This group is planning an uplifting community near One Pratt Park—what you need to know

For years, the Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation has been dreaming of building a mixed-use community-focused development near One Pratt Park. Now they’re getting ready to make it real, according to Brandon Cleveland, Executive Director, and they want the community’s support. Here’s what you need to know.

What is the Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation

Bishop Harry L. Seawright, Bishop + Chairman of the Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation + the foundation’s logo

The Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation is the charitable foundation of the 9th District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Their mission is to foster community growth through education, technology, economics and wellness throughout the state of Alabama. 

It is currently housed inside of the Community Plaza, located at the former Daniel Payne Middle School site. The Foundation purchased the property from Birmingham City Schools in 2014.

Their current goal is to build a mixed-use development on the former Daniel Payne College site with robust programming that will lift up the community.

Daniel Payne, who lived from 1811-1893, was a major force within the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. A bishop in the church for more than four decades, he was also an educator, a college administrator and author who helped found Wilberforce University in Ohio.

What is the vision for the Daniel Payne Legacy Village’s new development?

Rather than a traditional subdivision, the Foundation envisions a mixed-use development with rich community-focused programming at the corner of Daniel Payne Drive and Cherry Avenue, in District 9. One Pratt Park and Carver High School are both nearby.

Mixed-use development

Right now, here’s what you’ll find on the site:

• Daniel Payne Plaza, housing the Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation
• Legacy Prep, a free public K-5 charter school

In the future, they’re aiming to have:

• Single family homes
• Multifamily units
• Public institutional buildings
• Commercial buildings

The housing is a mechanism for building a community in North Birmingham, which has been a distressed community. They want to provide a community where people who are looking to improve their socioeconomic status will want to stay.

Community development with the Daniel Payne Legacy Village Foundation

In the first phase, they’d like to establish an institutional building that will allow them to continue what they’re doing in the community:

• Serving community meals every Friday at Daniel’s Pantry between 5-6PM (more than 12,000 meals served over the last 16 months).
• Legacy Prep, Birmingham’s first public charter school, currently serving grades K-5.
• Grocery bag giveaway every third Saturday of the month (over 600 bags given).
• Additional educational programming on topics such as home buying or workforce development.

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