Times staff report
Birmingham Mayor William Bell, City Councilor Marcus Lundy and Pratt City Neighborhood Leaders and residents on Tuesday reviewed the first draft of the ONE Pratt Superblock and Parks development.
The city is working on the “super block” concept for the Pratt City Community with designer Tom Leader and Tom Leader Studio, the design firm that gave Birmingham its downtown Railroad Park. Leader was hired to craft and create the space for the existing and new residents of Pratt.
Ellen Spencer, who has lived in the Pratt community for 31 years, said she was excited by what she saw.
“This is something Pratt has not had,” she said, adding that the park can serve multi-faceted purposes and give residents “an opportunity to have weddings and family reunions . . . hopefully it will bring people and economic development to Pratt City.”
More importantly, residents had input on the design, Spencer said.
“We had meetings and the [Tom Leader] design team took comments of what people wanted,” she said. “It was a collaboration of what all six neighborhoods wanted to see.”
Renderings show a world class park and community center to serve as a community green or front yard and a civic gathering space. It is anticipated that the park and community center will share the same “super block” as the existing Pratt Library and that integrated housing will be constructed to create a solid fabric to continue to stitch the community back together, according to planners.
A node — community meeting point – will be located around the existing Pratt Library. This node will have increased connectivity and residential density to create an identity and sense of place.
Bell has said the success of the Leader-designed Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham can be duplicated in Pratt City.
“Railroad Park was the catalyst for the development we now see in that area,” Bell has said. “We are hopeful that by using the same overall concept and the same team that developed Railroad Park, we will have that same transformative impact in this neighborhood. What the park and community center ultimately become will be based on the needs and desires of the residents and stakeholders of the area.”
Flooding supply drive
In other city news, officials have launched a supply drive for the citizens of Louisiana in desperate need due to the floods and continued rain. Birmingham citizens are encouraged to donate bottled water and canned goods starting now through Saturday, Aug. 20 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily at the Boutwell Auditorium, 1930 Reverend Abraham Woods Blvd.
“We know that our citizens are both kind and generous and we have a long tradition of helping those in need. We want to thank everyone in advance for their time and effort,” Bell said.
Area churches and civic groups will join in the efforts. For more information, call Don Lupo at (205) 335-4573.
‘Food tax rebate’
Bell has met with Finance and Law Department staff to begin the process of establishing a “food tax rebate” program, he said.
Similar programs have been successful in Boulder, Colorado and Fort Collins, Colorado but are rarely seen in the South.
The program would establish a food tax rebate system within the City of Birmingham to assist low-income individuals, low-income families, elderly persons and disabled persons by rebating taxes paid for food items.
“We are in the beginning stages of figuring out how to do this sort of program in Birmingham, but we look forward to finding a way to make it work for our citizens. Anything that we can do to ease the burden on these families is worth trying,” Bell said. “We look forward to working with staff and the City Council to come up with a model program that will work in our city within the parameters of the State laws,” he continued.
City staff will present the first draft plan within the next 30-60 days, he said.
