Reviewed by: Pat Byington
KultureCity acquires historic property in downtown Birmingham
Reading time: 2 minutes
Leading local nonprofit KultureCity is expanding its Birmingham footprint—one building at a time.
The nonprofit, which specializes in sensory inclusion and accessibility for individuals with sensory needs, recently aquired 2417 1st Ave N, a 102-year-old storefront along one of Birmingham’s most prominent downtown corridors.
What is KultureCity?
Founded in 2013, KultureCity is a leading nonprofit dedicated to promoting sensory inclusion and accessibility for people with sensory processing disorders, including autism, PTSD and dementia. Since it’s founding, KultureCity has since grown into an international movement active in 40 countries in five continents, and has teamed up with dozens of local entities to open sensory rooms at:
- The Birmingham Zoo
- Boutwell Auditorium
- Protective Stadium
- The BJCC
- Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport
- The Birmingham Museum of Art
- Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
In 2025, KultureCity inked an $11M deal with Alabama Power to purchase the historic Powell Steam Plant, an 80,105 square-foot former steam plant dating back to 1895. Located next to Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham, the steam plant is the future home of KultureCity’s National Accessibility Park—an exciting redevelopment of the structure that will include a museum, technical college, outdoor amphitheater and more.
About KultureCity’s latest acquisition
KultureCity’s latest acquisition is a 7,900-square-foot commercial building constructed in 1924. Located at 2417 1st Avenue N in downtown Birmingham, the one-story brick storefront will be used by KultureCity to house resources for sensory operations until the Powell Steam Plant project is complete.
“With the steam plant project close to breaking ground, we wanted to move our operations closer to downtown Birmingham. In addition, we plan to use a portion of the property as a staging office where people can come to learn more about KultureCity’s future plans for projects like the Powell Steam Plant.
KultureCity is very dedicated to the Birmingham area, and we want to help revitalize the city. This property was just the right call.”
Dr. Julian Maha, Co-Founder, KultureCity
The buyer of the property was a KultureCity associated entity called 100 Mile, LLC. The seller of the property was represented by John Tally of JB Tally, LLC.
Excited to see what KultureCity has planned for the new building? Tag us @bhamnow to let us know!
