Birmingham
has more
innovators.
More innovators, creators, movers and shakers call The Switch home.
The Switch is the place to innovate in downtown Birmingham – where big ideas drive economic growth and strengthen the vibrant identity of the district.
The Switch is an emerging district that is fueling a vibrant innovation-based ecosystem. Equipped with a rare combination of real-estate value and proximity to innovative resources, it’s the place for visionaries, creators and startups to go for information and community.
Where trains once drove, innovation now flows.
Railroad tracks used to crisscross the historic 14th Street Switchyard. Many of our structures still curve to frame where rails once were.
Now, ideas, information and energy are what flow through the area as we build The Switch – Birmingham’s destination for innovation. Discover why now is the ideal time to locate your business in The Switch.
Where is The Switch?
The Switch is nestled between Birmingham’s City Center, Civil Rights and Parkside districts. Its 20 blocks are home to a variety of businesses and organizations — from tech startups to nonprofits to home design and creative production companies. As of Q4 2023, the district sees an average of 1,089 employee visitors every weekday. Check out the list below for an idea of who you’ll find in The Switch.
Key Players
Who is behind The Switch?
These partners who anchor the city’s innovation ecosystem collaborate to drive The Switch forward.
- Alabama Power, an electric utility committed to encouraging and supporting economic growth throughout Alabama
- Birmingham Bound, an initiative to build up the Magic City’s tech ecosystem and make Birmingham the place to grow and scale a tech company
- Birmingham Business Alliance, an economic development agency working to help businesses start, stay and succeed in the Greater Birmingham Region
- Innovation Depot, one of the largest technology incubators in the Southeast
- REV Birmingham, a place-based revitalization and economic development nonprofit
- TechStars, Alabama’s only energy tech focused accelerator
- Tech Birmingham, a nonprofit working to strengthen and advocate for the region’s technology ecosystem
- Urban Impact Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to removing barriers for Black entrepreneurs
District Highlights
Why do business in The Switch?
The Switch is the place for innovators in Birmingham. Now is the perfect time to locate, launch and grow your business here. The Switch has:
Opportunity
Adjacent to the historic City Center, The Switch is primed and ready for redevelopment. This emerging district is in an Opportunity Zone, HUBZone and qualifies for other economic development-related programs. The Switch is also packed with historic warehouses and small-footprint buildings. These spaces are blank canvasses in need of visionaries with an eye for cool, creative and collaborative environments.
Special BID services
The Switch is a subdistrict of the Downtown Birmingham Business Improvement District (BID). This means businesses located within the boundaries of the subdistrict are eligible for benefits like CAP Clean and Safe services and unique promotional opportunities. Learn more about the Downtown BHM BID.
Gigabit Internet Connectivity
The Switch welcomes internet power users with the infrastructure to support their innovative needs.
STEM Jobs
The Switch has an ever-growing number of STEM jobs — and STEM workers ready to support local! — in close proximity to your business.
Walkability
On the south side of The Switch is the Parkside district, making more than 2,000 residential units and Birmingham’s award-winning Railroad Park easily walkable. On the north side of The Switch is the historic Civil Rights District and Fourth Avenue Business District, which attracts international visitors. To the east is the historic City Center, which is home to many renowned restaurants and bars.
Easy Transportation Access
The Switch has easy access to area expressways, the Birmingham airport, public transportation and the Central Business District.
City Center Master Plan
Flipping The Switch
The 2020 Birmingham City Center Master Plan identified The Switch as a “Strategic Opportunity Area” and included several renderings envisioning what under-utilized buildings could be. Use the slider below to see what an investment in The Switch could do:
Contact Us
Want to learn more about becoming a part of The Switch?
Our team will help you identify spaces and opportunities to open, move, or grow your business in The Switch.
The Switch News
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About the Business Improvement District
Did you know The Switch is part of Downtown Birmingham’s Business Improvement District (BID)?
A BID is enabled by ordinance as a district where property owners formally pool their resources to provide supplemental services to build on those provided by the city—sidewalk sweeping, trash removal, security, special events, marketing programs and more.
It’s paid for by those property owners via a special assessment. Think of it as a homeowner’s association for a district. Those extra services can make districts more competitive by creating a cleaner, more attractive district and giving it a distinctive identity.
Click below to discover how the Downtown Birmingham BID is making magic happen throughout the city.
Clean and Safe Services
CAP is in The Switch for you!
Ensuring that downtown feels safe and clean to its residents, employees and visitors is the foundation for creating vibrant places! Downtown’s CAP Clean & Safe Program is one of those extra services funded by the Business Improvement District (BID).
CAP Ambassadors welcome you to The Switch, patrolling on foot, Segways and bikes. Their visibility and attention often deter bad behavior and activities, and they look for opportunities to help people and tidy up the district as they’re out and about.
How can CAP help you? Call 205-251-0111 to request help within The Switch subdistrict of the Downtown Birmingham BID.