Congratulations to our own Celia Gannaway who was named as a recipient for the Birmingham Business Journal 2024 NextGen: Real Estate & Construction Awards! This special issue will feature up-and-coming professionals in the real estate and construction fields who are emerging leaders in Birmingham.
2024 Top 40 Under 40 - Amanda Fowler
Congratulations to Amanda Fowler for being named a Top 40 Under 40 by the Birmingham Business Journal! Amanda is an exemplary leader in our firm and in our community. As CFO, her impact has been transformative, steering the company to unprecedented growth and success while playing a crucial role in the well-being of our community.
Starting as CFO/Controller in 2016, she became an equity partner in 2021 based on her record of guiding and driving the financial success of the firm over the last eight years. Amanda is not only a dynamic leader, but also supports the broad operations and health of the firm from a financial perspective.
2023 Top 40 Under 40 - Brittany Foley
Congratulations to Brittany Foley for being named a Top 40 Under 40 by the Birmingham Business Journal!
She is a key leader within the organization and was recently promoted to an equity partner. As a preservation architect with expertise in urban redevelopments, she promotes sympathetic and creative strategies to repurpose underutilized historic buildings into meaningful community assets in the state. In addition to a range of adaptive reuse projects, she has experience with projects utilizing the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program, Opportunity Zones and New Market Tax Credits. She has been instrumental in the adaptive reuse of the Hood McPherson into the new Auburn University Center in Birmingham and the restoration of Fort Morgan National Historic Landmark in Gulf Shores with the Alabama Historical Commission.
New Frontiers for Historic Tax Credit
Brittany Foley, a preservation architect, talks about the opportunities for historic tax credits and the transformational spaces that preserve historic roots in the Magic City in the Birmingham Business Journal.
The Federal Reserve's Historic Lobby is pictured in a post-2015 renovation, thanks to historic tax credits. The renovation architect was Williams Blackstock with Capstone Real Estate Investments.
A 110-year-old warehouse, dubbed The Hardwick on the Rotary Trail, located at 23rd Street South is currently being renovated. The $24 million project will transform the building that was once the home of a fabricated and prefabricated steel-processing plant into office, retail and restaurant space. The Hardwick’s previous life as an open-air warehouse required extensive mechanical and electrical work to make the planned multi-floor bay possible.
“We’re doing some things that are very technical inside the building, and rather complex, in order for it be able to be serviced as a multi-level office space with the restaurants on the ground floor, Foley said. We’re pretty much weaving structure inside of an existing building and then reinforcing walls that are just cantilevered in place right now.”
2021 BBJ Building Birmingham Award Winners
KMS and The Historic Greyhound Station were announced as winners of the 2021 Birmingham Business Journal Building Birmingham Awards.
KMS (Kemp Management Solutions)
Winner of 2021 Building Birmingham Awards
Birmingham’s Lakeview District has gained new life with the renovation of an existing warehouse space along the Second Avenue South Pepper Place corridor. The vision for this 12,000sf corporate headquarters to maintain the spirit and bones of this old masonry warehouse was achieved through a series of modern adaptations to special building features such as the existing mezzanine supported from the roof deck above, and reuse of the generous amount of skylights.
The design for this family-owned business creates a professional home away from home. The setting combines professionalism and seriousness with that of a relaxed, comfortable family atmosphere for employees to gather, meet with clients, and provide focused work zones in several environments away from their desk.
Historic Greyhound Station
Winner of 2021 Building Birmingham Awards
The Historic Greyhound Bus Depot (1952) is located in the heart of the Birmingham Central Business District near Linn Park and City Hall. This facility was historically hailed as one of the largest Greyhound Bus Depots in the southeast and was in use until the late 2000s, where after Greyhound relocated and abandoned the original facility. Capstone purchased the building in 2018 with the intent to readapt the bus depot into Class A office space. The project is participating in the State and Federal Historic Tax Credit Program.
Williams Blackstock provided the programmatic planning and technical guidance to successfully readapt the Bus Depot into office space and meet the requirements of the Historic Tax Credit Program. WBA carefully studied the historic bus luggage area, waiting rooms, basement, and miscellaneous support spaces and developed a plan to sympathetically readapt the building into three separate office spaces, each with separate metering and dedicated building systems. Sight line studies were performed to thoughtfully locate roof top equipment to minimize visibility from the predominate streets.
Specified treatments for the rehabilitation of the historic plaster, cleaning of the exterior masonry and limestone, and the interior terrazzo refinishing were carefully provided. The iconic Streamline Moderne Greyhound marquee sign was completely rebuilt and the three-dimensional running dog was reconstructed and replaced above the entry. The aluminum windows are detailed to echo the historic design while also accommodating thermally broken fenestration systems that meet modern code.
Who's Who in Building
Congratulations to Joel Blackstock for being named Who’s Who in Building in this issue of the Birmingham Business Journal. Through his years of practice, he as become known as a visionary, an excellent listener to his client’s needs, and a dynamic creator of space through design. He tirelessly pursues the optimal design solution that will create lasting value, making communities and the world a better place.
Birmingham is Building– Check out BBJ's Crane Watch map
Check it out and see if you can find Williams Blackstock Architects' projects currently under construction. The Birmingham Business Journal has created a "Crane Watch" map to track various construction project happening in and around Birmingham.
Here are some projects to look for:
- Ronald McDonald House Expansion
- The Waites
- UAB Collat School of Business
- UAB School of Nursing Addition
#1 Architecture Firm in Birmingham — BBJ Book of Lists
We are honored to be recognized in Birmingham Business Journal's "Book of Lists" as the largest architecture firm in the area for the 6th consecutive year in a row.
WBA Ranks First in Birmingham's Top Architecture Firms
The Birmingham Business Journal has ranked Williams Blackstock Architects number one in their list of architecture firms in Birmingham.
“The top players on the List retained their spot since last year. Williams-Blackstock Architects PC tops the ranking with 21 architects in Birmingham offices…”
2016 Top 40 Under 40: Binx Newton, Williams Blackstock Architects
Binx Newton
Congratulations to Binx for achieving the Birmingham Business Journal's 2016 top 40 under 40.
A Principal since 2013, Binx leads many of our research laboratory, healthcare and higher education projects. H fosters team collaboration with a passionate drive for thoughtful solutions, attention to detail and careful execution of concepts to realize client aspirations. With a sencere desire to improve the quality of the environment, he leads the firm's sustainable design practice.
“Newton, 39, was the first employee to go from intern to principal at Williams Blackstock Architects, and he’s also leaving his mark on Birmingham.”