A Birmingham-based non-profit is currently working to acquire the city’s historic Powell Avenue Steam Plant to create what one board member calls an inspiration and innovation center for the disabled community.

KultureCity is currently in talks to acquire the property which was once Birmingham’s source for electrical power.

Founded in 2013, KultureCity provides several services to assist those with sensory processing disorders.

The project would be in keeping with the organization’s identity as a nonprofit with the disruptor character of a startup.

Attempts to reach the organization for comment were not immediately successful.

Actress Ming-Na Wen, a KultureCity board member, revealed in an Instagram post Sunday that she met with fellow board members – actress Jae Suh Park, UAB professor and KultureCity co-founder Dr. Michelle Kong, and actor and comedian Ken Jeong – to talk about the project.

In her post, she wrote:

“Now the hard work begins. The VISION? Transforming this massive depilated, abandoned, historical plant into the world’s first center that will provide inspiration, information and innovation for both the disability community and the community at large. It will be home to a museum to showcase & inspire those who’ve achieved in spite of their disabilities, a research facility, a place to offer counsel, info and sensory accessibility. BIG BIG GOALS!”

She also shared artist conceptions of the property.

Wen said she joined the board because of its work with autism, dementia, Parkinson’s, PTSD and other disabilities.

“In my family, we have several members with autism, dementia, and Parkinson’s,” she wrote. “Our son has RP, (retinitis pigmentosa). In fact, 1 in 4 individuals have sensory need or an invisible disability. So most of us are the people this org wants to help.”

The Powell Avenue Steam Plant, which once provided electricity for downtown and powered the city streetcar system, was listed in January for sale with an asking price of $10 million.

Situated at 1830 Powell Ave. S., the plant is listed with Shannon Waltchack, with Len Shannon and Derek Waltchack as brokers.

The 80,105 square foot structure, situated in the heart of downtown, was built in 1895 by the Consolidated Electric Light & Power Co.

In December, Alabama Power announced it was withdrawing from the planned redevelopment of the plant, which came after another plan of the company’s own devising stalled.

In a statement, Alabama Power said that it has “determined that the future of Powell Avenue should be led by a team with more expertise in commercial development.”

The decision came after “much consideration and more than a decade of hard work.”

The plant was acquired by Alabama Power in 1952 and was added in 2015 to the National Register of Historic Places.

Alabama Power and Orchestra Partners, a Birmingham-area real estate development group, announced a plan back in February 2022 to redevelop the steam plant as part of a general project for Parkside.

Alamo Drafthouse would have been the anchor tenant for the redevelopment project, along with retail and dining. It would have been the movie chain’s first location in the Deep South. But Alamo withdrew from the project.

The Alamo Drafthouse redevelopment was the third incarnation of a plan to redevelop the property. Orchestra Partners first unveiled a redevelopment in 2019, and before that, Alabama Power announced its own.