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Plans for a new $40 Million Public Safety Municipal Complex unveiled today in Ensley, largest development in the area for decades

For Immediate Release
Contact:
April Odom
Mayor’s Office of Public Information

Plans for a new $40 Million Public Safety Municipal Complex unveiled today in Ensley, largest development in the area for decades

Mayor William Bell today unveiled a $40 Million Public Safety Municipal Complex planned for downtown Ensley. The plan would create the first ever Public Safety Municipal Complex for the City of Birmingham pulling Municipal Court,  Birmingham Police Department Administration and the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Department Administration to one location. The plan will involve public and private funding.

 

The Complex will be built in phases with phase 1 being Municipal Court,  phase 2 being Police Administration and phase 3 being the Fire and Rescue Administration. The proposed complex will be located in the 500 block of 19th Street in Downtown Ensley. Plans include renovating and incorporating the 10-story, 50,000 square foot Historic Ramsey McCormack Building and includes new retail opportunities and a parking deck along with green space.

“We have looked at several plans over the last several years but none of them really made that impact that this project will make for this community. Our goal is to bring jobs, retail opportunities and opportunities for significant growth back to downtown Ensley,” said Mayor William Bell.

 

The City is working in close coordination with Bethel Ensley Action Task, Inc. (BEAT) to revitalize downtown Ensley. BEAT has plans to develop a mixed use development adjacent to the proposed Public Safety Municipal Complex. The BEAT development will include new residential, retail and open space opportunities. These projects are a part of the City’s ongoing comprehensive planning and framework planning efforts to revitalize Downtown Ensley and the broader Ensley Community.

 

Mayor Bell was joined by neighborhood and community leaders, BEAT leaders, REV Birmingham and staff from Police, Fire and Municipal Court including Chief A.C. Roper who spoke briefly in support of the project.

The BEAT Downtown Ensley Revitalization Project: Ensley Junction, is a comprehensive redevelopment focusing on affordable housing, commercial renewal, and expansion of active green spaces and the integration of services to meet the needs of the Ensley community.  The Ensley Junction development is an $18-24m initiative to reinvent the historic downtown business district of Ensley and make it a destination location for the residents of the Greater Birmingham community to live, shop and enjoy world class green space.

 

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