The Community
Parkside District
Located within the Southside neighborhood, Birmingham’s Parkside District has become one of the most attractive locations over the last few years. With the creation of Railroad Park and Regions Field it has even become a popular destination for those outside of downtown Birmingham. Just north of UAB and Children’s Hospital, employees seek the convenience of Parkside. This area continues to grow with local attractions such as Good People Brewing and the Negro Southern League Museum. We believe that the growth of the Parkside District contributes immensely to the revitalization of downtown Birmingham and we look forward to cultivating that growth.
Railroad Park is a 19 acre green space in downtown Birmingham that celebrates the industrial and artistic heritage of our great city. Situated along 1st Avenue South, between 14th and 18th Streets, the park is a joint effort between the City of Birmingham and the Railroad Park Foundation. Hailed as “Birmingham’s Living Room,” Railroad Park provides a historically rich venue for local recreation, family activities, concerts, and cultural events, while connecting Birmingham’s downtown area with Southside and UAB’s campus.
Groundbreaking took place for the new Regions Field located in downtown Birmingham on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012. Construction for the Barons new ballpark took 14 months to complete. In April of 2013, the Birmingham Barons Baseball Club played their first game in their new ballpark. The state-of-the-art 8,500 seat facility in the heart of downtown replaced Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, the home of the Barons since 1988. The crown jewel of Birmingham’s newly developed Parkside District features a variety of unique seating areas, creating an intimate atmosphere and offering unique views of the downtown skyline, UAB, Children’s Hospital, Vulcan and Red Mountain.
An explosion of retail space, hip new lofts, professional baseball and a slew of breweries, restaurants, coffee shops and bars have made downtown Birmingham a must-experience to everyone who comes here.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public R1 research university in Birmingham, Alabama. The UAB Health System, one of the largest academic medical centers in the United States, is affiliated with the university.
UAB is the state’s largest single employer, with more than 23,000 faculty and staff and over 53,000 jobs at the university and in the health system. An estimated 10 percent of the jobs in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area and 1 in 31 jobs in the state of Alabama are directly or indirectly related to UAB. The university’s overall annual economic impact was estimated to be $7.15 billion in 2017.
Since 1911, Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children. Ranked among the best pediatric medical centers in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s provided care for youngsters from every county in Alabama, 42 other states and seven foreign countries last year, representing more than 677,000 outpatient visits and more than 15,000 inpatient admissions. With more than 2 million square feet, it is one of the largest pediatric medical facilities in the United States. Children’s offers inpatient and outpatient services across its Russell Campus on Birmingham’s historic Southside. Children’s of Alabama is the only medical center in Alabama dedicated solely to the care and treatment of children. It is a private, not-for-profit medical center that serves as the primary site of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) pediatric medicine, surgery, psychiatry, research and residency programs.