Innovation Depot
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 Sears store on the block between 1st and 2nd Avenue North and 12th and 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 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.
Other service providers that are located in the building include UAB's Small Business Development Center, a United States Department of Commerce import/export office, and TechBirmingham.
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 will pass through the proposed Railroad Reservation Park. 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.
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. The Depot plans to complete the outfitting of still-unfinished areas to reach a total capacity of 75 companies and 500+ employees.
Businesses
References
- Slay, Marti Webb (June 2006) "Innovation Depot Breaks New Ground for Birmingham Biotech." Birmingham Medical News.
- Ray, Buddy (June 6, 2006) "Birmingham's Innovation Depot." Southeast Innovations.
- Cooper, Lauren B. (May 5, 2008) "Williams Blackstock wins regional award for Innovation Depot design." Birmingham News
- Kent, Dawn (March 21, 2009) "Birmingham, Alabama's Innovation Depot builds on big economic impact." Birmingham News
- Wolfson, Hannah (August 16, 2009) "UAB ideas turn into jobs at Innovation Depot in Birmingham." Birmingham News
External links
- Innovation Depot website
- Photos of the Innovation Depot on Flickr.com