Powell Avenue itself will now be an integral part of the Powell Avenue Steam Plant redevelopment project.

The Birmingham City Council unanimously approved vacating the block of Powell Avenue adjacent to the steam plant Tuesday, allowing the redevelopment to incorporate the 26,296-square-foot stretch (an area about the size of two Olympic swimming pools ) of Powell Avenue between 18th and 19th Streets South.

The property will become part of an expansive urban plaza in front of the revitalized steam plant to provide a pedestrian-friendly connector between Railroad Park and the future Rotary Trail.

“With the street vacation approved, and much of the stabilization work on the historic steam plant completed, fences will soon go up around the entire Powell Avenue Steam Plant and plaza space so that work on the project can safely proceed,” according to a progress update on the Powell Avenue Steam Plant site.