Armour & Co. building

The Armour & Co. building (also known as the Omni Building) is a 4-story, 40,000 square foot building located at 2309 1st Avenue North in downtown Birmingham.

The building was constructed in 1911 as a hog-processing facility and distribution center for Armour & Company meatpackers. In the 1960s the business was operated by Arnold Institutional Foods. It housed the offices of Boise Cascade office supplies in the 1990s.

Photographer Liesa Cole purchased the building in 2000 and launched her Omni Studios business there in 2004.

In 2016 the building was purchased by Christopher Architecture, who partnered with Blue Tongue Development to plan for its conversion into 30 apartments above ground-floor commercial tenant space. Stidco Construction was brought on as general contractor.

Construction was delayed until 2020 as the developers, reorganized as Premium Property, worked to secure a $1.9 million Historic Preservation Tax Credit and Opportunity Zone financing. Revised plans, which expanded the floor area to 58,000 square feet, included 24 one-to-three bedroom apartments, plus co-working space and 20,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space. Narnia Construction succeeded Stidco as contractor.

In May 2024 the Birmingham City Council agreed to provide five years of tax abatement incentives not to exceed $450,000 to Rollins Montgomery's Armour House LLC support the development of an Armour House restaurant and Pogo speakeasy in the building.

References

• Godwin, Brent (December 1, 2016) "Mixed-use project planned for historic building downtown." Birmingham Business Journal
• Van der Bijl, Hanno (March 10, 2020) "Mixed-use development in works for historic downtown building." Birmingham Business Journal
• Leech, Marie (May 17, 2024) "Fine dining restaurant and speakeasy plans opening in Birmingham's historic district." Birmingham Business Journal

External links

• Armour & Co. building website