The Seaboard Air Line RR freight depot was built in 1905.
In 2019 the freight depot is used as the ALAGASCO Center for Energy Technology. See: (
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From Alabama.com: (
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"Alagasco center powered by natural gas gets green certification
By Martin Swant
September 21, 2010 at 6:30 AM, updated September 21, 2010 at 6:57 AM
Alagasco has turned an old red brick depot in downtown Birmingham green in an effort to promote the clean attributes of natural gas and the ease of energy efficiency.
The utility in February debuted its Center for Energy Technology, a building powered completely by natural gas -- and using it in every way possible. Alagasco built the energy-efficient center within the walls of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad depot, a structure erected in 1905, near the new Railroad Park.
"The center is a model for sustainability and energy efficiency, which ties in perfectly with the Railroad Restoration Park," said Beth McKern, advertising coordinator for Alagasco. "Alagasco hopes we are setting a trend for what could be a new environmental district downtown."
The $2 million project, located at 20 20th St. South, received a silver Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification in August by the U.S. Green Building Council. The council's website states that the LEED certification service provides verification that a building was designed and built with energy savings and water efficiency in mind.
One room in the building serves as a test kitchen, where restaurant owners and chefs can cook a meal to see whether natural gas or electric appliances work more efficiently and which makes the better final product, said James Robinson, manager of national accounts for commercial foodservice for Alagasco.
Robinson said this allows restaurant industry workers to "test-drive" equipment before buying it in stores. Many of the appliances in the kitchen are Energy Star rated.
Fekry Ismail, an architect who attended a conference at the center last Thursday for architects interested in LEED-certified buildings, said he was impressed with the building.
"It speaks for itself," Ismail said of how the building serves as an educational tool by its design.
One of the goals for the project was to tie the benefits of natural gas with the chance to highlight efficiencies in the market place, said Robert Thuston, Alagasco's architects and engineering market coordinator.
Thuston said creating a LEED-certifiable building doesn't have to be much more expensive than normal construction. He said there are between 10 and 15 LEED-certified buildings in Birmingham.
Those who worked for Alagasco on the Center for Energy Technology said the few extra thousand dollars spent to help it qualify for LEED were a small capital investment, which will receive even greater rewards through informing businesses and consumers of energy efficiency. The center was designed by Williams Blackstock Architects.
Trevor Matchett, a LEED-certified architect with Hendon + Huckestein Architects, said construction costs are fairly small if LEED requirements are kept in mind toward the beginning of a project's design. Matchett, who didn't work on the Alagasco center, said LEED certification also serves as a marketing tool, if it's used to showcase a business.
But focus on green buildings might have broader economic impact than just for the business doing the project.
"Researchers predict that 50 percent of non-residential buildings in the U.S. will become green buildings in the next four years, pumping $554 billion into the American economy and creating 8 million jobs," according to Green Building Focus, a Birmingham-based organization that aims to further the study of sustainable construction."