The North-Carolina based Zimmerman intends to break ground on the first phase of its Ensley mixed use project, sometime around the end of 2022 or in quarter 1 of 2023. The project’s site is currently occupied by the old Ensley High School building, which was defaced and badly damaged by a fire in 2018. The damaged school building would have to be demolished to make way for the construction of affordable housing units and a commercial space.
Phase I of the Ensley mixed use project will include a three-story building consisting of 244-units, a community center and three-story parking deck. These housing units will be restricted to those earning within the range of $16,000 and $45,000 annually. In addition, there are also plans to convert the gym of the old Ensley High School into a 15,000-square-foot commercial development.
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Zimmerman, will be working in conjunction with the Housing Authority of Greater Birmingham to develop the Ensley mixed use project, which is estimated at $55 million. The city also intends to support the project by providing incentives in the form of a grant, worth about $1.5 million and some of the funds will be provided by The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Home Investment Partnerships Program.
At the moment, the company is in the process of settling some decades-old title issues with the board of education, which are hindering the land acquisition. According to the vice president of Zimmerman, Tab Bullard, the title issue is not a major problem and issues like these are quite common especially with properties that have been exchanged from one government entity to another. He believes that once the title issue is sorted out, the Ensley mixed use project will proceed without a hitch.
Bullard mentioned that the company was happy to wait for this issue to get cleared up and give the school some time to focus on the children in the district. He also gave a breakdown of the project’s timeline and explained that if the title issue got cleared up before the end of September, then Zimmerman could close the deal in October and finish up the demolition by the end of the year. Afterwards, it would take six to nine months to get the required funds and also round up the application with the state. Then the usual permitting process would be initiated for the project’s architecture and engineering, before the construction can finally start on the Ensley mixed use project and the construction could take about 20 months.
