A focus on the future: Long-term investments that will pay off for Birmingham
In politics, it’s hard to stay focused on the future. It’s easier (and smarter, according to the political experts) to focus on things that yield immediate results and translate to speedy gains in public opinion polls.
The problem is that true progress can’t be delivered by FedEx. Whether you’re talking about a person, a business or a city, transformation doesn’t come overnight. It’s a jumble of big ideas and little baby steps that occur over time.
You need boldness to step out on something big. But to actually get it done, the quality you need most is patience: Patience to sustain thorny partnerships, patience to manage setbacks and patience to adapt when needed.
That’s why I’m proud of the smart, creative individuals on my team at City Hall who are willing to do the hard, drawn-out, messy work of transformative change. They look beyond my administration to do what’s best for our city — not just for today but for generations to come.
Our team’s efforts have been noticed and rewarded. Over the past year, with assistance from U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell and the Biden Administration, our city has received more than $80 million in federal grants for projects that will transform Birmingham and benefit its people.
A major investment in distressed neighborhoods
Most recently, Birmingham was one of eight cities across the nation to receive a Choice Neighborhoods grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Developed in partnership with the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District, the city’s plan will breathe new life into Smithfield, College Hills and Graymont, historic neighborhoods just west of downtown.
Plans include replacing the aging Smithfield Court public housing property with more than 900 new, mixed-income apartments for families and seniors. There will be an onsite early learning center as well as a “social innovation center,” a hub encompassing workforce development resources and a high-tech library.
In response to what the neighborhoods told us they need, Smithfield Court residents will have access to a range of supportive services, such as coaching, counseling, tutoring, life skills training, arts and recreation opportunities, and health programs.
The Ascent Project, an Atlanta-based nonprofit, will coordinate those services with more than 30 local and regional partners, including Birmingham City Schools, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and many others.
As part of this project, we’ll also be tackling broader community challenges, such as vacant lots, boarded-up properties, and run-down businesses and homes. Our vision goes far beyond putting one shiny new development in the community.
We are talking about a generational investment for what we hope will be generational impact.
When HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge came to Birmingham to announce the grant, there were high-fives, handshakes and hugs all around, and rightfully so. One day, I believe we’ll look back at the Choice Neighborhoods announcement as a critical turning point in restoring a once-thriving area of Birmingham.
But behind that joyful moment were many, many difficult moments. As Secretary Fudge pointed out, we had applied for this grant the year before, and we were not selected. We could have stopped there and tried something a little less ambitious. Instead, the Housing Authority, the city and our partners came back even bigger and stronger, willing to make the investment of resources — and time — to bring about long-term, fundamental change.
An urban trail and a new path to the future
Birmingham also won a $21.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for major roadway investments that will impact some of the same neighborhoods. This project — a great complement to the Choice Neighborhoods work — will create an urban trail through our civil rights district and a corridor extending through the Graymont/Smithfield area that will be more friendly for walkers and cyclists as well as motorists.
The project comes through a grant called Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE.
Our project lives up to all those big words. By retooling a little more than 3 miles of roadways, we are going to make our community more walkable, bikeable and safe, and we are going to restore connections that had been lost over decades.
The plans include improved transit stops and new streetscapes, sidewalks, bike lanes and multi-use paths, as well as the city’s first two-way cycle track. Stretching from 6th Street West to 20th Street and from City Walk to Morris Avenue, the improvements will benefit existing residents and businesses, and they will help attract new people and businesses to that area.
In addition, the urban trail along 16th Street will help us elevate the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and Kelly Ingram Park, two of our great community assets.
We are celebrating our civil rights history — and creating a literal path to our future.
It’s not coincidental that this project complements the Choice Neighborhoods revitalization. Or that it completes another key segment in the Freshwater Land Trust’s Red Rock Trail System, a network that crosses multiple jurisdictions in Jefferson County. The Red Rock trail currently encompasses 129 miles and will one day be a 750-mile loop of trails, sidewalks and parks connecting our communities.
This project helps get us a little closer to closing the loop, and it’s another example of how we are leveraging our work so that every project is even bigger than the sum of its parts. While the “Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads” project will take at least four and maybe five years to complete, our team at City Hall can be proud of what it will ultimately create for our city.
“I don’t think we’ve ever been able to connect the dots in such a comprehensive way,” said Christina Argo, manager of the strategic project and innovation division of our city’s Department of Transportation.
Laying a foundation for future improvements
Although the dollar amount is smaller, Birmingham also stands to reap lasting rewards from an $800,000 planning grant from the Department of Transportation.
The City of Birmingham and Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority are equal partners in this Reconnecting Communities grant, each of us putting in $100,000 to bring the total investment to $1 million. It will allow us to really look at the way we connect our communities and the way we connect our people to jobs, shops, services and places they just want to go.
This is part of a federal program announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during a visit to Birmingham. It recognizes that a serious, strategic transportation plan goes beyond cars and streets, and it also acknowledges the way highways and rail crossings have served to disconnect us over our history.
More than 75 percent of our city’s original communities are bordered or intersected by an interstate, railroad or major highway route. These are literal dividing lines that separate us and often make it more difficult to get from one place to another.
Much attention for our residents has focused on rail crossings, and naturally, we were disappointed earlier this year that Birmingham didn’t win the Federal Railroad Administration’s Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant — that grant went to Pelham, another city in our metro area.
But railroads aren’t the only roadblocks to connectivity and community in Birmingham.
In the future, this transportation planning grant may help us address rail crossings, but it also could be a springboard for projects that will make roadways a lot more friendly to people on public transportation, on foot and on bikes, similar to what we will do in Smithfield/Graymont with the RAISE grant.
Thoughtful planning is how positive transformation begins.
Providing new job opportunities for people
Neighborhood revitalization is my administration’s top priority. But when I say revitalization, I’m not just talking about a cosmetic facelift that improves outward appearances. I’m talking about making investments that allow our communities to really thrive.
It doesn’t help to invest in places if you’re not investing in people.
That’s why I’m so excited about the $10.8 million “Good Jobs Challenge” grant, which Birmingham received from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.
With this grant, we’re establishing the Birmingham Region Health Partnership, a healthcare workforce program that will provide job training and a career path for underserved individuals, primarily women and people of color.
Partners include not only our healthcare institutions, but also our county, local and state economic development entities, nonprofits and regional planners. Our goal is to provide a pathway for 1,000 people to get trained and placed in good healthcare jobs over a three-year period.
Individuals will benefit, but so will our larger community.
Healthcare is by far our largest industry. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, with its health system, is the largest employer in the whole state. In Birmingham, we are also fortunate to have hospitals operated by Ascension St. Vincent’s, Princeton Brookwood Baptist and Grandview, as well as many other healthcare providers.
By creating a healthcare training partnership, we are ensuring our people have access to the jobs they desperately need and also that our largest employers have access to the workforce they desperately need.
Neither employees nor employers will reap the dividends overnight. Nor will we as a city see immediate rewards. But by expanding opportunity and investing in our people, we are making the best long-term bet of all.
Don’t get me wrong: We’re not opposed to making quick gains when that’s an option. But I’m proud my team has the boldness — and the patience — to go big and go long when it’s the city’s best play.
