A $45 million project is transforming one of Birmingham’s most iconic buildings into a 117-room luxury hotel. The Empire Building, to be called the Empire Hotel, is at the heart of a project to bring two Marriott hotels and a gourmet restaurant to the city center. The Empire will also include a gym, lounge, meeting space and rooftop bar. Next door, the former Alagasco building is becoming a select service Marriott hotel with 120 rooms. Local high-profile chef, Chris Hastings, owner of Hot and Hot Fish Club, is creating a restaurant concept for the project. The finish date is projected for summer 2016. Built in 1909, the 16-story Empire building is one of four early Birmingham skyscrapers anchoring First Avenue North and 20th Street. People were so taken with the magnitude of the grouping they referred to the location as “The Heaviest Corner on Earth.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaviest_Corner_on_Earth
