Summary Information

 

Tuxedo Information System
Summary Information

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SUMMARY OF TUXEDO COURT FY2003 HOPE VI APPLICATION PLAN

Note: Some images from the January, 2004 grant application are available for viewing here.

Revitalization Plan. The Tuxedo Court public housing development stands in the heart of a renowned African-American community: Tuxedo Junction, made world famous in song in the 1940s. In 1939 Birmingham native and jazz trumpeter Erskine Hawkins wrote and recorded "Tuxedo Junction", a swing tune that referred to the dance hall at the Tuxedo Junction street car crossing, (adjacent to the current Tuxedo Court site). In the 1920’s and 30’s, this site was the center of nightlife for African-Americans in segregated Birmingham, Alabama. Glenn Miller’s version topped the charts in the 1940s and became the anthem of American GIs in Europe during WW II, making Tuxedo Junction world famous and honoring the African-American who created it.

Everyone knows the Tuxedo Junction song, but few know the once vibrant neighborhood that inspired it. Like many historic African-American neighborhoods, the Ensley area around Tuxedo Court has long suffered from disinvestment, a direct result of building the public housing project. While well-intentioned, the project tore apart the social fabric with a design that isolated the public housing site and those that lived in it. Without intervention, the distress and decline will continue. Through HOPE VI, this neighborhood has the opportunity to once again become a vibrant and vital place for families to live, work, and play.

The foundation of the HOPE VI plan is the restoration of the social fabric of the neighborhood; using a new perimeter park (“Tuxedo Green”) to weave the site back into the neighborhood and reconnect the community with existing social, educational and historical institutions. This will be accomplished with the revitalization of Tuxedo Court as a mixed-income development of rental and for-sale homes, leveraging resources and re-establishing connections. The design will pay homage to a significant historic site of African-American achievement in a city that prides itself as the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement, resulting in a renewed sense of pride and the establishment of “place” for the Ensley neighborhood. Tuxedo Court development has the need and the Housing Authority of Birmingham District (HABD) has the vision, capacity, leverage and strategic partnerships to succeed, given a HOPE VI award.

Tuxedo Court Today. Tuxedo Court is an isolated, severely distressed 488-unit public housing development built in 1960, with only 167 units occupied today. This vacancy rate (66%) is due to the high levels of lead, and HABD’s decision to relocate families given the prohibitive cost of abatement. This is a severely distressed property with fundamental site design and construction problems that cannot be repaired through rehabilitation, including:

• Structural and system deficiencies. Structural failures. Systems not replaced for 40 years.
• Site deficiencies. Failing infrastructure, limited parking, site design obsolescence and indefensible space.
• Environmental hazards . Presence of lead-based paint. Potential presence of asbestos-containing materials.
• Building design: Unit size and configuration obsolete in today’s market. Inaccessible to the disabled.

Tuxedo Court Tomorrow: The New Community. The Revitalization Plan calls for the construction of a new mixed-income community with 306 affordable rental and for-sale housing units (80 – 120% AMI) on site and 25 affordable replacement for-sale homes off-site (60-80% AMI). Total replacement public housing units is 135 (110 on site and 25 off site).
 

Summary of On-Site Housing Construction at Tuxedo Court
	Rental Homes		For Sale Homes	Total
	Public Housing Replacement Units	Affordable Rental	Non-subsidized
Units	110	110	86	306
% On-Site	36%	36%	28%	100%

On-site, the physical development plan creates a new community known as “Tuxedo Park” that is compact, pedestrian-friendly, using New Urbanism principles to design neighborhoods, streets, blocks and residences. The plan restores the original street grid, pattern of blocks, and architectural scale, reintegrating the site to its surroundings. Green space is the key design element to reknit the urban fabric, forming an adjacent perimeter park to be known as “Tuxedo Green”, developed on 8.6 vacant acres of land (“Prince Hall site”) owned and contributed by HABD. This park includes a formal gateway into the new Tuxedo Park community, establishing a strong neighborhood identity and visual connection to the historic Tuxedo Junction site across the street. Walking trails and bikeways lead from this park, connecting Tuxedo to Ensley Park, the major recreational amenity, linking the local middle school, high school and public library to the new community.
The Revitalization Plan includes the renovation of two on-site community facilities: a 9,000 sq .ft. community center and a 9,000 sq. ft. daycare facility, and construction of a new management / maintenance facility. With a major shopping center within 1 mile, retail is not planned on site. The properties at the nearby I-20 interchange provide an ideal opportunity for major commercial development once the revitalization is implemented.

Off-Site Housing. To begin housing development immediately, the first phase of replacement housing will be developed off-site in the historic downtown neighborhood of Fountain Heights which is undergoing tremendous revitalization. Located close to the central business district, it provides access to nearby jobs, services and transportation. Partnering with the City, HABD will leverage its highly successful Homeownership Program for public housing eligible residents to construct 25 homes on vacant lots that are controlled by HABD and are properly zoned. Financing is in place and families are ready to purchase. Phase I can begin immediately upon award of the HOPE VI grant.

Community and Supportive Services. Based on a comprehensive survey of resident needs, the CSS Plan incorporates case management with specific objectives and services for education, employment, childcare, job training, homeownership counseling, and health care. HABD’s strategic partner is Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (JCCEO), with 38 years successfully assisting low-income families to achieve self-sufficiency, aided by JCCEO’s network of service providers.

Resources for Development: HOPE VI Funds and Other Resources. HABD is requesting $20 million in HOPE VI funds in this application which will be leveraged with City Funds, HABD funds, 4% tax exempt bond financing and as-of-right credits for rental and private mortgage funds for homeownership. Financial commitments are in place from HABD, the City of Birmingham ($9.4), and the many other partners identified in this application who have committed approximately $34 million in development resources, as documented in Attachments 19 and 20 and are available to begin Phase 1 immediately.

Development Partner. Because of its success as an affordable homeownership developer and as co-developer on the Metropolitan Gardens HOPE VI revitalization, HABD will serve as the developer for Phase I affordable off-site for-sale home construction, Phase 2 on-site LIHTC rental development and Phase 3 on-site for-sale housing development. HABD’s tremendous capacity is supported by the expertise of the Boulevard Group Inc/Wallace Roberts & Todd LLC Program Management Team, one of the most experienced HOPE VI program management teams in the nation.

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