Governor Kay Ivey announced recently that a new technology park is coming to the Birmingham region, and that its impact will be substantial.
The Grand River Technology Park is slated to create 1,200 jobs, Ivey said, and will have an $85 million impact on the Birmingham region. The project is a partnership with the Alabama Department of Labor’s Abandoned Mine Land Program (ADOL AML), United States Steel Corp., the City of Birmingham, the Southern Museum of Flight, Jefferson County and the City of Leeds.
“This reclamation project has the potential to bring millions of dollars in economic impact, and hundreds of jobs to the greater Birmingham area,” Ivey said. “The new Grand River Technology Park will be a regional nexus for research and development, tourism, and light manufacturing. This project will bring positive improvements to the citizens who call this community home.”
In 2018, U.S. Steel and its community partners were given approval for a $6 million grant by the ADOL AML Pilot Program toward the development of the Grand River Technology Park. The park represents a multiphase opportunity to reclaim and transform approximately 105 acres of undeveloped land surrounding and including several pre-1977 abandoned coal mine lands in east Jefferson County, Ivey said.
“This funding is a vital step towards the development of the Grand River Technology Park,” said BBA Vice President of Economic Development Jeff Traywick. The BBA, along with Alabama Power Co., assisted with the project.
“This location has received many looks from prospective companies over the years due to its proximity to our top-notch workforce, as well as the Barber Motorsports Park. However, the topographic challenges and remnants of the former nearby mining operations were a hinderance to development. This now provides us the opportunity to market a newly developed site in a part of Birmingham that is attractive to high-end manufacturing and R&D companies.”