentation as the beam snapped into place. Then attendees were treated to a construction lunch complete with metal lunchboxes emblazoned with the Diamond View II logo.
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| Party guests signed a steel beam (above) which a crane then placed in its place on the building along with a rendering of the final design (below). |
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Diamond View II will be a Class “A”, five-story, 150,000 square foot marvel of architecture and technology, boasting balcony views of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and close proximity to Durham’s future Performing Arts Center. Diamond View II faces the third base line; its companion, Diamond View I, is situated behind center field.
“It seems like a couple of days ago we were breaking ground on for the Performing Arts Center and now this other stuff is going on,” said Durham Mayor Bill Bell. “This is a great day for Durham as the momentum continues to turn to downtown revitalization.”
