Infinity Property & Casualty Building
- This article is about the current Birmingham News building. For the original building, see Birmingham News building (1917).
The Infinity Property & Casualty Building (formerly the Birmingham News building) is a four-story, 110,000-square-foot office building which was constructed in 2006 as the new headquarters for the Birmingham News, directly across 4th Avenue North from their former offices at the corner of 22nd Street.
Planning for the new building began in 2003, with a number of architectural firms invited to submit design proposals for a new building as an alternative to major capital investments in its existing offices. In January 2004, Williams-Blackstock Architects were hired to produce a design for a new headquarters that could be adapted to a variety of sites. Later that year, the News announced that it would stay downtown and build on the site of its existing dedicated parking lot.
The new building borrows design cues from its predecessor, including dark brown brick with limestone trim. Unlike the old building, the newer one features a grand central atrium rising the full height of the building and providing natural light deep into the interior. It also features state-of-the-art communications infrastructure and spaces that are custom-planned for modern newspaper operations.
Constructed over a 14-month period by Brasfield & Gorrie for a total cost of $21 million, the new News building opened officially at a ribbon cutting ceremony on August 10, 2006 which was attended by publisher Victor H. Hanson III, Birmingham mayor Bernard Kincaid and Alabama governor Bob Riley. The move across the street was completed in August.
The News demolished the vacated 1917 building to make way for a surface parking lot for newspaper employees.
In 2013 the newly-created Alabama Media Group, publisher of the News, put the building up for sale. It was purchased in 2015 for $20 million by Infinity Property & Casualty, which moved 500 employees to the building from 3700 Colonnade Parkway in 2016.
References
- "News considers new building." (November 12, 2003) The Birmingham News
- "The News taps architect for new building: Williams-Blackstock will handle project." (January 17, 2004) The Birmingham News
- "Birmingham News to build 4-story building for its new headquaters." (June 29, 2004) The Birmingham News
- "News to stay downtown in new 110,000-square-foot building" (January 25, 2005) The Birmingham News
- "News' building plans pass design review." (January 27, 2005) The Birmingham News
- "Brasfield & Gorrie to start on new News headquarters" (May 26, 2005) The Birmingham News
- Carlton, Bob (August 11, 2006) "The News' building for new century." The Birmingham News
- Morris, Phillip (November 2006) "Balancing Act: The new Birmingham News building successfully harmonizes old and new." Portico
- Kent, Dawn (January 22, 2013) "Birmingham News, Mobile Press-Register buildings put up for sale." The Birmingham News
- Poe, Kelly (February 5, 2015) "Former Birmingham News building sold to car insurance company." The Birmingham News
External links
- Infinity Insurance Corporate Headquarters on Emporis.com