Block 113C
Block 113C is a shortened Birmingham city block bordered by 18th and 19th Streets and by 1st Avenue South and Powell Avenue, now the site of a public parking lot serving the Railroad Park. The site is visually sandwiched between the Midtown Center and the Powell Avenue Steam Plant. The lot dimensions of the block are approximately 400 feet by 182½ feet. It is zoned M-1 "Light Industrial District" and is part of the Midtown Commercial Revitalization District. The block is on the northern edge of the Five Points South neighborhood and the Southside community.
The block, previously owned by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, is now the property of the City of Birmingham. During master planning for the Railroad Park, it was proposed as the location of a Cultural Furnace, which would complement and extend the open space eastward as a setting for intensive cultural programming, such as contemporary art installations and performances. That suggestion has been explored as an architectural design problem by students in Auburn University's Urban Studio.
On January 13, 2011 the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham announced a public competition for "one big idea" for a self-sustaining attraction on the site. In addition to a $50,000 cash prize for the winning idea, the foundation made known its intention to fund implementation.
In late 2012 the City of Birmingham approved the sale of Block 113C to Alabama Power Company for an unspecified redevelopment project. In July 2014 the company's president, Mark Crosswhite, announced that the utility intended to develop a mixed-use cultural and entertainment complex at that location.
In September 2015, the utility won approval from the Birmingham Design Review Committee for its preliminary plans for a public urban plaza on the former parking lot. The plaza design was created by Nelson Byrd Woltz of Charlottesville, Virginia along with associated firms Birchfield, Penuel & Associates, Macknally Land Design and LBYD Engineers
References
- Bryant, Joseph D. (July 9, 2014) "'New venue for new era': Alabama Power Railroad Park area steam plant to bring Birmingham a new kind of energy." The Birmingham News
- Natta, André (September 9, 2015) "Steam Plant Plaza receives Design Review Committee approval" The Terminal
External links
- Prize 2 the Future website