East Town Shopping Center

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The East Town Shopping Center is a former shopping center located on a 17.17 acre site at the intersection of Alabama Highway 75/Parkway East and Huffman Road in Birmingham. It was constructed in 1972 and is served by an 859-space parking lot. Once anchored by Wal-Mart and Food World, the 202,046 square-foot retail strip included Rose's Shoes and Boots, Party City and Rite-Aid stores when it was sold in 2007.

Later the property was acquired by the Birmingham Board of Education under eminent domain as the site for a new Huffman High School. Numerous critics have objected to the site, claiming that the busy highway and a nearby liquor store would present dangers to students. Newly-elected Birmingham City Council member LaShunda Scales has become a leader of the opposition, adding her concern that the loss of a large retail site would undermine her efforts at economic development for the area. Scales, a public relations professional, represented the former owners of the site without pay when they fought the eminent domain action.

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