Marks Village
Charles P. Marks Village is a public housing project operated by the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) located at 7527 66th Street South on the former site of the Alabama Rolling Mills in the Gate City neighborhood of the East Lake community. It is named for real estate executive and HABD board member Charles Pollard Marks.
The project was constructed in 1951-52 under the auspices of the United States Housing Act of 1949. Marks Village was built for white families while the concurrent Loveman Village in Titusville was developed for African Americans. Marks Village opened in May 1952 and currently has about 500 units. It is managed by Windham Summerville.
Early on December 17, 2013 a gas explosion destroyed one of the buildings in the complex, with one fatality and 11 others injured. Alagasco replaced many service pipes in the vicinity following the blast. In June 2014 the HABD board approved a $23,000 contract with Aho Architects to design a replacement for the two damaged apartments. Steel City Services was hired to manage the reconstruction project.
References
- Scribner, Christopher MacGregor (2002) Renewing Birmingham: Federal Funding and the Promise of Change, 1929-1979 Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press ISBN 9780820323282
- Connerly, Charles E. (2005) "The Most Segregated City in America": City Planning and Civil Rights in Birmingham, 1920-1980. University of Virginia Press ISBN 0813923344
- Underwood, Madison (December 17, 2013) "Explosion at Birmingham apartment complex kills one, sends 8 to hospital." The Birmingham News
- Bryant, Joseph D. (June 16, 2014) "Rebuilding after the blast: Birmingham Housing Authority taps firm to design apartment building to replace homes decimated in deadly explosion." The Birmingham News