Auburn President Steven Leath is seeking to expand the University’s academic presence in the state’s largest city.
Auburn already has a small academic footprint in Birmingham with the College of Architecture, Design and Construction’s Urban Studio program being the flagship.
The Urban Studio program, located in the heart of downtown, provides fifth-year architecture and interior architecture students hands-on experience in urban planning and design.
“As many of you know, we have a presence in Birmingham, but it’s kind of an understated presence,” Leath said at a Board of Trustees meeting earlier this month.
At the meeting, the board approved the purchase of a new facility in the downtown area, the Hood-McPherson Building. The total cost of the acquisition is expected to be about $1.55 million, and the new space will be used by the Urban Studio and other academic programs that could be added in the future.
Instead of renting more space for Urban Studio, the board chose to purchase a larger building that could provide future growth space.
“To fully enable Urban Studio, we would have to put about $3 million into a property we rent to update it, and then our rent would go up to about $250,000 a year,” Leath said. “And that doesn’t solve the long-term problem of having a real Auburn presence in Birmingham to serve the Birmingham community.”
Urban Studio is continuing to grow, and the University is looking to add more programs in the city.
“While the Urban Studio will serve as its anchor, we are considering several additional possibilities, such as the Auburn Executive MBA program, that would allow us to further extend our instruction, research and outreach mission in Birmingham,” Leath told The Plainsman.
The Hood-McPherson Building is located on 4th Avenue North in downtown. The six-story, 44,000-square-foot building was the former home of Hood-McPherson Furniture. The building has been long vacated, but it’s located in an up-and-coming neighborhood, which piqued Auburn’s interest, Leath said.
“This is an area that is coming up,” Leath said. “It’s a great space for a successful program. We can put Urban Studio in there, but then we have a greater vision for Birmingham.”
In addition to the executive MBA program, Leath said the University is considering putting Auburn University Foundation and Auburn Alumni Association offices in the building, too.
“I think Auburn has ceded away too much of our presence in Birmingham,” Leath said. “This is a place where we could raise a flag.”
In addition to the $1.55 million up-front purchasing cost, the building will also need renovations. But Leath said it is a better investment than leasing a building long-term if the University has plans for growth.
“We’re expanding Auburn’s role as a partnership university, so it puts us closer to business and industry in the area as well as Birmingham’s large population of alumni, friends and prospective students,” Leath told The Plainsman. “It also makes good financial sense for us by owning instead of leasing space.”
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Chip Brownlee, senior in journalism and political science, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.
