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[[Image:Innovation Depot logo.gif|right|225px]]
[[Image:Innovation Depot logo.gif|right|225px]]
The '''Innovation Depot''' is a combined facility for the City of [[Birmingham]]'s [[Entrepreneurial Center]] and [[UAB]]'s [[Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries]] (OADI). The two centers have worked together under the Entrepreneurial Center's management since [[2001]]. The new facility is located in the former [[downtown Sears store]] at 1500 [[1st Avenue North]], on the block between 1st and [[2nd Avenue North]] and [[12th Street North|12th]] and [[13th Street North|13th Streets]].  The building was gutted and renovated at a cost of $17 million for the center. The architects for the renovation were [[Williams-Blackstock Architects|Williams-Blackstock]] with [[Brice Building Company]] as the general contractor and [[Brantley Visioneering]] as the construction manager. The building's architectural design won an Honor Citation from the Gulf States chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a Merit Award for Adaptive Reuse from [[AIA Birmingham]]. It opened in [[2007]].
The '''Innovation Depot''' is a combined facility for the City of [[Birmingham]]'s [[Entrepreneurial Center]] and [[UAB]]'s [[Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries]] (OADI). The two centers have worked together under the Entrepreneurial Center's management since [[2001]].
 
The present facility opened in [[2007]] in the former [[downtown Sears store]] at 1500 [[1st Avenue North]], on the block between 1st and [[2nd Avenue North]] and [[14th Street North|14th]] and [[16th Street North|16th Streets]].  The building was gutted and renovated at a cost of $17 million for the center. The architects for the renovation were [[Williams Blackstock Architects|Williams-Blackstock]] with [[Brice Building Company]] as the general contractor and [[Brantley Visioneering]] as the construction manager.
 
The building's architectural design won an Honor Citation from the Gulf States chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a Merit Award for Adaptive Reuse from [[AIA Birmingham]].


The name "Innovation Depot" was chosen to reflect its proximity to Birmingham's [[Railroad Reservation]], the "incubator" of industrial development in the late 19th century. The 145,000 square-foot facility was designed to house as many as 75 small businesses and employ as many as 500 workers. The center focuses on biotechnology start-ups and has 20,000 square feet of wet laboratory space and a shared equipment lab with an autoclave, centrifuge, low-temperature freezer and micro-optics.
The name "Innovation Depot" was chosen to reflect its proximity to Birmingham's [[Railroad Reservation]], the "incubator" of industrial development in the late 19th century. The 145,000 square-foot facility was designed to house as many as 75 small businesses and employ as many as 500 workers. The center focuses on biotechnology start-ups and has 20,000 square feet of wet laboratory space and a shared equipment lab with an autoclave, centrifuge, low-temperature freezer and micro-optics.


[[Image:Innovation Depot 2008.jpg|left|thumb|275px|The Innovation Depot in August 2008]]
[[Image:Innovation Depot 2008.jpg|left|thumb|375px|The Innovation Depot in August 2008]]
Other service providers that are located in the building include UAB's Small Business Development Center, the [[Alabama Small Business Development Consortium ]], the [[Birmingham Business Resource Center]], the [[Birmingham Venture Club]], [[TechBirmingham]], and a United States Department of Commerce import/export office.
Other service providers that are located in the building include the [[Alabama Small Business Development Center Network]], the [[Alabama Procurement Technical Assistance Center]], the [[Birmingham Business Resource Center]], the [[Birmingham Venture Club]], [[TechBirmingham]], and the [[Alabama International Trade Center]].


