Birmingham plans major redevelopment of 105-year old port and iconic steel plant

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Birmingham city leaders unveiled new plans aimed at revitalizing the western area of the city, by redeveloping what was once the South’s most productive steel plant.

The plant also includes facility improvements at the city’s 105-year old port.

Using a $2 million grant from the state of Alabama’s SEEDS program, designed to help prepare large sites for economic development, the city will “focus on creating a master plan and conducting environmental studies for approximately 500 acres at the former U.S. Steel Ensley Works site, as well as improving the Birmingport facility,” according to a news release.

The Ensley Works, a steel plant that operated between 1888 and 1976, was owned by the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company, and became part of U.S. Steel in 1907. For most of that time, Ensley Works was the biggest producer of steel ingots and rail in the southern U.S.

Its towering smokestacks are still visible near the 20th Street viaduct in Ensley, although the plant has been idle and mostly abandoned for decades.

“This $2 million investment is about positioning Birmingham for long-term economic growth,” said Mayor Randall Woodfin in a statement.

“We’re taking deliberate steps to prepare the Western Corridor for the next generation of industry. By investing in site readiness now, we are sending a clear message that Birmingham is open for business and ready to compete for high-quality jobs that will benefit our residents for decades to come.”

According to the city, the goal is to build on Birmingham’s transportation infrastructure to attract new businesses - national and global manufacturing and logistics companies - while supporting current employers.

Near Ensley Works, Birmingport - also known as Port Birmingham - is a river port and rail terminal located on the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River, originally developed in 1920.

Although many residents of Birmingham may be largely unaware of its existence, the port has been in continual use.

The logistics company Watco has a 182-acre Port Birmingham Terminal, with five barge docks and a heavy-lift crane for moving steel, coal and other commodities such as synthetic gypsum, scrap and pig iron.

In 2025, Birmingport opened a 25,000 square foot warehouse facility designed to accommodate cold rolled steel coils for logistics operations.

Much of the activity at Birmingport supports the auto manufacturing industry.

City council members touted the new plans for the Ensley plant and the port as a potential boon to the western area and the city’s economic future.

“This is an important step toward unlocking the full potential of our Western Corridor,” District 8 City Councilor Sonja Smith said in a statement.

“With a renewed focus on smart development, we are positioning our district to compete for major employers from across the country and bring real opportunities to the people who live here. I’m optimistic that this effort will bring fresh energy, expand opportunity, and help ensure lasting prosperity for families right here at home.”

Council Pro Tem LaTanya Tate of District 9 described the plans as “ultimately about investing in people.”

“When we create real pathways to stable, well-paying jobs, we strengthen families and give our young people reasons to believe their future is right here at home,” Tate said in her statement.

“Economic opportunity is one of the most effective tools we have to make our neighborhoods safer and more vibrant. By preparing this site for new industry and growth, we’re building hope for our entire community.”

The city said that planning and evaluation work will begin immediately.

But this is not the first time the Ensley Works has been targeted by local leaders for development.

“In 1988 USX, the City of Birmingham and Auburn University partnered on a $100,000 study of the best uses for the 700-acre property,“ as detailed on the website Bhamwiki.

”The recommendation was to develop an industrial park which could anchor a larger redevelopment project for western Birmingham over the course of 15 to 20 years. The partners recommended saving at least some of the eight smokestacks as reminders of the site’s history and as a visual landmark to identify the development. ...

“A four-lane parkway through the center of the site would eventually connect to the Birmingham Airport and USX’s Fairfield Works and function as a major east-west route across the northern section of Birmingham, reducing congestion on I-20/59. That plan never moved forward."

In 1998, Jefferson County was considering the Ensley Works site for the location of a new county jail.

Two years later, then-Fairfield Mayor Larry Langford and well-known local politician John Katopodis were proposing the Ensley Works as “the terminus for a canal connecting the city to the Black Warrior River, with a freight harbor and platform for riverboat launches,” Bhamwiki notes.

In 2007, the Birmingham News ran a story under the headline, “U.S. Steel agrees to help rehab old Ensley Works site.”

Three years later, the News headline read, “Interest in old Ensley Works renews as industrial site.” And a year after that, the headline in the News proclaimed, “Birmingham steel mill site may be development magnet.”

The 2026 plan, according to city leaders, “will help turn once-thriving industrial land into a new engine for job growth and economic expansion. This effort will help diversify Birmingham’s economy and create more opportunities for residents.”

Courtesy: www.al.com