AC Hotels building at dusk on a city corner, with lit lobby windows and people gathered on the sidewalk outside — A rendering of a completed AC & Element Hotel in Birmingham. (Ascent Hospitality)

One of Birmingham’s oldest and largest buildings is getting a new lease on life—and a morning pick-me-up to boot! Located on the northeast side of the Heaviest Corner on Earth, the historic Brown-Marx building is being renovated as a 338-room dual-branded hotel by hotel development and management company Ascent Hospitality. Read on for an update on the project, including the addition of a new Starbucks location in downtown Birmingham.

New dual-branded AC & Element Hotel coming to downtown Birmingham

Tall historic high-rise building with an AC Hotels by Marriott sign at street level, viewed from a busy city corner at dusk — A rendering of a completed AC & Element Hotel in Birmingham. (Ascent Hospitality)

Completed in 1906, the Brown Marx Tower is a 16-story, 210-foot-tall building and one of the four towers that make up the Heaviest Corner on Earth, a nickname given to the intersection of 20th Street North and 1st Avenue North. The nickname referred to the rapid construction of the four towers within a relatively short time frame, from 1902 to 1912.

In 2019, Ascent Hospitality began a full-scale redevelopment of the 120-year-old tower for a dual-branded AC & Element hotel, totaling 338 rooms:

The AC Hotel by Marriott portion will feature 190 rooms and will be geared toward business-oriented guests.
The Element Hotel by Marriott portion will feature 148 rooms and will be designed for short- and long-term stays.

Ascent Hospitality previously redeveloped downtown Birmingham’s Empire Building as the Elyton Hotel, a boutique Marriot Autograph Collection hotel featuring 111 rooms and 6 suites, a ground-level restaurant dubbed The Yard and a rooftop bar, Moon Shine. A few years later, the property management group opened the neighboring Fairfield Inn & Suites right next to the Elyton Hotel.

Starbucks approved for new AC & Element Hotel

Exterior evening view of AC Hotel Birmingham, showing its illuminated entrance and guests gathered outside on the city street — A rendering of the AC & Element Hotel in Birmingham. (Ascent Hospitality)

As discussed during the meeting of the Birmingham Design Review Committee (DRC) on Wednesday, Sept. 23, the AC & Element Hotel will be home to a new Starbucks location in downtown Birmingham. The new Starbucks will be full-service and will be located on the corner of 20th Street N and 1st Avenue N, making it a convenient stop not just for guests at the AC & Element Hotel, but for travelers staying at two existing boutique hotels on the same block: