The giant blue star atop Birmingham’s former Carraway hospital is finally leaving its perch today.

Crews today began dismantling the emblem piece by piece and will place it in storage. Once refurbished, the star will emerge as part of the new Star Uptown development under construction.

CR-Endeavors bought the Carraway property in 2020. In its place will rise a new development featuring a mix of housing, offices, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues just blocks from the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.

“As soon as we started this development, the first thing people wanted to know is what we would do with the star,” said Robert Simon, CEO of CR-Endeavors, formerly known as Corporate Reality.

The relic topping the abandoned hospital for decades remained visible to thousands of interstate motorists who crisscrossed downtown daily.

“The star was one of Birmingham’s most recognizable landmarks, and it mattered to people,” Simon said. “We incorporated the star into the development’s name and logo because we wanted to honor that history even as we build a new future at this important site.”

Simon told AL.com in August 2024 that the tattered and faded star will be rechristened as a notable element of the new $300 million mixed use development. However, he remained coy about the star’s actual use and location.

Simon has stressed his commitment to restoring the hospital star and placing it in an area of prominence at the massive, multi-phased development. He said the icon embodies the history, future and promise of the massive new Star development.

Construction is well underway for the $50 million Coca-Cola Amphitheater on the western side of the property.

Both the city and county are contributing to development at the site, including demolition and the amphitheater.

The facility is owned by the BJCC and will be managed by Live Nation. It is scheduled to open in June.

Demolition is ongoing and will pause during the first season of the Coca-Cola Amphitheater and will be finished at the conclusion of the first season.

New construction is anticipated to start this summer and will continue in phases over several years.

“We look forward to the day when the star takes a place of prominence in its namesake development,” Simon said. “We are eager to see this site become an asset once again for people who live nearby and for the city as a whole.”