The Innovation Depot serves as an anchor for the city's proposed "[[Entrepreneurial District]]", which is reflected in the 2004 [[City Center Master Plan]]. According to the plan, the Innovation Depot will be connected across the Railroad Reservation and midtown to the [[UAB campus]] by a "green street" on [[14th Street South]] which passes alongside the [[Railroad Park]] (opened in [[2010]]). The entire district will have a special overlay zoning to encourage entrepreneurial activity as an engine for dense mid-rise urban development.
The Innovation Depot serves as an anchor for the city's proposed "[[Entrepreneurial District]]", which is reflected in the 2004 [[City Center Master Plan]]. According to the plan, the Innovation Depot will be connected across the Railroad Reservation and midtown to the [[UAB campus]] by a "green street" on [[14th Street South]] which passes alongside the [[Railroad Park]] (opened in [[2010]]). The entire district will have a special overlay zoning to encourage entrepreneurial activity as an engine for dense mid-rise urban development.


[[Culinard]]'s [[Culinard Cafe]], with a gelato bar, is located inside the Innovation Depot. Other amenities include picnic tables and a boule court in a courtyard garden and a rooftop deck.
[[Culinard]]'s [[Culinard Cafe]], with a gelato bar, was located inside the Innovation Depot until [[2016]]. Other amenities include picnic tables and a boule court in a courtyard garden and a rooftop deck.


In March [[2009]] the Depot reported a "sales and earnings impact" of over $340 million for [[2008]]. At that point the center was serving 55 client businesses with a combined payroll of over 350 employees. For 2009, the center's sales impact declined to $290 million while the number of client firms increased to 65. In [[2010]], the Depot went ahead with plans to complete the outfitting of still-unfinished areas and subdivide some existing spaces into smaller offices to reach a total capacity of 85 companies and around 600 employees. In March [[2011]], the sales and earnings impact was reported at over $1 billion for 2010.
In March [[2009]] the Depot reported a "sales and earnings impact" of over $340 million for [[2008]]. At that point the center was serving 55 client businesses with a combined payroll of over 350 employees. For 2009, the center's sales impact declined to $290 million while the number of client firms increased to 65. In [[2010]], the Depot went ahead with plans to complete the outfitting of still-unfinished areas and subdivide some existing spaces into smaller offices to reach a total capacity of 85 companies and around 600 employees. In March [[2011]], the sales and earnings impact was reported at over $1 billion for 2010. In [[2018]] the Innovation Depot claimed a five-year economic impact of $1.66 billion for the Birmingham area.


In [[2011]] [[Discovery BioMed]], which designs and contracts human cell-based drug discovery and development programs, became the first company to formally "graduate" from the center's program, moving to offices in the [[Riverhills Business Park]] [[Inverness]].
In [[2011]] [[Discovery BioMed]], which designs and contracts human cell-based drug discovery and development programs, became the first company to formally "graduate" from the center's program, moving to offices in the [[Riverhills Business Park]] [[Inverness]].


[[Image:Innovation Depot.jpg|center|thumb|575px|The Innovation Depot under construction in February 2007. Photo by Curtis Palmer]]
Innovation Depot rebranded and updated its programs and facilities in [[2021]]. [[Telegraph Creative]] was commissioned for the brand refresh, with [[Kinetic Communications]] upgrading the center's website and smartphone app. [[Bendy Knees Design]] created a series of interior murals. Knight Eady's former offices were reconfigured as the '''Ignite''' co-working center. Innovation Depot also became a tenant in the building that replaced the [[Ramsay-McCormack building]] in downtown [[Ensley]].
 
In [[2023]] Innovation Depot turned over operation of its "Voltage" 6-week accelerator program to [[AppThink]]. The same year, the [[Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator]] relocated to Innovation Depot from the [[Denham Building]]. Development of the nearby [[Nextec Building]] was expected to expand the range of services available to startups. All three moves were seen as helping nurture productive interactions between entrepreneurs. Later the same year the Depot began offering access to the building's public spaces for remote work and networking by subscription.
 
