Brookwood Mall — The Brookwood Village shopping mall as it appeared in 2022. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

The long-vacant Brookwood Village shopping mall may soon have a new lease on life, thanks to an exciting new agreement between the cities of Homewood and Mountain Brook.

The decline of Brookwood Village

It has been a little over three years since I last walked through the nearly vacant Brookwood Village shopping mall.

One of Alabama’s oldest shopping malls, Brookwood Village opened in 1974 on the border between Mountain Brook and Homewood—hence the name.

Although the indoor shopping mall was still a popular spot when I moved to Birmingham, it struggled to bring in foot traffic by the late 2010s; anchor tenant Belk closed in 2018. The COVID-19 pandemic made matters worse and caused many tenants to close their doors.

In July 2021, Brookwood Village lost long-time tenant Chick-fil-A—Alabama’s first and oldest Chick-fil-A location.

With the loss of Macy’s in early 2022, Brookwood Village was essentially empty; only Hickory Tavern and Five Guys remained on the mall’s footprint.

Hickory Tavern closed in September 2023 and Five Guys closed in December 2024.

Brookwood Village is empty.

A new redevelopment for Brookwood Village

Just before the New Year, the Homewood City Council approved an agreement to partner with the City of Mountain Brook on redevelopment plans for Brookwood Village.

The agreement was necessary to move forward with any redevelopment of the site, as the City of Homewood owns just over 50% of the property while the City of Mountain Brook owns around 40%. Jefferson County owns around 10%.

According to the agreement, the two cities will work together to determine future use for the property and collaborate on any necessary zoning changes. Both cities will share any new revenue from the site.

“I’m so pleased Homewood and MB have both passed resolutions in favor of cooperating on this property.

It is a vitally important piece of property for the entire ‘Over the Mountain’ region, and we want whatever project is proposed to benefit both communities.

This generation of Mayors and Councilors has done a fantastic job of working together for the betterment of Jefferson County as a whole, and this collaboration is a perfect example of that.”
Jennifer Andress, Homewood City Councilor, Ward 5

Although the developer has not shared their full plans for the Brookwood Village site, one key proposal has been approved by the Homewood Planning Commission. World-renowned orthopedic clinic Andrews Sports Medicine aims to convert the former Belk space at Brookwood Village into the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center.

Follow Bham Now on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn and sign up for our FREE newsletter to have exciting news about The Magic City delivered straight to your inbox.