New Markets Tax Credit Coalition

Search

Alabama Entrepreneurial Center

An old Sears store that lay vacant for over 20 years is the new site of the Entrepreneurial Center located in the heart of Birmingham's Downtown West Urban Redevelopment District.

Investment

  • NMTC Amount: $14,400,000
  • Total Project Cost: $17,408,000

IMPACT

  • 345 FTE jobs
  • 86 construction jobs

Investor

Project Description

An old Sears store that lay vacant for over 20 years is the new site of the Entrepreneurial Center located in the heart of Birmingham’s Downtown West Urban Redevelopment District. The $17.8 million renovation project includes the redevelopment of an entire city block in a run down section of downtown Birmingham. The Sears building has become the consolidated space for the Business Incubator for the Entrepreneurial Center (EC) and the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) Biotechnology / Life Sciences Incubator (OADI). The combined effort was renamed The Innovation Depot. The CDE, Wachovia Community Development Enterprises, (WCDE) offered NMTC financing of $14 million from its 2005 allocation.

MAP

Address: 1531 Second Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35206

Census Tract: 1073001902

PDF Profile

Other Alabama Projects

An expansion of Camp McDowell, a private retreat and camp that primarily serves people with disabilities and low-income persons.
NMTC equity helped fund the construction of a 105,000-sq. ft. office building at Auburn University in Alabama.
The relocation of a Canadian based company to Alabama where it opened a packaging facility.
Financing for a multi-use facility that anchors Jones ValleyTeaching Farm and creates an inviting permanent infrastructure that will reach more students, teachers, and surrounding community members—locally, regionally, and nationally.