[[Image:Innovation Depot.jpg|center|thumb|800px|The Innovation Depot under construction in February 2007. Photo by Curtis Palmer]]
 
==Chief executives==
* [[Susan Matlock]], 2007-2017
* [[Devon Laney]], 2014–2020
* [[Drew Honeycutt]], 2020–August 31, 2022
* [[Brooke Gillis]], December 12, 2022–


==Business clients==
==Business clients==
{| border="0" width="575"
{| border="0" width="775"
|-
| valign="top" |
* [[Abel Healthcare]]
* [[Advanced Systems Unlimited]]
* [[Advanced Tear Diagnostics]]
* [[AI Metrics]] (2019–)
* [[Amesino]]
* [[Amizona Scientific]]
* [[Analyitical AI]]
* [[Automation Experts Group]]
* [[Backr Sports]] (formerly [[Pro U Sports]], 2021–)
* [[Better Kombucha]]
* [[BioGX]] (2007–)
* [[Boulo Solutions]]
* [[Breedwise]]
* [[BZI Pharma]]
* [[Cahaba Labs]]
* [[Champ Creative]]
* [[Chonex]]
* [[Chronicle Studio]]
* [[Circool]]
* [[Coolbus]]
* [[Copysmith]]
* [[Covalence]]
* [[CoWello]]
* [[Crestline Bagel Co.]]
* [[Croux]]
| valign="top" |
* [[Electromagnetic Marketing]]
* [[Empower Therapeutics]]
* [[Essnova Solutions]]
* [[Extelli]]
* [[Field Culture Compost]]
* [[FireRock]]
* [[The Fitness Lab]]
* [[The Flywheel Group]]
* [[FoundationCapital]]
* [[FTB Technologies]]
* [[Heart Rhythm Clinical Research Solutions]]
* [[Help Lightning]] (2016–)
* [[IMD Interactive]] (2018–)
* [[Immersive Experience Laboratories]]
* [[ImmunoCreate]]
* [[Immunowake]]
* [[Impact Partners Global]]
* [[ListedKit]]
* [[LRY Media Group]]
* [[Lunar Lab]]
* [[Mini Sales]]
* [[NanomediGene]]
* [[NHabit Bham]]
* [[O3 Solutions]]
* [[Onyx Oz]]
* [[Pantheon Systems]]
| valign="top" |
* [[Prepaid2Cash]]
* [[Quantalytix]]
* [[Quire Consulting]]
* [[Redi Enterprise Development]]
* [[ResBiotic]]
* [[SanGuard Security]]
* [[SecturaSOFT]]
* [[Sngular]]
* [[Smith Limited Agency]] (2023–)
* [[Stenco]]
* [[Strategypoint]]
* [[Streamnasium]]
* [[SunFire Biotechnologies]]
* [[Treavir]]
* [[Tricorder Array Technologies]]
* [[TruSpin]]
* [[TrustSpot]]
* [[VitalEngine]]
* [[Vulcan Biosciences]]
* [[WineView]]
* [[Xcellent Life]]
* [[XpertDox]]
* [[Yuva Biosciences]] (2019-)
* [[Ziscuit]]
|}
 
==Other agencies==
* [[Alabama International Trade Center]]
* [[Alabama Small Business Development Center]]
* [[Birmingham Corps]] (2022–)
* [[Birmingham Promise]]
* [[Tech Birmingham]]
 
===Graduates===
{| border="0" width="775"
|-
| valign="top" |
* [[2B Solutions]], 2008–
* [[Atlas RFID Solutions]], 2007–2017
* [[Circle Source]], 2002–2010
* [[Breeze]], 2012–2016
* [[Concert Care]] / [[ConcertIDC]], –2022
* [[CTS]], 1993–2010
* [[Discovery BioMed]], 2007–2011
* [[Embassy Social]]
* [[Endomimetics]]
* [[Fairmont Technology Solutions]]
* [[Fleetio]], -2017
| valign="top" |
* [[FreeTextbooks]], -2016
* [[Harmony Venture Labs]]
* [[Immediate]], 2019–2022
* [[IN8bio]] (formerly [[IN8bio|Incysus]]), 2017–2021
* [[INFLCR]], -2019
* [[Knight Eady Sports Group]], -2019
* [[Markham Bailey]], 2010-2016
* [[MotionMobs]], 2012-2013
* [[Motus Motorcycles]], 2008–2012
* [[Pack Health]], 2014–2016
| valign="top" |
* [[Platypi]], –2017
* [[PointClear Solutions]] / [[Gazoont]], 2006–2017
* [[REPOWR]]
* [[Rezenent]]
* [[Sociallyin]]
* [[Suture Health]], 2009-2016
* [[Therapy Brands]]/[[TheraNest]], 2013–
* [[Vaxin Inc.]], 1997–2012
* [[Vista Engineering & Consulting]]
* [[Wyndy]], 2017–
|}
 
