Birmingham’s skyline could get a lot bigger and brighter with ‘The Block’

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - NFL veteran and former Auburn star Karlos Dansby and his business partner Teddy Holloway are planning a 1.25 million-square-foot international entertainment destination called “The Block” near 19th and 20th streets along historic 2nd Avenue North.

“We haven’t had anything like this take place in this city in decades. So I want to be able to spearhead that,” Dansby said.

We’re talking about hotels, restaurants, bars, entertainment and music venues, condos and more. The development will also include a 48-story skyscraper known as “Dansby Tower”.

“This is more of your interactive, engagement so you have everything you need in there…virtual golf, bowling, every aspect of entertainment that we can bring indoors, we’re bringing it,” Holloway with The Ultimate Fan, Inc. said.

Dansby says they want to be able to tell a story within the development by incorporating Birmingham’s history.

When he was still playing football, Dansby says his goal was to come back to Birmingham to help revitalize the city. He and his team are also planning to open a handful of grocery stores too.

“We look at the cities around us and they are growing at a rapid rate and it’s just time for us to take that next step into the future and see what we can really do as a city as we come together,” Dansby said.

Within Dansby Tower, there will be a business incubator that helps people with their business ideas and development.

The hope is that this huge development or parts of it will be open in time for the 2022 World Games.

You can read more about “The Block” from our news partners at the Birmingham Business Journal here:

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