Los Angeles Mayor — Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin flanked by Mayor Stephen Benjamin(L) and Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles in front of the American Life Building site of an Opportunity Zone. Photo by Pat Byington for Bham Now

Today, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin unveiled the Birmingham Inclusive Growth (BIG) Partnership, a private sector-led, community-focused, city-inspired Opportunity Zone initiative with twin goals:

Elevate Birmingham residents’ quality of life
Produce tangible returns for investors.

The mayor’s announcement was made at the historic Stonewall/American Life building downtown on 4th Avenue North, which is where a private investor will renovate the building into 140 workforce housing units.

“Opportunity Zones have the power to be a transformational tool for neighborhood revitalization,’’ Mayor Woodfin said. “Through the BIG Partnership, we will be able to identify local projects that enhance the quality of life of our residents. We will also be able to market to national investors, who would have never known about the opportunities in Birmingham.’’

The BIG Partnership is an innovative structure that will drive investment into Birmingham’s 24 Opportunity Zones, designated in March of 2018 by Gov. Kay Ivey and certified by the U.S. Treasury. The designation came after the City of Birmingham secured 28 letters of community support.

The news conference held today included the Mayors Stephen Benjamin of Columbia, South Carolina and Eric Garrett of Los Angeles.