===Former clients===
{| border="0" width="775"
|-
|-
| valign="top" |
| valign="top" |
* [[2B Solutions]]
* [[3000ENT]]
* [[3000ENT]]
* [[Adit4Less]]
* [[Advanced Skin Technology]]
* [[ADV Bioscience]]
* [[ADV Bioscience]]
* [[Advanced Skin Technology]]
* [[Agenta Biotechnologies]]
* [[Agenta Biotechnologies]]
* [[Alabama Chai]]
* [[Alteg Systems]]
* [[Alveolus Bio]] (2021–2024), moved to [[Station 41]]
* [[Archetype]]
* [[Archetype]]
* [[Aspen Healthcare]]
* [[Aspen Healthcare]]
* [[Associated Court Reporters]]
* [[Associated Court Reporters]]
* [[Atlas RFID Solutions]]
* [[Babypalooza]]
* [[BioDtech]]
* [[BFC Life]]
* [[BioGX]]
* [[BioDtech]] (2003–2018)
* [[Biological Innovations]]
* [[Biological Innovations]]
* [[BiPharma]]
* [[Birmingham Motorcycle Company]]
* [[Birmingham Motorcycle Company]]
* [[Blue Ocean Technologies]]
* [[Blondin Bioscience]]
* [[Blue Ocean Technologies]]/[[Bluewave Technologies]] (2006-2018)
* [[Bonenta Inc.]]
* [[Bonenta Inc.]]
* [[Casinbio]]
* [[Chef U]]
* [[Chemopreventia]]
* [[Chemopreventia]]
* [[Circle Source]]
* [[Choice Research]]
* [[Choice Research]]
* [[Class Action Capital]]
* [[Common Thread]]
* [[Common Thread]]
* [[ComplyMD]]
* [[ComplyMD]]
* [[Congruent Solutions]]
* [[Congruent Solutions]]
* [[CTS]]
* [[Clarity CFO]]
* [[CLR IT]]
* [[Cypher Development]]
* [[Cypher Development]]
* [[Cytocentrics]]
* [[Diamond Fortress]]
* [[Digital Compass]]
* [[Digital Compass]]
* [[Dippi]]
* [[Directorpoint]]
* [[Doctor Wellington]]
* [[Dogtrot Studio]]
* [[Dwell]]
* [[Eco Three]]
* [[E-Data Solutions]]
* [[Educator Technologies]]
* [[Educator Technologies]]
* [[Endomimetics]]
* [[Electromagnetic Marketing]]
* [[Embassy Social]]
* [[Essnova Solutions]]
* [[Exit High]]
* [[FaceForward Staffing]]
* [[Fledging]] (2018–2022)
* [[Forte Marketing Group]]
* [[Fundrage]] (2021–)
* [[Funnelfly]] (2019–2023)
* [[Gas Technology Institute]]
* [[Gas Technology Institute]]
* [[Gazoont]]
| valign="top" |
* [[Gatewise]]
* [[Geriatric Care Services]]
* [[Geriatric Care Services]]
* [[Good People Brewing Company|Good People Brewing Labs]]
* [[Girl Friday Concierge]]
* [[GlobalXplorer]]
* [[GLOW]]
* [[GTI-Gas]]/[[GTI-Defense]]
* [[GTI-Gas]]/[[GTI-Defense]]
| valign="top" |
* [[Gylen Castle]]
* [[J2F Inc.]]
* [[Highland Legal Media]]
* [[Highland Legal Media]]
* [[Holistic Healthcare]]
* [[Holistic Healthcare]]
* [[Icebox Coffee]]
* [[Immunochem Consultants]]
* [[Immunochem Consultants]]
* [[ImmunoCreate]]
* [[Immunowake]]
* [[Integrated Media Systems]]
* [[Internet Broadcasting Corporation]]
