EVEN SPORTS.
WE EXPLORED THESE AREAS WITH
KEY PLAYERS ASKING THEM TO
LOOK AHEAD TO 2025..WHAT DO
THEY SEE WHAT DO THEY WANT TO
SEE?
I STARTED WITH BIRMINGHAM
MAYOR WILLIAM BELL.
LOOK AROUND AND YOU'LL SEE
BIRMINGHAM IS NOT STANDING
STILL.
THE CITY IS ON THE MOVE.
THE PACE OF PROGRESS IN SOME
PLACES IS SEEMINGLY FASTER
THAN OTHERS.
RAILROAD PARK: 10 YEARS AGO
THIS WAS A PARKING LOT,
AS WAS THE POPULAR
ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT NOW
KNOWN AS UPTOWN...NEAR THE
B-J-C-C.
AND REGIONS FIELD, HOME OF THE
BIRMINGHAM BARONS?
LIKE THAT FIELD OF DREAMS
LINE: BUILD IT AND THEY WILL
COME:
THEY SURE HAVE COME BY THE
DOZENS, APARTMENTS, CONDOS,
RESTAURANTS, BREWERIES,
GALLERIES AND THE LIKE:
"some people might see that as
the end all be all, but I see
that as just the first
stepping stone to make
residents who live here will
be proud of it, people who
visit here will be surprised
and want to come back and even
stay."
EACH STEP I LEARNED FROM MAYOR
WILLIAM BELL WHO I TALKED TO
DURING HIS RECOVERY FROM KNEE
SURGERY, IS AN IMPORTANT STEP
IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING
BIRMINGHAM FORWARD.
"those are catalysts that have
attracted people to come back
to the downtown area to spend
money and that gives us the
opportunity of additional
revenue. now we can move into
those neighborhoods to
encourage businesses like here
in the ensley area to grow and
prosper."
IT'S WHAT ENSLEY BUSINESS
OWNER ANTONIO SPURLING IS
BANKING ON.
HIS LAW OFFICE AND EVENT SPACE
ARE LOCATED IN THE AREA THAT
IS SURE TO BE PART OF THE
GROWTH AND PROSPERITY TO
ANCHOR THE ENSLEY BUSINESS
DISTRICT:
THE PLAN IN ENSLEY BEGINS WITH
CREATING MORE GREENSPACE:
SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU CURRENTLY
SEE DOWNTOWN AT RAILROAD PARK,
IN AVONDALE, AND IN
CRESTWOOD..
THE MAYOR SAYS CITY INVESTMENT
TO RENOVATE THOSE PARKS
ATTRACTED PEOPLE TO COME INTO
BIRMINGHAM'S PARK SYSTEM.
THE MAYOR SHOWED ME PLANS THEY
HAVE DRAWN UP TO TURN AN
ENTIRE CITY BLOCK INTO
GREENSPACE IN ENSLEY AS A
CATALYST.
we have been talking to
organizations like the bETHEL
ensley action taskforce about
building residential
condominiums, townhomes,
around this area.
-NATS-ONE PRATT
IT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS
PRESENTED TO THE PEOPLE OF
PRATT CITY WHERE A LOT OF THE
FOUNDATIONAL WORK HAS BEEN
DONE TO TRANSFORM THE AREA
WITH THOSE SAME CATALYSTS.
NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION, PARKS,
THE LIBRARY WHICH WAS BUILT
AFTER THE 2011 TORNADOES..
"ONE PRATT" ALREADY HAS A
SIX-MILLION DOLLAR GRANT FROM
THE U-S DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING
FOR MAYOR BELL THIS VISION FOR
A NEW BIRMINGHAM GOING FORWARD
HAS TO INCLUDE A LOOK BACK AT
BIRMINGHAM'S RICH HISTORY.
"what our residents might not
be aware of is birmingham has
a positive image in terms of
human rights and civil rights
around the world. We are the
cradle of the civil rights
movement."
what i'm trying to do is
capitalize on that from an
economic stand point.
THAT INCLUDES THE PURSUIT OF A
UNESCO DESIGNATION AS A WORLD
HERITAGE SITE,
BUT ALSO AN EFFORT TO DECLARE
THE CIVIL RIGHTS DISTRICT PART
THE NATIONAL HISTORIC TRUST
FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION AS
THE BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS
NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK.
the best way to bring in
money,in my opinion, to a city
that was struggling was
through visitors coming in
tourism.
THE MONEY BROUGHT IN FROM THE
HOTEL OCCUPATIONAL TAX
HAS INCREASED 13 TO 14 %
THE MAYOR BELIEVES A WORLD
HERITAGE DESIGNATION WILL
BRING IN EVEN MORE PEOPLE AND
WITH THEM ADDITIONAL LODGING
TAXES.
"you will notice that there
are about 3 to 4 new hotels
that are under construction in
of the rise in visitors we
have coming here."
THE NEW INTERMODAL FACILITY
ALREADY UNDER CONSTRUCTION IS
A KEY COMPONENT TO BIRMINGHAM
BEING A CITY ON THE MOVE FOR
THOSE WHO VISIT, AND THOSE WHO
LIVE HERE.
IT'LL LINK BIRMINGHAM'S
MAX BUS, TO TRAIN AND
INTERSTATE TRANSIT...SIMILAR
TO SYSTEMS IN NEW ORLEANS AND
ATLANTA.
We are working on several
other transportation
initiatives that will develop
uh a dedidcated right of way
for bus service that will look
like trainsets that will move
north to south
THE MAYOR PITCHED THE
TRANSPORTATION PLAN TO A GROUP
AT REV BIRMINGHAM IN AUGUST...
SJ says when we pull back the
what is it you would want to
see most to move the city
forward?
just convincing people that
we're better than what we
think we are. To build a sense