The Hardwick’s renovation has begun, right on the Rotary Trail

We were just asking ourselves the other day when construction would begin on The Hardwick. We’ve been writing about this old steel plant for two years now, and can’t wait to see its transformation. Good news: construction has now begun, and we can’t wait to see the results when the building’s finished in early 2024.

A little backstory on The Hardwick, ICYMI

The Hardwick is a 111-year-old steel processing plant located on the eastern end of the Rotary Trail downtown, just across from the most colorful warehouse in town, which is home to the Good Dog Park & Bar. 

• We got an inside look at plans for The Hardwick, and it’s even better than we imagined
• Look for new life at the old Hardwick building at the end of the Rotary Trail in Birmingham (PHOTOS)

Location, location, location

The Hardwick’s located in a prime spot to serve as a community hub. It’s right on the ever-expanding Red Rock Trail System, which will eventually connect to Pepper Place. 

From The Hardwick, people will be able to walk or ride to trails, parks, bike lanes and sidewalks throughout Jefferson County. 

The multi-million dollar makeover—what to expect

Here’s some of what we can expect to see: 

• 61,000 SF mixed-use community hub featuring office + restaurant space (including Nashville-based Epice)
• Environmentally sustainable features, including:
  • Parking bioswale (this is a beautiful, vegetation-rich area that captures water runoff)
  • Indigenous plant life 
  • State-of-the-art low energy consumption HVAC 
  • Repurposed raw materials from the historic building
• Unbeatable views of the downtown skyline
• Access to downtown’s amenities

“What’s really unique about The Hardwick is we are giving second life to this former steel manufacturing plant and revamping it into some really dynamic office space along with ground-level restaurants and retail.

It’s going to tie into the Rotary Trail and become an anchor at the end of the block. It’s going to celebrate the history of this downtown area while turning it into a community asset.”

Brittany Foley, Principal, Williams Blackstock Architects

Meet the team behind The Hardwick’s renovation

• Bayer Properties: brings knowledge from the multiple award-winning redevelopment of The Pizitz 
• The Opal Fund: lead equity investor with a nearly $19M Qualified Opportunity Fund raised in 2021 by a benefit corporation subsidiary of Opportunity Alabama
• Williams Blackstock Architects: architect
• Stewart Perry: general contractor
• Schoel Engineering: engineering services

Anticipated completion date is set for early 2024.

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