* [[Internet Broadcasting Corporation]]
* [[Magnolia River]]
* [[Instagift]]
* [[Markham Bailey]]
* [[IPG Photonics Mid-IR Lasers]]
* [[Motus Motorcycles]]
* [[iSeek Solutions]]
* [[J2F Inc.]]
* [[LifeStages Media]]
* [[LikelyAI]]
* [[Lumen Interactive]]
* [[Magic City Media]]
* [[Magnolia River Services]]
* [[MainStreet Family Urgent Care]]
* [[Malcovery Security]] (2013-2015)
* [[MassiveMedia]]
* [[MedSnap]]
* [[MyScoop Media]]
* [[MyScoop Media]]
* [[MySupplyChainGroup]]
* [[MySupplyChainGroup]]
* [[Need2Say]] (2019–)
* [[Nimble Labs]]
* [[No I.D. LLC]]
* [[NuCel]]
* [[Organogenesis]]
* [[Panorama Public Relations]]
* [[Panorama Public Relations]]
* [[Photonics Innovations]]
* [[Pantheon]]
* [[PointClear Solutions]]
* [[Photonics Innovations]] (2007-2010)
* [[Projects Unlimited]]
* [[PlaidJack]]
* [[Planet Fundraiser]]
* [[pMD]]
* [[Pointz]]
* [[Redhawk]]
* [[Redmont Health Services]]
* [[Redmont Health Services]]
| valign="top" |
* [[Relax, It's Handled|Projects Unlimited/Relax, It's Handled]], 2007-2015
* [[Remtech]]
* [[Remtech]]
* [[RunTime Computing Solutions]]
* [[RunTime Computing Solutions]]
* [[Sanguard Security Services]]
* [[Salesity]]
* [[Slade LET Planning]]
* [[Salient Labs]]
* [[Slade]] planners
* [[Slope]]
* [[Smart Solutions]]
* [[Sociallyin]]
* [[Socially Linked]]
* [[Socially Linked]]
* [[Solovis]]
* [[Soluble Therapeutics]]/[[Soluble BioScience]]
* [[Southeastern Commercial Finance]]
* [[Southeastern Commercial Finance]]
* [[SportAI]] (2021–)
* [[Stay Points]]
* [[Strada Professional Services]]
* [[StreetMetrics]]
* [[Stringfellow Technology Group]]
* [[Stringfellow Technology Group]]
* [[Strada Professional Services]]
* [[Sustain]]
* [[SutureMD]]
* [[Swell Fundraising]]
* [[TalentQuest]]
* [[Teach Me Beauty]]
* [[Terane]]
* [[ThinkData Solutions]]
* [[Tour Llama]]
* [[Town & Country Wine Distributors]]
* [[Town & Country Wine Distributors]]
* [[Transmolecular]]
* [[Transmolecular]]
* [[Vaxin]]
* [[TriAltus Bioscience]] (2017-)
* [[Vear, Inc.]]
* [[Uptick Marketing]]
* [[Vista Consulting]]/[[Vista Engineering]]
* [[U.S. Consumer Healthcare Advocacy Group]]
* [[VEAR]]
* [[VentureSouth]]
* [[Vero Skills]]
* [[Vincari]]
* [[VIPAAR]]
* [[Vulcan Analytical]]
* [[Webology]]
* [[Women's Imaging Associates]]
* [[Westglenn Software]]
* [[Westglenn Software]]
* [[Winter Industry Piping Solutions]]
* [[WM Mortgage]]
* [[XpertDox]]
* [[Yudu Outdoors]]
* [[Zella]]
* [[Zella]]
* [[Zertis Software]]
|}
|}
===Graduates===
* [[Discovery BioMed]] ([[2007]]–[[2011|11]])


