Mayors of cities across the Deep South gathered at the Jackson Convention Center for the inaugural DELTA FEST conference, a gathering of financial leaders and partners for economic change. The three-day event intends to usher in a 10-year effort to build prosperous communities in Southern states. Two Alabama Mayors came with ideas.
Birmingham, Alabama, Mayor Randall Woodfin said local mayors need to get creative when thinking about the affordable housing crisis. According to Woodfin, in the last five years, the city has spent a little more than $16 million in critical repairs, new builds and down payment assistance for homebuyers, with $4 million of that provided by the HOPE Enterprise Corporation. HOPE is a community development financial institution that aims to improve the financial well-being of under resourced communities in the Deep South.
“We do that because it’s necessary. We do it because it’s the right thing to do. But we do it because we know it’s going to create opportunity and wealth for that new homeowner,” Woodfin said…