Reviewed by: Pat Byington
City Council committee agrees to fund workspace project for graduates of Innovation Depot
Reading time: 2 minutes
Birmingham is moving towards being home to a world-class facility for growing start-up businesses.
The Birmingham City Council‘s Economic Development & Tourism Committee agreed to fund Nextec, LLC to redevelop and rehabilitate the Edwards Motor Company Building (formerly Sticks ‘N’ Stuff) to use as flexible workspace and collaboration areas for start-up businesses graduating from Innovation Depot.
More on the exciting project
The project will turn the 65,000-square-foot building, located at 1531 3rd Avenue North, into an affordable space for graduates of Innovation Depot to continue to grow.
“It is a world class facility, It is built on the idea of capturing and retaining all of those micro enterprises that are birthed out of Innovation Depot and placing them in an affordable space so that they can continue to incubate and accelerate to a point where they can afford their own brick-and-mortar.”
Wesley Cornell, Director, Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, City of Birmingham
The project funding agreement
According to the proposal, “the City will provide incentives in support of the project to be paid in five annual installments of $400,000 each, provided certain leasing milestones are met, for a total incentive of up to $2,000,000.”
The measure will need to passed by the City Council.
This project will support the growth of Birmingham’s entrepreneurial and tech-enabled community.
“It’s the sweet spot, it’s the intermediate area that positions Birmingham as a tech center and hub as we wrap infrastructure around that community in the form of a world-class facility like Nextec.”
Wesley Cornell, Director, Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, City of Birmingham
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