==References==
==References==
* Slay, Marti Webb (June 2006) "[http://host1.bondware.com/~birmingham/news.php?viewStory=422 Innovation Depot Breaks New Ground for Birmingham Biotech]." ''Birmingham Medical News''
* Slay, Marti Webb (June 2006) "[http://host1.bondware.com/~birmingham/news.php?viewStory=422 Innovation Depot Breaks New Ground for Birmingham Biotech]." ''Birmingham Medical News''
* Ray, Buddy (June 6, 2006) "[http://www.innovationspublishing.com/georgia/loadarticle.asp?id=294 Birmingham's Innovation Depot]." ''Southeast Innovations''
* Ray, Buddy (June 6, 2006) "[http://www.innovationspublishing.com/georgia/loadarticle.asp?id=294 Birmingham's Innovation Depot]." ''Southeast Innovations''
* Cooper, Lauren B. (May 5, 2008) "Williams Blackstock wins regional award for Innovation Depot design." ''Birmingham News''
* Cooper, Lauren B. (May 5, 2008) "Williams Blackstock wins regional award for Innovation Depot design." {{BN}}
* Kent, Dawn (March 21, 2009) "Birmingham, Alabama's Innovation Depot builds on big economic impact." ''Birmingham News''
* Kent, Dawn (March 21, 2009) "Birmingham, Alabama's Innovation Depot builds on big economic impact." {{BN}}
* Wolfson, Hannah (August 16, 2009) "UAB ideas turn into jobs at Innovation Depot in Birmingham." ''Birmingham News''
* Wolfson, Hannah (August 16, 2009) "UAB ideas turn into jobs at Innovation Depot in Birmingham." {{BN}}
* Tomberlin, Michael (March 18, 2010) "Birmingham's Innovation Depot is mother hen to start-ups." ''Birmingham News''
* Tomberlin, Michael (March 18, 2010) "Birmingham's Innovation Depot is mother hen to start-ups." {{BN}}
* Diel, Stan (October 1, 2010) "Downtown Birmingham's Innovation Depot to add offices." ''Birmingham News''
* Diel, Stan (October 1, 2010) "Downtown Birmingham's Innovation Depot to add offices." {{BN}}
* Tomberlin, Michael (March 10, 2011) "Incubator claims $1B impact." ''Birmingham News''
* Tomberlin, Michael (March 10, 2011) "Incubator claims $1B impact." {{BN}}
* Chambers, Jesse (November 14, 2018) "CEO: Innovation Depot helped revitalize part of downtown." ''Iron City Ink''
* Thornton, William (January 28, 2021) "New year means new programs, new look for Innovation Depot." {{BN}}
* Rebman, Stephanie (May 19, 2022) "Drew Honeycutt stepping down as CEO of Innovation Depot." {{BBJ}}
* Thornton, William (December 7, 2022) "Birmingham’s Innovation Depot names new CEO." AL.com
* Thrailkill, Laurel (March 10, 2023) "[https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/inno/stories/profiles/2023/03/10/innovation-depot-growing-adding-techstars.html More Than a Building: Shaping Innovation Depot's Past, Present and Future]". {{BBJ}}
* Thrailkill, Laurel (July 3, 2023) "Innovation Depot offers new membership option for access to building." {{BBJ}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.innovationdepot.net/ Innovation Depot] website
* [https://innovationdepot.org/ Innovation Depot] website
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/innovationdepot/ Photos of the Innovation Depot] on Flickr.com
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/innovationdepot/ Photos of the Innovation Depot] on Flickr.com
* [http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=c59e6033667218c2e46d5a13ebabd286 3-D model] of Innovation Depot by Jordan Herring
* [http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=c59e6033667218c2e46d5a13ebabd286 3-D model] of Innovation Depot by Jordan Herring
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[[Category:12th Street North]]
[[Category:14th Street North]]
[[Category:13th Street North]]
[[Category:16th Street North]]
[[Category:1947 buildings]]
[[Category:2007 buildings]]
[[Category:2007 buildings]]
[[Category:Williams-Blackstock buildings]]
[[Category:Williams Blackstock buildings]]
[[Category:Innovation Depot|*]]
[[Category:Innovation Depot|*]]

