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September 7, 2018

Revitalized Pizitz building wins top national award for historic preservation

The Pizitz building, a project financed and partly owned by Stonehenge Capital, has been named Best Historic Project in the 2018 Marvin Architects Challenge.

Stonehenge Capital provided New Markets Tax Credit and Historic Tax Credit consulting and expertise and invested nearly $7 million into efforts to renovate the Pizitz, a historic landmark in Birmingham, Alabama.

Located in Birmingham’s historic Theater District, the building sat vacant for nearly 30 years before the neighborhood was targeted by the city for redevelopment. Originally built in the 1920s as a department store, the Pizitz reopened in 2016 as a mixed-use development that includes 143 apartments, an open-air marketplace and shared workspace. The building is LEED certified for meeting high environmental and energy-efficiency standards.

Stonehenge partnered with Birmingham-based Bayer Properties and New Orleans-based firm Wisznia Architecture and Development, which told Alabama News Center that the iconic building presented a unique challenge to architects and designers aiming to upgrade the Pizitz to 21st century standards while also preserving its historical charm.

Stonehenge Capital President Thomas Adamek recently praised the project, noting, “We support innovative projects with far-reaching impact such as the Pizitz development, which is poised to transform Birmingham’s Theater District.”

The annual Marvin Architects Challenge includes seven categories, with one project selected as the winner of each challenge. The Pizitz took home the prize for Best Historic Project, which recognizes properties that have been “altered or added to a historic building to meet continuing or new uses while retaining the building’s historic character,” according to the Marvin Architects website.

You can learn more about the Pizitz in Stonehenge’s Community Impact Report.