$1.6 Million will go to ‘100 Homes, 100 Days’ renovations across the 99 neighborhoods
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Last month, Mayor Woodfin announced the “100 Homes, 100 Days” project that will repair the homes of citizens across the city.
The Neighborhood Revitalization Fund and The City of Birmingham will work with the Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS). Citizens that are eligible for revitalizing their homes must have owner-occupied structures in need of repair and limited income.
“Our plan is to bundle our work to transform entire blocks instead of renovating one home on a street surrounded by other blight,” Mayor Woodfin said. “This reaffirms our commitment to giving all 99 neighborhoods a fresh start.As additional economic development projects pay off in Birmingham, resources from those projects will be identified and committed to the fund.”
From the beginning of Mayor Woodfin’s term, he discussed establishing the Neighborhood Revitalization Fund to address and improve the quality of life throughout Birmingham’s 99 neighborhoods. The first round of funding for the the Neighborhood Revitalization Fund came from Shipt and DC Blox in mid-July totaling to $1.6 Million. The $1 Million came from Shipt when they bought a city-owned parking deck for its downtown location. The $600,000 came from DC Blox when they bought a city property to build a data center in Titusville.
Mayor Woodfin mentioned that $200,000 will go towards demolishing ruined structures and the remaining $1.4 Million will go towards renovating homes.
$1 Million will go to the 100 homes at $10,000 each. The surplus $400,000 will go towards intake, applications, and land bank acquisition. The City of Birmingham is currently finalizing the process.
“We are very happy to partner strategically with the City of Birmingham to move forward with neighborhood revitalization,” Kelleigh Gamble of NHS said. “It’s important that the people we are helping actually own and occupy the home.’’
As gentrification continues to take place in downtown Birmingham and its surrounding neighborhoods, additional funding will go toward the Neighborhood Revitalization Fund. Earlier this year, the fund was established during the passage of the city’s agreement to help fund the renovation of the BJCC and expansion project. An estimated $9.9 million of revenue will go towards the fund every year after the BJCC project is completed.
Interested applicants should contact NHS at 205-328-4292 or via email at neighborhoods@birminghamal.gov. Laborers interested in working on this endeavor should also contact NHS.