Leaders want development near Ensley’s McCoy Center

Leaders want development near Ensley’s McCoy Center

Date: Sunday, June 10, 2007, 11:00pm CDT – Last Modified: Thursday, June 7, 2007, 4:33pm CDT

A depressed corridor in Ensley could be revitalized with a mixed-use development that will include a gospel museum, bookstore, grocery store and restaurant. Community leaders are scheduled to discuss development opportunities for the Eighth Avenue West/Arkadelphia Road corridor during a June 9 community planning workshop at the McCoy Center.

A depressed corridor in Ensley could be revitalized with a mixed-use development that will include a gospel museum, bookstore, grocery store and restaurant.

Community leaders are scheduled to discuss development opportunities for the Eighth Avenue West/Arkadelphia Road corridor during a June 9 community planning workshop at the McCoy Center.

The land, located next to the McCoy Center, is the focus of the “Reclaim the Vision” conference that will allow local leaders to brainstorm ideas and provide input for consultants who will produce formal plans, said event coordinator L’Tryce Slade.

Ideas include creation of a gospel museum, a bookstore to serve Birmingham-Southern College students, a community grocery store and a casual-dining restaurant.

The conference will be held at 10 a.m. at 300 Eighth Ave. W. in the offices of the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Development.

Slade said the community workshop is an effort to bridge the gap between Birmingham-Southern, Princeton Baptist Medical Center, surrounding neighborhoods and the McCoy Center, which works with nonprofits to help improve the quality of life for local communities.

Cooperation is critical for revitalizing a thoroughfare that is traveled by 50,000 cars each day, Slade said.

And the property off Interstate 20/59 could become a major tourist destination with the establishment of a gospel museum, she said.

The International Gospel Hall of Fame is located in Detroit, but Slade believes Birmingham can attract gospel fans from across the Southeast. That draw could be the catalyst for revitalization.

“That property is a gold mine,” Slade said. “The McCoy Center’s role is to be a hub in the community, and they want to facilitate these talks.”

High-traffic flow is key to developing the city’s west corridor, said Main Street Birmingham Executive Director David Fleming. Retail business survives by tapping into consumers who frequent the area, he said. And any attempt to revitalize the area hinges on local entrepreneurs.

“The kind of retail that potentially could be there is going to drive a lot of that,” Fleming said. “National chains won’t be attracted to the site by the current traffic count. If you can combine that traffic count and activities going on at the McCoy Center and Birmingham-Southern, you can sweeten (the site’s attractiveness).”

The area provides a good opportunity for local businesses because national entities want a sure thing and are less likely to take a risk, he said.

Successfully reclaiming the retail area will require investors with long-term vision, Fleming said.

He said it will require neighborhood cooperation as well as involvement from the business and education communities.

“When doing urban revitalization you have to project more long-term return,” Fleming said. “It can happen, but you have to be more patient. Often with these types of deals there needs to be more private/public cooperation. It takes creativity in financing, architecture and design. It’s harder to find those things together in the same developer.”

A domino effect of revitalization can transform the College Hills, Bush Hills, Birmingham-Southern, Graymont and Baptist Princeton communities, but it will require cooperation, said Bill Conway, Birmingham Community Development Office representative.

Conway said the neighborhoods have the population to support growth that also could benefit from activities at Legion Field and Birmingham-Southern’s newly created football program.

One of the biggest needs is expanding past just fast-food restaurants, he said.

“The neighborhood would support a nicer restaurant. There is a demand over there,” Conway said. “Those folks have to go to Five Points West or up U.S. 78 to find something.”