Equal Justice Initiative announces opening of Elevation Convening Center and Hotel
Elevation Covening Center and Hotel opens in Montgomery, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 – Photo from Equal Justice Initiative
The Equal Justice Initiative has announced the opening of phase one of the Elevation Convening Center and Hotel in downtown Montgomery.
EJI says Elevation will serve as a research center, convening space, art gallery and theater with overnight hotel accommodations. It will feature AYA Soulful Dining and Elevation Café, which will also be open to the community.
Ithaka Hospitality Group of Auburn will manage the day-to-day operations.
The project transformed the former Hilltop Arms Apartments, built in the 1950s and vacant for years, into a modern hotel and convening space. Its name also remembers the building’s original identity, perched on one of the highest points in Montgomery, which overlooks much of the rest of downtown.
Elevation Covening Center and Hotel opens in Montgomery, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 – Photo from Equal Justice Initiative
“We are very excited and proud to announce the opening of Elevation,” EJI founder and executive director Bryan Stevenson said. “By converting an abandoned structure that has been deteriorating for decades into something beautiful, we hope to provide refuge and comfort to the thousands of people who visit our Legacy Sites and strengthen Montgomery’s economic health and cultural landscape.”
WATCH: Action 8 News story on Elevation construction
Construction around Elevation will continue as EJI prepares to open Montgomery Square, its newest Legacy Site, in February. Montgomery Square will detail the Montgomery decade that changed the world from 1955 to 1965. Sculpture, art, new research, and first-person narratives will introduce visitors to Montgomery residents who are not well known but played a pivotal role in advancing civil rights in America.
Elevation Covening Center and Hotel opens in Montgomery, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 – Photo from Equal Justice Initiative
On Saturday evening, October 11, EJI is hosting a concert featuring internationally-known Branford Marsalis and Yo-Yo Ma. The concert is sold out.
The Equal Justice Initiative provides legal assistance to the poor and people wrongly convicted or unfairly sentenced. EJI also fights food insecurity through a statewide anti-hunger program and provides health care to people who are uninsured. It was founded in 1989.
EJI created and operates the Legacy Sites, which includes the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery. They chronicle the legacy of slavery, lynching, racial segregation and the connection to contemporary issues of racial bias.
