Birmingham City Council on Jan. 7 approved a redevelopment agreement that will convey roughly 10 acres north of A. H. Parker High School to Smithfield Phase 2 LP and provide $6 million in gap financing to support the construction of 151 affordable multifamily units.

The agreement, presented by Community Development staff, uses the city-owned parcel as a subsidy to reduce land cost for the project and pairs a $3 million HOME loan with a $3 million Section 108 low-interest loan to fund site infrastructure and vertical construction. Senior deputy director Corey Stalworth told the council the action is part of the Choice Neighborhoods grant the city received and that the conveyance is priced at $1,000 to lower the development’s overall cost.

"This project will use about $6,000,000 of Choice Neighborhood funding to support the development of 151 units," Stalworth said. Deputy director Kelvin Dasher added that the city was awarded a $50 million Choice Neighborhoods grant in 2023 and that delays in the federal grant agreement pushed a compressed schedule that makes leveraging a new Alabama workforce housing tax credit timely.

The proposed development’s total development cost is estimated at about $52 million. Stalworth said phase 1 will deliver 151 units and later phases could bring the site to roughly 300 units. The development team includes the Housing Authority and external developer partners; the tax-credit applicant entity is Smithfield Phase 2 LP.

Council members asked about unit targeting and environmental concerns. Stalworth said the plan will mix affordability tiers across the site (ranging from extremely low income to workforce levels) rather than segregate income groups. He also said the developer completed a Phase I environmental review and noise mitigation work will be included for buildings closest to the interstate.

Councilor Clark praised the new Alabama workforce housing tax credit as a critical financing tool and encouraged continued advocacy to expand capacity at the state level. No member of the public spoke against the measure. The council voted unanimously to approve the agreement.

The city will return with later approvals for tax-credit allocation and subsequent phases as the project advances.

The conveyance and gap financing are intended to accelerate construction on the Smithfield site and to keep Evans Meats and other jobs and residents connected to the neighborhood as the broader Choice Neighborhoods plan advances.