BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A $2 million state grant intended to help Birmingham prepare major industrial sites for redevelopment is giving new momentum to hopes for a stronger future across the city’s west side, where neighborhoods including Bush Hills have spent years pressing for investment, preservation and community-led improvement.
The City of Birmingham received the funding through Alabama’s Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy, or SEEDS, Act program. The money is designated for the first phase of redevelopment work in the Western Corridor, including a master plan, environmental studies and other site-readiness work involving about 500 acres at the former U.S. Steel Ensley Works site, as well as improvements at Birmingport.
City officials have framed the broader Western Corridor initiative as a potential driver of job creation, economic opportunity and long-term neighborhood revitalization in west Birmingham…