Your Town Alabama: Designing Our Future

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Fountain Heights

Ft. Heights, which occupies a large portion of the west side of downtown, has seen better days. Once a popular choice for middle class homeowners, its steady decline is chronicled by overgrown lots and deteriorating homes. But a new energy is stirring in this quiet area with its charming old churches, small businesses and wide portico homes overlooking downtown.  Large signboards throughout the neighborhood proudly proclaim the redevelopment now underway in Fountain Heights.

A new neighborhood ethos is developing says Doris Powell, because determined residents have moved to take back their community from the crime and malaise that have plagued it for years. Although several attempts at redevelopment had been made over the years, most of which fizzled, momentum began to develop in 1998, when Fountain Heights residents asked to be included in the City of Birmingham’s downtown redevelopment plan. According to Powell, “Even though Fountain Heights is not part of the growing loft district it is clearly part of downtown and should benefit from the growth and redevelopment taking place there.” At the behest of City Councilor William A. Bell, at that time President of the Birmingham City Council, The Fountain Heights Redevelopment plan was created. The plan defines four specific “development areas” with strategies to improve each and will serve as the roadmap for community Improvements.

And the signs of revitalization are indeed evident. An attractive pocket park at the corner of 16th St N and 14 Ave provides a needed amenity and pedestrian scale lighting has been added using City-provided capital improvement funds. In addition, eight bus shelters will be constructed around the neighborhood. Over 15% of neighborhood residents are dependent on mass transit. The shelters will add to the comfort of riders and the ambiance of the neighborhood.  The bus shelters have been funded by the neighborhood association from its capital projects budget provided by the City. The City is expected to provide capital improvement funds for additional infrastructure improvements.

Parks, lighting and bus shelters are important additions to Fountain Heights, but available, affordable, housing stock is of primary importance to a neighborhood working to revitalize itself. To be sure, communities such as Crestwood, and to a lesser extent Norwood, have experienced rebirth because investors were willing to purchase dilapidated homes and spend the money necessary to restore them. While this type of investment may infuse Fountain Heights over time, the City is initially serving as a catalyst to spur housing redevelopment.  

In partnership with the City, the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) has purchased twenty-five lots sprinkled throughout Fountain Heights and is in the process of constructing affordable homes on them. These bungalow houses are available for purchase by individuals and families who can meet minimum income requirements and come up with a modest down payment. They feature wide porches, brick piers and tapered columns designed to emulate the street appeal of older homes in the neighborhood and offer amenities such as crown molding, tile and modern appliances. The proximity to downtown makes them attractive to people that work there. Early sales are brisk; according to the HABD nine homes are under contract with five pending.  One of the goals of the neighborhood association is to promote home ownership from its large rental base.

One remaining piece which has up to now eluded the neighborhood is the redevelopment of a recreation center. Plans call for a facility that will service the needs of the community for social activities, meetings and a gymnasium.  The estimated $3-million needed for repairs or a new building has been forthcoming from the City for some time. According to Powell, “We’ve come a long way toward bringing our neighborhood back,” says Powell. We’re looking forward to this addition of a major piece of the puzzle. 

Meanwhile the new Social Security Building continues to take shape, a new addition to the downtown skyline, and a beacon of hope for Fountain Heights.

Doris Powell is President of the Fountain Heights Neighborhood Assn. , a member of the Executive Board of Operation New Birmingham and also serves on the board of the Birmingham-Jefferson Transit Authority.
Robert Emerick is Vice President of Communications for Operation New Birmingham, a non-profit, public private partnership between the City of Birmingham, Jefferson County and the private business community working to make the Birmingham City Center the #1 choice for business, living, heathcare and the arts & entertainment.