Entrepreneurial Center revamp set Geotech firm gets new site

BYLINE: DAWN KENT News staff writer

GALLET & ASSOCIATES INC.

Birmingham-based Gallet & Associates Inc. is moving its headquarters downtown to an area that is gaining a reputation as a hub for entrepreneurs.

The firm, which offers geotechnical, environmental and materials testing and consulting services, bought the former Entrepreneurial Center at 110 12th St. North for $2 million.

Plans call for a $750,000 renovation project that will include a new facade and interior work. The firm is targeting an Aug. 1 move-in date.

The Entrepreneurial Center has moved into the nearby Innovation Depot, along with UAB's Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries. The new business incubator opened Monday. Alain Gallet, senior principal for Gallet & Associates, said his firm needed space to grow, and he likes the central location of his new office, especially its proximity to Interstate 65.

''I always wanted to be in that area,'' Gallet said.

The firm's existing office, which covers about 21,000 square feet, is on Beacon Parkway West.

The new office, with about 47,000 square feet, will house about 100 Gallet employees, as well as technology firm Verari, which is already there.

For the exterior renovations, Gallet plans a stucco finish that is similar to the look of Innovation Depot. He also plans to replace the building's glass front with windows to make it look more like an office.

New landscaping and a wrought-iron fence also are a part of the plans.

Started in Birmingham in 1989, Gallet & Associates has 12 offices in five states and about 170 employees.

Susan Matlock, president and CEO of Innovation Depot, said Gallet's plans are part of a growing energy in the area.

''To me, it's about the strongest statement that could have been made in moving this area further toward a true entrepreneurial district,'' she said. ''To have someone like Alain Gallet come in and make it their headquarters complements what's going on with Innovation Depot.''

Williams Blackstock Architects, who designed Innovation Depot, also is designing Gallet's renovated space.

John Hardin of Southpace Properties Inc. represented Gallet in the transaction. Ogden Deaton and Walter Brown of Graham & Co. Inc. represented the Entrepreneurial Center.

EMAIL: dkent@bhamnews.com