Our History
Members of the Sloss family have been helping to transform the skyline of Birmingham since the 19th century when Colonel James Withers Sloss founded the giant furnaces on First Avenue North that forged the Magic City’s future in iron and steel. Over a century later, the Colonel’s great-great granddaughter serves as president of a company that continues to redefine the city’s future through a wide variety of urban renovation and construction projects.
Catherine Sloss Crenshaw is the president of Sloss Real Estate, a multi-disciplined real estate firm headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Her grandfather, A. Page Sloss, founded the company in 1920, and her father, A. Page Sloss, Jr., served as company president for many years before becoming chairman of the board. They also work tirelessly for the revitalization and enhancement of Birmingham’s unique commercial districts, believing that the city itself is important to and provides identity for the entire metropolitan area.
Their work began in the Lakeview district, where the company spearheaded a public/private initiative that created a master plan for the redevelopment of the 36-block area. It includes Pepper Place, where Sloss Real Estate has renovated 11 buildings to transform a group of abandoned warehouses into Birmingham’s premier design center. Pepper Place also includes a Farmers’ Market, theater, and restaurants, and has been featured in magazines and on television regionally and nationally as an example of significant urban redevelopment.
Other ventures include renovation of the former Southern Living Building and its neighbor, the quarter-million-square-foot First Commercial Bank Building. Both were redeveloped into Class “A” office space. The former Rust Building became Ridge Park, offering one of the finest views of downtown Birmingham in the city Ridge Park played a major role in the $100 million reinvestment into the surrounding Highland Avenue area. These and other projects have earned Sloss numerous awards for design, construction, landscaping, and preservation.
While a number of the most recognized features on Birmingham’s skyline bear the Sloss Real Estate signature, Sloss has also become involved in new construction, One Federal Place, an 11-story building, jointly developed by Sloss and Atlanta’s Barry Real Estate Company, added 300,000 square feet of Class “A” office space, new retail businesses, and a pocket park and international fountain to downtown Birmingham. The $50 million glass and granite structure is the largest downtown office construction project in over a decade. Plans to redevelop the Old Federal Reserve building on the same block are also underway.
In November 2000, Sloss Real Estate and its partner, Integral Properties, were awarded the Hope VI Project. Demolition began in February 2002, on six blocks of public housing known as Metropolitan Gardens. Twelve city blocks are included in the Hope VI master plan, which will offer lofts, townhouses and flats, parks, schools, offices, and retail space. A. Page Sloss expresses optimism about the potential for Hope VI to “change the way people feel about visiting and living in downtown Birmingham.”
Birmingham has always been a great place.” Cathy Crenshaw adds. Our extensive tree cover, varying topography, and beautiful historic buildings are something everyone should be proud of. We’re happy to be a part of the ongoing work of creating community in this wonderful city.”
