Plans Announced For Historic Birmingham Property

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Building on its knowledge of adaptive reuse, Birmingham-based Bayer Properties has contracted to purchase The Hardwick, a 110-year-old steel plant located downtown on the eastern end of Birmingham’s Rotary Trail. The company plans to redevelop the industrial structure into a mixed-use community hub featuring office and restaurant space.

Formerly occupied by The Hardwick Company, Inc., the building historically served as a fabricated and prefabricated steel processing plant among other uses. With an existing 30,000 square feet of space, the current structure is expandable up to 50,000 square feet by adding additional floors to the building.

To complete the Hardwick project, Bayer will apply knowledge from the redevelopment of The Pizitz, a former 1920s department store that was transformed into a mixed-use destination and reopened in spring 2017.

“At Bayer, we are consistently seeking meaningful opportunities where we believe we can create places people love. After successfully redeveloping The Pizitz in downtown Birmingham, we have carefully explored and considered additional adaptive reuse projects within our city’s urban core,” said Libby Lassiter, co-president of Bayer Properties. “The redevelopment of the Hardwick Building will bring a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use project to the area, complementing the fabric of the surrounding neighborhood.”

Bayer has selected Birmingham-based Williams Blackstock Architects and Schoel Engineering as part of the initial design team. Construction on the redevelopment is slated to begin in 2021.

“We are committed to helping Birmingham continue its role as a leading destination for businesses and travelers alike and are confident that the redeveloped Hardwick will play a role in this vision,” said Lassiter.

Located along the Red Rock Trail System planned to connect to Pepper Place, the future community hub will offer a walkable link to the trails, parks, bike lanes and sidewalks throughout Jefferson County. As of last year, the system includes a total of 115 completed miles of trail.