Revision as of 11:24, 11 March 2024

Innovation Depot logo.gif

The Innovation Depot is a combined facility for the City of Birmingham's Entrepreneurial Center and UAB's Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries (OADI). The two centers have worked together under the Entrepreneurial Center's management since 2001.

The present facility opened in 2007 in the former downtown Sears store at 1500 1st Avenue North, on the block between 1st and 2nd Avenue North and 14th and 16th Streets. The building was gutted and renovated at a cost of $17 million for the center. The architects for the renovation were Williams-Blackstock with Brice Building Company as the general contractor and Brantley Visioneering as the construction manager.

The building's architectural design won an Honor Citation from the Gulf States chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a Merit Award for Adaptive Reuse from AIA Birmingham.

The name "Innovation Depot" was chosen to reflect its proximity to Birmingham's Railroad Reservation, the "incubator" of industrial development in the late 19th century. The 145,000 square-foot facility was designed to house as many as 75 small businesses and employ as many as 500 workers. The center focuses on biotechnology start-ups and has 20,000 square feet of wet laboratory space and a shared equipment lab with an autoclave, centrifuge, low-temperature freezer and micro-optics.

The Innovation Depot in August 2008

Other service providers that are located in the building include the Alabama Small Business Development Center Network, the Alabama Procurement Technical Assistance Center, the Birmingham Business Resource Center, the Birmingham Venture Club, TechBirmingham, and the Alabama International Trade Center.

The Innovation Depot serves as an anchor for the city's proposed "Entrepreneurial District", which is reflected in the 2004 City Center Master Plan. According to the plan, the Innovation Depot will be connected across the Railroad Reservation and midtown to the UAB campus by a "green street" on 14th Street South which passes alongside the Railroad Park (opened in 2010). The entire district will have a special overlay zoning to encourage entrepreneurial activity as an engine for dense mid-rise urban development.

Culinard's Culinard Cafe, with a gelato bar, was located inside the Innovation Depot until 2016. Other amenities include picnic tables and a boule court in a courtyard garden and a rooftop deck.

In March 2009 the Depot reported a "sales and earnings impact" of over $340 million for 2008. At that point the center was serving 55 client businesses with a combined payroll of over 350 employees. For 2009, the center's sales impact declined to $290 million while the number of client firms increased to 65. In 2010, the Depot went ahead with plans to complete the outfitting of still-unfinished areas and subdivide some existing spaces into smaller offices to reach a total capacity of 85 companies and around 600 employees. In March 2011, the sales and earnings impact was reported at over $1 billion for 2010. In 2018 the Innovation Depot claimed a five-year economic impact of $1.66 billion for the Birmingham area.

In 2011 Discovery BioMed, which designs and contracts human cell-based drug discovery and development programs, became the first company to formally "graduate" from the center's program, moving to offices in the Riverhills Business Park Inverness.

Innovation Depot rebranded and updated its programs and facilities in 2021. Telegraph Creative was commissioned for the brand refresh, with Kinetic Communications upgrading the center's website and smartphone app. Bendy Knees Design created a series of interior murals. Knight Eady's former offices were reconfigured as the Ignite co-working center. Innovation Depot also became a tenant in the building that replaced the Ramsay-McCormack building in downtown Ensley.

In 2023 Innovation Depot turned over operation of its "Voltage" 6-week accelerator program to AppThink. The same year, the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator relocated to Innovation Depot from the Denham Building. Development of the nearby Nextec Building was expected to expand the range of services available to startups. All three moves were seen as helping nurture productive interactions between entrepreneurs. Later the same year the Depot began offering access to the building's public spaces for remote work and networking by subscription.

The Innovation Depot under construction in February 2007. Photo by Curtis Palmer

Chief executives

Business clients

Other agencies

Graduates

Former clients

References

External links

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